3 out of 4 stars
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The book “Sigfried’s Smelly Socks” by Len Foley is dedicated to Becky and Sofia. This is a short story written for young children. It was inspired by a home situation of piles of dirty socks. The smell of socks is compared to a collection of smells one may be subjected to throughout a normal day in a child’s life. These diverse smells are illustrated by the author to enable the child to visualize the rhyme of the story.
The co-relation of each rhyme and illustration is orchestrated to entice the listening and attention of a child between the age of 3 and 9 years old. The Illustration is completed by the author as well. The illustrations are simple and understandable. The author does a fine job of relaying the message of the book in the illustrations. It is apparent from the content of the story that the writer is familiar to the lifestyle of this age group of children in a low to middle class family.
This reviewer likes this book because of the use of everyday smells it relies on to keep the child interested. The reviewer does not like the similarities to the famous child author. It is possible to use similarities effectively but minimally so as to show creativity as well as individual style. The author did go off format briefly in the middle of the story but this reviewer did not find it distracting.
This reviewer will rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It is rated 3 stars and not 2 stars because there was excellent illustration and comical poetic prose. The story was on target and did not go off topic enough to be distracting. The length was acceptable and not too long to keep the attention of an audience of children between 3 and 9 years of age. The rating of 3 and not 4 was decided based on style and flavor of the book. The style resembled that of another famous author so much that it appeared to be copied. There was a need for more author flair in the style and illustration of the book. This could have been accomplished by a change in font and illustration technique. More creativity by the author is called for so it does not appear to be another author’s work.
The book is well constructed. The author has shown a touch of reality and humor in the construction of the book. It is a good addition to a child’s short story collection. A child’s understanding of the story as well as entertainment value is sustained in this book.
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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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