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thetoypress.bsky.social
The Toy Press 🍩🦜🍑🌻🪐🛼
@thetoypress.bsky.social
330 followers 200 following 110 posts
Printed magazine for kids aged 10 and under. Submissions are closed. Editions 1-7 can be purchased online at: www.thetoypress.com/shop
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
A short holiday poem in response to the #wordoftheweek from @thetoypress.bsky.social

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #poetryforchildren #poetryforkids
Why We Spent Christmas at Gran’s House “Let’s get a real Christmas tree this year!” Dad said. “It’ll be just like we’re living during pioneer times.” Now his hands are sticky with gallons of sap The living room floor is a carpet of pine needles And we suspect a raccoon is hiding in the branches Why else would the tree keep hissing at us like that? ©Shaun Jex
December 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
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dreambeastpoems.bsky.social
A poem inspired by my old Nan who was obsessed with both planting lipstick kisses on my face and ruffling up my cool teenage hairstyles #wordoftheweek #poems4kids @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social #granpoem #lipstick #red #sticky @troikabooks.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
I wonder if eagle-eyed #KidLit types/fans of @thetoypress.bsky.social can work out what theme I originally wrote this poem for?

#Sticky #WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #WritingPrompt #PoetryForKids #PoetryForChildren #PoetryCommunity
Is This a Hobby? “Picking your nose is not a hobby,” says mum, but she's just being snobby. I checked with the police and it's not a crime, plus it keeps me full ‘til dinner time. Netflix? “Not a hobby either.” Do you understand that? No, me neither. So I sat upstairs and wrote her these words And it turns out that poetry is not just for nerds!
December 9, 2025 at 10:10 AM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Here is your #wordoftheweek!

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
December 8, 2025 at 11:11 AM
thetoypress.bsky.social
If you are doing some #Christmasshopping on this dreary Sunday, do consider adding The Toy magazine to your haul. These colourful booklets make the perfect stocking filler for children under 10! Visit our web shop via the link in bio.

#Christmas #GiftIdeas #StockingFillers #shopsmall
December 7, 2025 at 9:50 AM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
A day late, but here's my take on @thetoypress.bsky.social #wordoftheweek

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #writingprompt #poetryforkids
Cookie Dough, Sweet Cookie Dough Cookie dough, sweet cookie dough, oh, how I adore you Let’s sneak a spoonful, a small cookie preview Gather ‘round the oven while Mom tries to bake See how many nibbles we manage to take And as we keep stealing, Mom’s patience is running low She starts to shout, and she says, “Dear, get out! You’re much worse than the children, you know!” But listen to Dad, there’s much fun to be had Sneaking big bites of raw cookie dough © Shaun Jex
December 2, 2025 at 8:39 PM
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dreambeastpoems.bsky.social
This is dear to me. As a teacher, the power of #PlayDoh
never fails to astound me, especially for my non-verbal kids. And one song we all love singing: You Are My Sunshine - so I combined the two #playdough #Dough #poetrycommunity #poems4kids #poetryforchildren #SEND
December 2, 2025 at 7:32 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Yes, I did watch The Sound of Music recently, how could you tell?
@thetoypress.bsky.social #WordOfTheWeek #Dough
#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Dough-Ray-Mii Dough, some bread, some sourdough bread Ray, had Georgia on his mind Mii, an avatar’s big head Fart, it comes from your behind Sow, some seeds to spread about La, is half of a friend of Po Tee, a shirt with Homer’s shout That will bring us back to Doh!
December 2, 2025 at 10:22 AM
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danigracewrites.bsky.social
Enchanting Treats

#Dough of anticipation
Stacks up imaginations
With holiday creations—
Inside yummy pies,
Sugar cookie sheets wide,
and breads on the rise before hungry eyes
Spying ovens glow &
Sprinkles of sugary snow
Enough to make Santa go "Ho, ho, ho whoa!"

@thetoypress.bsky.social
#kidlit
December 1, 2025 at 4:52 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Happy 1st December! Here is your #wordoftheweek!

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
December 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
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dreambeastpoems.bsky.social
Inspired by the children I teach - making sense of the world with their glorious imaginations #wordprompt #imagination #poems4kids #watercycle #water #poemsforkids
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Lots of kinds of #Cycle to choose from for @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. So I didn't.

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
The Life Cycle of a Poem Motorcycle Riding fast Unicycle Clown flies past Spin cycle Wash with haste Recycle Eco waste Water cycle Land, air, sea News cycle Update me! Batcycle Comic fun Broken cycle My job’s done
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Thanks to the @thetoypress.bsky.social for a brand-new #wordoftheweek. This week, the word is "cycle," and it got me to wondering...

