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LITTLE SOCK MAKES A FRIEND

Name: LITTLE SOCK MAKES A FRIEND
Author: Kia Heise
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1126-4

From the Little Sock series

by Kia Heise & Christopher D. Park ; illustrated by Christopher D. Park ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2021

Too thin to stand alone.

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The footloose sock introduced in Little Sock (2019) finds his way back to Sock City.

As in Little Sock’s first book, the authors are evidently so dazzled by their premise that they forget to add a plot beyond what the title gives away. Making his way again through the tunnel at the back of the clothes dryer, Little Sock arrives in Sock City and gradually nerves himself to ask another solitary sock whether she’d like to be his friend. When she responds “Hmmm…Sure!” they go off to enjoy one side-by-side activity (playing with drones) and two shared ones, boating and frisbee. “Making new friends is fun.” Well, sure. Sock City is again depicted in busy crowd scenes as a pleasingly diverse place where none of the residents match another, but though Little Sock’s new buddy is at least individualized enough to be taller than he is, she never does acquire a name. Visually, all that really sets this apart from the previous outing is her drone—which is big and black and looks like it was stolen from the military. Sock-centric sagas that succeed include C.K. Smouha’s Sock Story (2019, illustrated by Eleanora Martin), and Jennifer Sattler’s One Red Sock (2019); try them on instead. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 83% of actual size.)

Too thin to stand alone. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: March 15, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5341-1126-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE SOCK
by Kia Heise & Christopher D. Park ; illustrated by Christopher D. Park

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PUG BLASTS OFF

From the Diary of a Pug series , Vol. 1

by Sonia Sander & Kyla May ; illustrated by Kyla May ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

Totes adorbs.

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A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.

Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.

Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

From the Tiny T. Rex series

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)