Review by InStoree -- Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 11 Mar 2019, 12:40

[Following is a volunteer review of "Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!" by Len Foley.]

1 out of 4 stars

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I intentionally chose to write a review about Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! by Len Foley, hoping to develop my nieces’ moral education. At first, I found the warning note amusing: 'Everyone says this book stinks! Hold your nose…’ I thought it would be a useful educative tool about cleanliness, shown in a hilarious style. But that was far from the truth. I rate this book with 1 out of 4 stars, for the reasons I have outlined below.

The first sentence of the book generates a false mental impression for children: ‘Something stinks about this book. Go on and take a whiff.’ If I would have held the printed version in my hands, most probably I would have put a clothes-pin on my nose, after such a firm statement. In this case, it wasn’t necessary because I had the digital version, so rationally, I wouldn’t smell any 'reek' from the laptop. As this book is recommended for kids aged 3-7, I can only imagine how a curious child will really ‘go on and take a whiff.’ It misleads youthful perception from the very beginning.

The book has 27 pages and is fashioned with pictures, illustrations, and rhyming words. Sigfried, the main character, is a boy who tries to figure out what stinks so bad in his book and in his room. He indicates the possibilities that could be causing a bad scent on each page of his malodorous book: a ‘rotten banana’ from leftover food, or forgotten ‘squish-mushed chewing gum.’ He is not the only character who takes part in making the book's pages look and sound so gross. His sister uses one page to ‘wipe her behind’ after she poops, and his brother ‘wipes his nose’ with another page. I realize that this childish witticism could be fun for them, but what is beyond my understanding is why the author would involve an adult (Uncle Kato) in the storyline, exemplifying the exact same irresponsible behavior? What's the message for the children? Is it educative for a 3-year-old child to see an adult causing a ‘ketchup, sow lard and baked beans splotch’ on a book’s page? If adults and children have the same immature behavior, then who is going to educate us?

Next, the story is transferred from Sigfried’s book to his room, which has a smell that ‘burns the hair’ on his head. It was from the unwashed socks that he has hidden beneath his bed.

Len Foley provides his own sketches to illustrate the text and complete the picture. They are funny caricatures. But was it necessary to draw a dog peeing in Sigfried’s mouth, only to express a ‘yellow stain’ on another stinky page? This time his message adopts the form of the grotesque. Is this hilarious for kids? Maybe yes. But is it beneficial for their intellectual growth and personal evolution? I don’t think so.

The story gets more ambiguous when he says, ‘compared to everything else in this book... my socks do not cause much trouble.’ Hence, is there a puzzling problem with the smelly socks or not? Why emphasize their importance by including them in the book´s title? I don't want to be a spoiler, but I must say that the cleanliness lesson is embedded in another confusing situation which will be hard to explain to a toddler. Is this a fruitful method for indoctrinating a child concerning the importance of cleanliness?

I would not recommend Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! to any parents or educators. I don't think kids will actually absorb valuable information at all from this work. I’ve also detected a spelling error (spagetti, which should be spaghetti) which will misinform the child who´s learning English (or Italian, in the case of this word). There are other more efficient and positive ways than this book, to influence children into growing up to be clean-as-a-lotus.

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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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jgrimshaw · Post by **jgrimshaw** » 17 Mar 2019, 21:52

Wow, this book sounds like a cringe-fest. Although it definitely sounds like something my little sisters would laugh at, I agree that children's books should have a moral and not just be funny.

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 17 Mar 2019, 23:43

jgrimshaw wrote: ↑17 Mar 2019, 21:52 Wow, this book sounds like a cringe-fest. Although it definitely sounds like something my little sisters would laugh at, I agree that children's books should have a moral and not just be funny.

Yes, it could be hilarious for children, but also confusing. I think between 3 and 7 years, a child's mind is like a sponge, absorbing everything. Thank you for your comment! I appreciate.

unamilagra · Post by **unamilagra** » 18 Mar 2019, 10:12

Sounds like this one was real dud for you. I have two young kids and I always like to read them books that contain a positive message. It sounds like the one the author attempted to include in this one got lost in the grossness and bad behavior, and probably would have been too elusive for little kids to understand anyway. Thanks for an honest review.

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 18 Mar 2019, 11:32

I read this book, and I can't remember a dog peeing in the child's mouth... I'm not sure if I have the book anymore, but I'm surprised more people didn't point that image out.... With regards to giving the children a false impression, because he says, "take a whiff", I think that this could be considered a lesson in using your imagination. We have to imagine sensory effects in literature all the time...
I do however agree that the moral lesson about cleanliness could have been brought across more effectively.
Thanks for the review.

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 20 Mar 2019, 05:43

unamilagra wrote: ↑18 Mar 2019, 10:12 Sounds like this one was real dud for you. I have two young kids and I always like to read them books that contain a positive message. It sounds like the one the author attempted to include in this one got lost in the grossness and bad behavior, and probably would have been too elusive for little kids to understand anyway. Thanks for an honest review.

