Toto is a quirky, inspiring story which conveys an important message – follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don’t give up! We love the story of a donkey who leaves his small town to travel to the big city to fulfil his dream of becoming an astronaut.
The Story: Toto doesn’t want to carry bags like the other donkeys so he heads to the city to try and get into space school. City life is tough but just as Toto is about to go home he meets a family who help him. But can a donkey really become an astronaut?
We are inspired by Toto’s determination to fulfil his dream and the way that he leaves his home and family to try and achieve it. Life isn’t easy, he needs to get a job and then his money is stolen by a gang of thieves who also mock his ambitious plans. However, at his lowest point he is helped by a mother who also dreamed of being an astronaut.
We sympathised with Toto as he plucked up courage to leave his family. But the story shows that we can achieve our dreams with the help of kind and supportive friends. The care and understanding that the family have for Toto and his plans is heartwarming and we love the final spread in which he shares his new experience with his donkey family.
Ximo Abadía’s vivid surrealist illustrations are quirky, bold and humorous and perfectly complement the simplicity and originality of the story. Ximo has cleverly woven human experiences and a donkey protagonist together to create an imaginative story that leads to a happy ending for Toto. The illustrations play a huge part in portraying Toto’s emotions as he adjusts to his new life, one of our favourites shows him at work – fixing umbrellas is obviously not a fulfilling role!
Toto is an adorable donkey and we are so glad that he gets a happy ending. The final spread is one of the funniest picture book spreads we’ve seen but we don’t want to spoil the end of the story for you…
Age Range: 2 +
Author / Illustrator: Ximo Abadía
Thank you to Templar Publishing for sending Toto. We love the quirky simplicity of this heartwarming story.
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