2 out of 4 stars
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Len Foley introduces kids of all ages to the silly, stinky, story found in Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! Sigfried takes readers along on a humorous adventure to solve an unpleasant problem. Through a series of silly considerations, Sigfried and his friends seek to find the source of an overwhelming stench.
This book offers a delightful story that can be read in under five minutes. The amusing expressions on the faces of each of the characters are sure to induce laughter. Parents and teachers of younger children will appreciate the learning opportunities afforded, which cover color recognition and item identification. I like these aspects of the book.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things I do not like about Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! While some children may enjoy the simplicity of the silly story, the illustrations are lacking. Artistic upgrades, specifically to the background of each page, would drastically improve the overall feel of the story. The author uses two different styles of images throughout the book. Choosing one consistent style would eliminate distractions and further enhance the illustrations.
Furthermore, I have a minor concern regarding the cover of the book. Sigfried graces the cover surrounded by what appear to be girls’ socks. As an adult woman, I feel boys’ socks, or a mix of the two, would be a better representation of Sigfried’s socks. However, I am confident most children wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the current illustration.
Near the end of the book, Sigfried locates the smelly socks. Unfortunately, the smelly socks are missing from the illustration. A round of image edits would prevent errors like this from occurring. Another example occurs near the middle of the book when socks are mentioned in the plural form but illustrated as a single sock.
A focused round of editing would help alleviate misspelled words and lacking or improper punctuation. Additionally, the author attempts to use a rhythmic pattern throughout the story. In the beginning, the rhyming pattern is short but becomes drawn out later in the story. The inconsistent rhyming pattern doesn’t allow the story to flow as smoothly as it could. Moreover, sight words appear in matching font colors. For example, the word red is a red font. However, the blue sock appears to be pink or purple, instead of blue. Oversights such as these, as well as others discussed above, allow for poor learning opportunities for young children.
Due to the errors and issues discussed above, I rate Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! 2 out of 4 stars. Although there is a lot of room for improvement, I whole-heartedly believe children between the ages of two and seven years old will enjoy this witty, twenty-seven-page story.
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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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