The Green Door
Push and lift, together, or nothing — and the quietest place in Tocko.
Thirteen complete stories, numbers 27-39 of the fifty-two, all of them set in or around The Green Door. 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
27Top Landingfree hereSomebody's coming. Two at a time.Get to the top before the two-at-a-time one goes past you, and you get to hold the roof door.
The Stairs · F03 × R2 · 8 min aloud
28Grate HopOne step wrong and the grate says rain.Get over the grate and back before the grate says rain, and then you get to jump on it.
The Middle · F07 × R5 · 8 min aloud
29Rain DrumMy turn, your turn, wait for the drop.One of us on the bucket at a time, and whoever is on it when the pipe lets go gets the big rain.
The Middle · F07 × R6 · 8 min aloud
30One In TwelveOne in twelve. One forgets the lift.Eleven people do a push and a lift. Catch the one who only shoves, and that one is yours to name.
The Hall · F13 × R8 · 8 min aloud
31Hollow WallKnock while it moves. A knock every floor.Knock on the back wall while the Up-Down is moving, and get a knock back on every floor.
The Up-Down · F09 × R1 · 8 min aloud
32Say The FloorCount the notes, and say the floor.When the Up-Down says its six notes, say the floor before it moves again, and three right in a row wins.
The Up-Down · F10 × R7 · 8 min aloud
33Cupboard PipeCupboard to roof, straight up one pipe.The cupboard hears the roof. Do it backwards, and make the roof hear the cupboard.
The Green Door · F17 × R3 · 8 min aloud
34Pigeon ClapAll at once, or not at all.Find the one sound the pigeons go for, and be standing under them when they all go up.
The Drying Roof · F20 × R8 · 8 min aloud
35One HookTake one down. The board keeps the rest.Only one tapper off the board at a time, and get them all home before the Hall light clicks off.
The Hall · F15 × R6 · 8 min aloud
36Long RingRun the spoon down. The long one's mine.Run the spoon along the hooks in the dark and take down the one that keeps ringing, because that one is yours.
The Hall · F15 × R7 · 8 min aloud
37Backwards BrickTurn the brick over. Now it grinds.Everybody grinds the brick out. Do it backwards, and get it in the other way round to make the wall grind long.
The Back Steps · F25 × R3 · 8 min aloud
38Eyes ShutOne brick grinds. All the rest just knock.Eyes shut, hand on the wall, walk along until you find the one brick that grinds and not one that knocks.
The Back Steps · F25 × R8 · 8 min aloud
39Both HandsA second and a half, and a full tray.Get in before the doors shut, and you only get one and a half seconds to do it.
The Up-Down · F11 × R2 · 8 min aloud
The thirteen tappers in Book three.
One brass disc is struck for every game that gets played, and hung on the board in the Hall.
Questions about Book three.
What is in Tocko Book Three?
Thirteen complete stories, numbers 27-39 of fifty-two, all of them set in or around The Green Door. Push and lift, together, or nothing — and the quietest place in Tocko.
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 13,700 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 In Twelve, Long Ring. They invert the arc — no crisis, nobody loses, and the progress chant runs backwards.
Does anybody lose?
Yes, in 3 of these thirteen: Hollow Wall, Pigeon Clap, Eyes Shut. 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 6 of them — Top Landing, Grate Hop, Hollow Wall, Say The Floor, Eyes Shut, Both Hands. He can be perfectly still or completely out of control and nothing in between.
Can I read one before I buy it?
Yes. Top Landing, story 27, 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 90 pages, 70# uncoated cream, colour throughout, colour throughout. Big type, short lines, and one struck brass tapper opening each story.