4 out of 4 stars
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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks by Len Foley follows Sigfried’s dangerous journey of facing a variety of odors that are present on the pages of this book as well as his socks.
Every time Sigfried turns a page in this book, he is greeted by a stain that carries an unflattering smell. It just seems that the odors continue to get worse as Sigfried progresses throughout the story. He seems to have no trouble recalling the origin of each stain as well as who was responsible for causing the damages to each page. He also is forced to make the significant comparison between the smells of the pages on this book to his very own socks.
I love the entire concept and originality of this book. Admittedly, when I was a child I didn't treat my books with proper care. I had a tendency of reading with greasy fingers as well as dropping my books in random places when I was finished with them. The pages of those books were damaged to an extent based on my carelessness. In my profession, I work with young children and often observe similar tendencies involving the mistreatment of books. The author Len Foley creatively takes the approach of writing a story that specifically focuses on the stains and odors that may result due to carelessness . He brilliantly juxtaposes the smell that's derived from the book pages to the smell of old and dirty socks to illustrate the magnitude of that issue.
This book will appeal to both young children(6 and under) and their parents because every page will cause them to have some sort of strong reaction. The opening page prepares readers for their journey with the clever line “Something stinks about this book”( Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!). Subsequent pages are composed of illustrations mixed with real-life images of stains forcing readers to imagine and recall specific smells. It’s no secret that younger audiences are often amused by jokes relating to foot and toilet humor. Len Foley cleverly embeds those categories of humor while simultaneously addressing other odors that aren’t often mentioned in other children’s books. Each page will cause a typical child who appreciates this type of humor to smile, laugh, and simultaneously be disgusted. Adults will appreciate the overall theme as well as enjoy the motifs and witty remarks that are placed throughout the story.
I rate Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! 4 out of 4 stars because of the originality of the theme and the overall execution and narration of the story. Every grammatical error displayed in this book is intentional and necessary to accurately demonstrate the dialogue exhibited by the young narrator. Len Foley’s use of a child narrator helps to immediately grasp the attention of younger readers who will feel as if Sigfried is embarking on this journey with them. I would strongly recommend parents with young children to purchase this book.
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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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