On a different approach, it might serve parents to use Sigfried´s bad example with their children in the future – “Clean up your room! – Do you remember Sigfried?” But, I would not recommend this method either. I believe that we can present this nasty human's naturalness (so they could be aware of it), but if we practice it as a tool of growth, it might be puzzling for their understanding. It really depends on how each parent defines education. Some could find it useful. Thank you for taking your time to read my review, unamilagra!

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 20 Mar 2019, 07:57

Jaime Lync wrote: ↑18 Mar 2019, 11:32 I read this book, and I can't remember a dog peeing in the child's mouth... I'm not sure if I have the book anymore, but I'm surprised more people didn't point that image out.... With regards to giving the children a false impression, because he says, "take a whiff", I think that this could be considered a lesson in using your imagination. We have to imagine sensory effects in literature all the time...
I do however agree that the moral lesson about cleanliness could have been brought across more effectively.
Thanks for the review.

Before I select this book, I've read the description and a few reviews with a good rated. I got interested in it. I was also surprised to discover this implied illustration (page 8 in PDF format). Firstly, I thought it's the 'intoxicated' adult's mind that reacted at the image. I have two nieces (7 and 9 years old) and I got involved in their and other children's growth as a daily educator. I came to know my eldest niece's judgment and her level of understanding, so I presented this book to her and she also noticed this image with the same tone. After a deep digging search and reading more reviews, I've noticed that there are others who also observed this picture and perceive it with the same content. Therefore, I considered to include this aspect in my review, as a piece of information for parents and educators.

I agree with you, that literature is a wonderful tool to expand our creative side. Children's book with stories about fairies, dragons, heroes, unicorns, magical power's and so on, has a considerable and favorable influence on their imagination. When I said about the false mental impression that misleads youth perception, I meant the strong statement that it is made from the very beginning of the story. Indeed, our sensory receptor react to the fictional image that artistic literature drags us in, which is why I found the "Go on" voice, a strong impulse.

Thank you for checking out my review and sharing your thoughts, Jaime!

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 20 Mar 2019, 23:55

InStoree wrote: ↑20 Mar 2019, 05:43
unamilagra wrote: ↑18 Mar 2019, 10:12 Sounds like this one was real dud for you. I have two young kids and I always like to read them books that contain a positive message. It sounds like the one the author attempted to include in this one got lost in the grossness and bad behavior, and probably would have been too elusive for little kids to understand anyway. Thanks for an honest review.
On a different approach, it might serve parents to use Sigfried´s bad example with their children in the future – “Clean up your room! – Do you remember Sigfried?” But, I would not recommend this method either. I believe that we can present this nasty human's naturalness (so they could be aware of it), but if we practice it as a tool of growth, it might be puzzling for their understanding. It really depends on how each parent defines education. Some could find it useful. Thank you for taking your time to read my review, unamilagra!

I agree with you... a sword can be used to protect or kill and so can almost every other resource we have... the tool is not greater than the wielder... so for some children, this may very well be a good book choice but for others, it would not be helpful

Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 15 Apr 2019, 23:51

This sounds like a pretty gross book to read, and, then, to learn that it isn't about the smelly socks at all! Thank you for the review!

labibliofile · Post by **labibliofile** » 16 Apr 2019, 00:27

Woah. I think the author couldn't achieve what the book was initially set out to do, those are pretty gross descriptions and images and I would definitely not want children to learn that it is funny to spoil books and not take care of them! A negative impact is way worse than no impact at all! I guess this just goes on to show how important it is for adults to monitor what books the children choose so that they don't create a negative impact on them! I can just imagine how irksome it must have been to read and review this book! Thank you for your efforts and warning us about it!

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 16 Apr 2019, 11:21

Prisallen wrote: ↑15 Apr 2019, 23:51 This sounds like a pretty gross book to read, and, then, to learn that it isn't about the smelly socks at all! Thank you for the review!

Thank you for stopping by, Prisallen! The unrefined behaviour from this book was "highly coloured" for me.

InStoree · Post by **InStoree** » 16 Apr 2019, 11:49

labibliofile wrote: ↑16 Apr 2019, 00:27 Woah. I think the author couldn't achieve what the book was initially set out to do, those are pretty gross descriptions and images and I would definitely not want children to learn that it is funny to spoil books and not take care of them! A negative impact is way worse than no impact at all! I guess this just goes on to show how important it is for adults to monitor what books the children choose so that they don't create a negative impact on them! I can just imagine how irksome it must have been to read and review this book! Thank you for your efforts and warning us about it!

I'm sure any reviewer would do the same. I agree that a negative example it might not be the best approach, but I see parents and educators who still, practice it. I know it was part of my growing too

. Thank you for taking the time for my review, labibliofile! It means a lot.