Cody the Destroyer, King of Toads (Volume 1)

By: Miranda Hardy

Narrated by: Jon Diienno

Length: 25 mins

Publisher's summary

The excitement of winning was within Cody's grasp until the evil Briana stepped into view. Cody's fun-filled day suddenly turned into a nightmare when he learned he would be forced to go to Briana's birthday party. Determined to get even, Cody and his best friend, Josh, hatched a brilliant plan, but they would have to enter The Swampland Woods to carry it out. Cody and Josh stumbled onto a dark secret buried deep within The Swampland Woods that would change the course of their day, and maybe even the rest of their lives. Some secrets are hidden for a reason.

©2014 Miranda Hardy (P)2014 Miranda Hardy

Cute!

What did you love best about Cody the Destroyer, King of Toads (Volume 1)?

Cody and Josh seemed like typical boys who wanted to mess up a girls birthday party. They were fun.

Any additional comments?

Cody the Destroyer was a cute kids book about two friends who wanted to be a bit onnery to a girl because they were being forced to go to her birthday party. They decide to bring frogs and they go to find them in the woods.

As a tomboy growing up I think girls might like this, but I know if you have any boys who are becoming listeners that they would enjoy it.

Boys will be boys!

Unhappy about being forced to go to a girl’s birthday party, young Cody and Josh head to the swamplands to get a bucket of toads which they plan to let lose at the party. When the boys get lost, however, the story takes a darker turn.

These mischievous boys are typically naughty and the narrator, Jon Diienno, brings them to life with gleeful petulance. They bicker, plot, explore and double-dare each other, and it’s all captured nicely in Miranda Hardy’s writing and Diienno’s reading.

I had to listen to this short story twice because, in the first run, I was surprised at how dark the story got during the second half, particularly for such a young target audience. The second time around it didn’t seem so tense. Even so, I’d recommend parents listen to it first before deciding if it’s suitable for their own children.

Miranda Hardy is an entertaining writer for young kids, and they should easily relate to the central boys in particular. It’s their story, and the characters are well-developed. The tale is simple but satisfying and, running only 25 minutes, it’s an easy listen for families.

I love kid’s stories. There’s something refreshing and fun about the juvenile characters and the much simpler plots that don’t work in adult books. A well-written children’s book offers a great break from the complexities of adult life and entertainment, and I have enormous respect for an author who can write age-appropriate characters and stories. I firmly believe that writing for kids is much harder than writing for adults. Likewise, for narrators of juvenile fiction, it is much easier to patronise a young target audience than to be able to read with a respect for their intelligence.

Both Hardy and Diienno succeed in, not only presenting a good yarn, but in presenting it just right.

I’ve reviewed other children’s stories on my audiobook site at SaidNotRead dot wordpress dot com so check it out and let me know if you’ve heard the sequel to this book, Cody the Destroyer, Slug Master, which is also available on audible.

Great for young kids!

This is a great audiobook for young children. I played this for my 5-year-old and 6-year-old children while in the car on trips that lasted more than 20 minutes. They were fully entertained by the story and the narration!

Diar of a Wimpy Kid type book

Cody is mad because his mom committed him to go to Briana’s birthday party and Cody hates Briana. So Cody decides to take her a big box of toads for a present. But when he and Josh go into the swamplands to catch the toads they find a really cool cave. It is in this cave that Cody finds a secret that will change things for a long time and Briana’s birthday as well.
This book was cute and I think it reminds me most of the books along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I really liked narrator Jon Diienno’s depiction of how things are, and the voices he gave to everyone. He made me see the story and the world it was happening in through his words and his voice.