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit
The Ulster Cycle At home, I learned that tricycles have not two wheels but three I heard the explanation, and it all made sense to me And so a unicycle uses just one wheel, not two But what exactly does the stinking Ulster Cycle do? Poem © Shaun Jex
November 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Hello, here is your #wordoftheweek!

#wordprompt #writingprompt #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren #poetryforkids
November 24, 2025 at 7:55 AM
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kaymedway.bsky.social
#wordoftheweek #poetry #poem
Ship of Heather and Rose by Kay Medway A spray of thin stems of white heather flowers, luckiest and already with a rose, in Trafalgar Square from a flower seller to us on a bench. A dark burgundy rose, the colour of her bonnet, her dress, her basket abundant, her quick movements with a smile for us. With coins in her palm she walks away, leaving flowers in our hands, suited to our sadness, to set off in a ship on the fountain. The ship we weave for flowers will bob in fountain water, travelling with rose and heather, bringing back wishes proved real in November sunlight.
November 17, 2025 at 7:37 PM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Another wonderful #wordoftheweek from @thetoypress.bsky.social . This one sent me a a bit of a voyage!

#kidlit #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren
Put To Sea The maple leaves sail on the breeze Like ships that ride a gentle wave Far from their home up in the trees The maple leaves sail on the breeze Wherever the West Wind decrees They’ll go like sailors bold and brave The maple leaves sail on the breeze Like ships that ride a gentle wave © Shaun Jex
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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johndredge.bsky.social
@thetoypress.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Hello, here is your #wordoftheweek!
(Amended slightly due to repetition)

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetrycommunity #poetryforchildren
#illustrationcommunity #illustrationprompt #kidlit
November 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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kaymedway.bsky.social
#wordoftheweek #poetry #poem
Take notice especially of the tapered points on the tips of garden grass. They are green and able to recompose, spring back again, even if their place is on the path that sings for you to go out and walk among animal prints and tracks. Ask outside what it hears: insects, weather, sheep, games we still or sometimes play, or a villager on his daily dusk wander. Record what the stems listen to. Track down a favourite song of cup-shaped petals hums, hymns, riffs, or tunes. Put it in a poem. Take any key of a keyboard, a drum sound from a button of special effects if you wish. Ask about the children who ask to learn to play when they visit their grandparents. Observe how they fix and turn the baubles, so they are not left in a shatter when they decorate the tree. by Kay Medway
November 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
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ianbrownlie.bsky.social
Time to get back on #track with @thetoypress.bsky.social's #WordOfTheWeek. Or is it?

#WritingCommunity #WritingForChildren #PoetryCommunity #PoetryForKids #KidLit #WordPrompt
Do You Really Want to Get Back on Track? Like a train tied to stations, in the same old locations, always on fixed durations, with no chance of vacation. Is there not some temptation to resist this stagnation? Perhaps instead take advantage of coming off the rails. Glide over the countryside, towards a port. Chug up to a ferry, and take a trip overseas. Join a traffic jam and blare your superior train horn, then break free and pick up speed. Do the locomotive in a town you don't know the name of. Head deep underground. Take flight, if you can, or simply jump up and feel the air step aside as you rise. And then, one day, return to your rails. Or don't.
November 11, 2025 at 10:02 AM
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shaunjexauthor.bsky.social
Thanks to @thetoypress.bsky.social for another #wordoftheweek

This week's poem is based on actual events.

You know...more or less.

#poetry #poetrycommunity #kidlit #poetryforkids #writingcommunity
Why Sasquatch Split Town Last night I saw ol’ Sasquatch Down by the railroad track He told me, “I’m leaving town And won’t be coming back ‘Round here they call me Bigfoot Though I try to explain My foot size is quite normal And my first name is Wayne…” © Shaun Jex
November 10, 2025 at 8:35 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
Thank you for all your supportive comments on our post yesterday.

Here is your #wordoftheweek!

#writingcommunity #writingforchildren #writingprompt #poetryforkids #poetryforchildren #poetrycommunity
November 10, 2025 at 8:39 AM
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sconnor7.bsky.social
Late poem for @thetoypress.bsky.social prompt, written from the experience of putting little ones to bed on Bonfire Night.
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
thetoypress.bsky.social
We would usually have opened up submissions again by now, but we are taking a pause to think about what's next.

For the past few editions, we haven't recouped all of our costs and this is largely down to the increasing expense of sending out contributor copies...
November 9, 2025 at 12:51 PM
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rburrows.bsky.social
Thank you so much @chrisarnoldinc.bsky.social #BBCUpload for airing my little beetle poem and friends last night!
It was written originally for @thetoypress.bsky.social #wordoftheweek #canter

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... It’s about 16.45m in.
November 7, 2025 at 6:09 PM