The Middle
The courtyard, the lemon tree, and a voice that comes back exactly once.
Thirteen complete stories, numbers 14-26 of the fifty-two, all of them set in or around The Middle. Nothing carries over from the book before it and nothing is owed to the one after, so this is a perfectly good place to start.
The thirteen games
14Half A Doorfree hereYou take the push, I take the lift.One of us does the push and one of us does the lift, and nobody gets to do both halves.
The Hall · F13 × R6 · 8 min aloud
15Bang Going UpEverybody bangs it down. We bang it up.Everybody in the world bangs the bin lid shut, so we are going to bang it open instead.
The Back Steps · F24 × R3 · 8 min aloud
16Twelve ThumpsTwelve flaps in a row. Twelve thumps.Push all twelve letterbox flaps in one run down the Hall and get twelve thumps out of them.
The Hall · F12 × R8 · 8 min aloud
17Over My BedPut your foot where I put my hand.I put my hand flat on the ceiling, and Hod has to stamp on exactly that spot until it knocks back.
Number Three · F28 × R1 · 8 min aloud
18One PullOne pull. Then call it wet or dry.Give the line one pull, call it wet or dry, then go up and see if you were right.
The Drying Roof · F19 × R7 · 8 min aloud
19Two GulpsTap off up there, two gulps down here.Shut yourself in the linen cupboard, get somebody to turn a tap off, and the roof will say gulp, gulp.
The Green Door · F17 × R1 · 8 min aloud
20Every WindowCall up to the windows. No time left.Stand in the Middle and call up until a window answers you, and you only get until the windows shut.
The Middle · F08 × R2 · 8 min aloud
21Both Hands FullBoth hands full, and there goes the squeak.Get the eleventh stair to squeak while you are the one standing on it.
The Stairs · F01 × R1 · 8 min aloud
22Say SpoonThe Middle only gives back your last word.Shout as much as you like in the Middle, but the word you want back has to be the last one.
The Middle · F05 × R4 · 8 min aloud
23Sleeping BrickPast the brick, and not a sound.Carry the whole lot down the Back Steps in one trip and get past the loose brick without a single grind.
The Back Steps · F25 × R5 · 8 min aloud
24Hod's SqueakOne foot, one squeak. Then the other foot.Only one foot on the eleventh stair at a time, and everybody has to come away with a squeak of their own.
The Stairs · F01 × R6 · 8 min aloud
25One ClunkTogether, and the door goes clunk.Push and lift at the very same moment and the green door says one clunk instead of a rattle.
The Green Door · F16 × R4 · 8 min aloud
26Peg By PegHands on the line. Never on the wheel.Bring the whole loaded line in peg by peg with your hands on the line, and the pulley never gets to squeal.
The Drying Roof · F19 × R5 · 8 min aloud
The thirteen tappers in Book two.
One brass disc is struck for every game that gets played, and hung on the board in the Hall.
Questions about Book two.
What is in Tocko Book Two?
Thirteen complete stories, numbers 14-26 of fifty-two, all of them set in or around The Middle. The courtyard, the lemon tree, and a voice that comes back exactly once.
Do I have to read the Tocko books in order?
No. There is no story arc in season one, on purpose. Every story is complete, nothing carries over, and story eight still works after story fifty because nothing changed in between except how many brass discs are hanging on a hook.
How long does one story take to read out loud?
About 8 minutes. The thirteen in this book run to roughly 13,500 words and about 104 minutes of reading aloud in total.
What age is it for?
3–6, read aloud. The sentences are short enough for a three-year-old to join in on, and each story has one line that comes back three times so they can.
Are any of them quiet enough for bedtime?
2 of the thirteen are Quiet Stories: One Pull, One Clunk. They invert the arc — no crisis, nobody loses, and the progress chant runs backwards.
Does anybody lose?
Yes, in 4 of these thirteen: Over My Bed, Every Window, Sleeping Brick, Peg By Peg. Losing a game you made up yourself is an ordinary Tuesday, and the story sits with that instead of fixing it in the last line.
Which is the loudest one?
Hod from upstairs wins outright in 2 of them — Say Spoon, Sleeping Brick. He can be perfectly still or completely out of control and nothing in between.
Can I read one before I buy it?
Yes. Half A Door, story 14, is on this site in full — the whole story, the same words that are in the paperback.
What is the book itself like?
A 7 × 9 in paperback, about 88 pages, 70# uncoated cream, colour throughout, colour throughout. Big type, short lines, and one struck brass tapper opening each story.