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Class Sets: Toby Alone

Toby Alone

Title: Toby Alone

Author: Timothee de Fombelle

Translator: Sarah Ardizzone

Published: 2006

ISBN: 9781406318036

About the text

Toby Alone is a children's novel by French author Timothee de Fombelle. It was originally published as La Vie suspendue (A Life Suspended), it has been since been translated into 29 languages. The book follows Toby Lolness, who stands just one and a half millimetres tall. He lives in the great oak Tree, where society of miniature people flourishes. 

When Toby was seven years old, his father creates a black box powered by the Tree's sap, but refused to share its secrets with the greedy developers who sought to exploit the Tree's resources. He only wants to prove that the Tree is a living organism. As punishment, their family was exiled to the Low Branches. In the present, when Toby is thirteen, his parents are arrested and thrown into a prison known as the Tumble. Toby himself becomes a fugitive - the most wanted person on the entire Tree.

Toby Alone is followed by its sequel, Toby and the Secrets of the Tree.

Themes

  • Environmentalism
  • Capitalism
  • Nature
  • Friendship

About the author

Timothee de Fombelle is a French playwright and author. He debuted as a playwright in 1990 with La Phare, while his first novel was Toby Alone in 2006. He has gone on to publish four more novels.

Number of Copies Available

21

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