“The Tocks on the Clock” by Jozef K. Richards

The Tocks on the Clock

Jozef K. Richards
Kintou Media Company (2021)
ISBN: 978-1-7377056-1-1
Reviewed by Lydia (age 7) for Reader Views Kids (12/2021)

Did you know that the numbers on a clock have creatures that live in them? I learned that in the story “The Tocks on the Clock,” by Jozef Richards. A little girl named Desi and her pet cat and pet dog explore the land inside a clock where the Tocks live. The pictures are neat to look at for each of the Tocks; they are colorful, and the creatures look crazy!

Desi and her pets go on an adventure with each monster. Each of the Tocks is different from the others; some are scarier looking than others. Some not scary ones are Lo, Slee, Mive, Drix, and Thevin. Some of the scarier-looking ones are Gloor, Yeven, Yate, and Sline. None of them are super-scary but just scary enough that you wouldn’t want to meet them in real life. Desi says that the first Tock is the Phloon at noon who sings sad songs into a spoon that isn’t very scary.

While reading through “The Tocks on the Clock,” I noticed that it is a rhyming book which makes the story easier to understand. I like that the hands on the clocks are monsters – it makes the clock more interesting! I can read this book by myself, but I still ask my mom to read it to me a lot. Kids my age or older will enjoy this book and ask to read it over and over! 

A Note from Mom: I found some similarities in this story to Dr. Seuss’s books with the rhyming and absurd storylines, although “The Tocks on the Clock” is not as long as many of his stories are. The illustrations seemed retro and modern; the monsters on the cover and inside looked like similar color schemes and drawings as “The Hungry Thing” by Ann Seidler and Jan Slepian. The inside illustrated people looked like modern-day cartoons, such as in “Family Guy” or “American Dad.” It looked to me that a picture of Kanye West’s face was on a blimp in one of the pictures. The creature Gloor gave me “Star Wars” vibes. I tried to look for more Easter eggs throughout the book. A Fun fantasy, there is something for all ages in this book!