SOCKSQUATCH

Socksquatch is a creature of few words—“Got sock?” nearly exhausts his vocabulary—but of commanding presence: hairy barrel of a body, with striped antlers coming out of his block head, and primitive, very primitive. One of his socks has gone missing, as socks will do, and Socksquatch is in the market for a replacement. The tale introduces a few friends—Wayne (werewolf), Frank (enstein) and Martin (mummy)—to each of whom Dormer gives a comical twist and to each of whom Socksquatch puts the question: Got sock? Both the narrative and the setting—a medieval castle—are minimal elements in the book, so all expectations fall at the feet of the monsters, and they do not disappoint. They are drawn with a childlike hand, their menace muted, their arms outstretched in classic Boris Karloff mode. Even though their appearances are brief, they express enough character to make young readers wish to hold them dear, and they are ready to give Socksquatch the socks off their feet in the kind of spontaneous generosity that all little monsters need to cultivate. (Picture book. 3-6)