Review by jfisher143 -- Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!

[jfisher143]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Sigfried's Smelly Socks by Len Foley is a funny, playful, children's story that finds a way of reminding our little ones the importance of cleanliness, but with a humorous delivery that also captures their interest. Everyone can relate to stinky smells. Good or bad, it's just a natural part of life, and the author uses this topic to appeal to kids and parents alike.

The main character in this story is a young boy named Sigfried. He describes the stinky smells encountered while reading this story, making sure the reader knows the worst smell of all is coming from under his bed, where he has been ignoring the growing mountain of stinky socks. He eventually comes to the realization he should do something about the smell, only, the way he chooses to clean up isn't exactly what you might expect...

I think parents will find this book adorably ironic in the way our kids can sometimes drive us crazy, but sometimes, all you can do is just have a laugh and move on. As a mother of 4 boys, I can tell you, there are times I go in their rooms wearing a surgical face mask to prepare myself for the smells I may encounter. It's usually a daily struggle for most parents, dealing with all the messes and smells our little angels are constantly creating, no matter what age they are.

I really enjoy how this book teaches children the importance of cleanliness and work, in a playful, light-hearted tone that makes the story so much fun to read. The combination of graphic illustrations and real world images is a nice touch. I think it helps with contrast, serving the purpose of creating tangible images against computer image graphics, makes it more visually appealing. Also, when you see the real world image of an item, your brain can connect it to what you know it smells like, even in children, so in that way we are able to connect more with the story. The author's use of alliteration and rhyming work well because it's constant throughout the story, and makes the story flow better when reading aloud.

I would recommend this book mostly for children and parents of children 10 and under. It is perfect as a quick, entertaining bedtime story, and it will hopefully encourage the audience(children specifically) to have sweet dreams of cleaning up stinky messes...At least we can hope. I gave this book a 3 out of 4 rating, mainly because there were a few mistakes I noticed. On page 6 there should be a punctuation change after the last word bread from a period(.) to a question mark (?), since it is asking a question of the reader. On page 18, the word spagetti is misspelled; it should be spaghetti. Otherwise, I have no criticisms of this book; I actually read it to my children at bedtime and they are already asking for it again. In my opinion, the approval of my kids makes this book a keeper, and the reason I recommend this book to anyone looking for an adorable, funny, relatable children's story.

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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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