Featured Official Review: Sigfried's Smelly Socks!

[MarisaRose]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!" by Len Foley.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!, written and illustrated by Len Foley, is a picture book geared towards young children aged three to seven years old. The story follows Sigfried, a young boy who is desperately trying to figure out why his book smells so much! In this book, the reader joins Sigfried as he explores all the various stinky and gross smells he can think of while he tries to get to the bottom of his problem. Sigfried’s Smelly Socks! is meant to be a humorous page turner. The book is twenty-six pages long and includes many full-page illustrations.

First off, the artwork in this book is nothing short of eye-catching: the characters are drawn in a unique and funny manner, the colors are bright and contrast well, and the images can clearly be deciphered without reading the accompanying words. Further, the illustrations take up the full page, and the corresponding narrative is expertly placed so the words stand out but do not take away from the beautiful images. Overall, the illustrations were my favorite part of this book; however, be warned, some readers may find the images a little gross!

The story in this book is fairly basic; the narrative mostly focuses on describing gross-smelling things. I think some children and parents may be put off by the barrage of grossness, but there are definitely some youngsters who will find this book hilarious. Topics like dog pee, rotten foods, dirty diapers and, obviously, smelly socks are just some of the smelly and gross topics discussed in this book, nothing appears to be taboo for Sigfried! Additionally, the story has a cute and funny ending; as an adult I couldn’t contain my laughter as I flipped to the last page.

The narrative is told through short, rhyming paragraphs. I found the majority of the rhymes were clever and fun to read aloud. There were a few vocabulary terms used that the intended age group may not know. Words like ‘blubber lumps,’ ‘lard,’ and ‘kraut’ may be unfamiliar to children and will have to be explained. However, there weren’t too many of these words in the text, so the story should read fluidly for most children. Additionally, there aren’t many words on each page of this book, so early-readers should have no problem reading portions of the book, if not the whole book, independently.

Although I must admit that this book really wasn’t what I was expecting, I think there are a lot of young children (and adults) who will find this to be a laugh-out-loud read. Adults and children can read this book together and laugh and gawk at all the gross images the author has expertly illustrated throughout its pages. Since there are really no downsides to this book, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. However, I recommend this book to parents and children who find gross things funny, and I recommend this book be avoided by those that are easily put off by rotten food, bodily functions and reading about other gross smells!

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Sigfried’s Smelly Socks!
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Like MarisaRose's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I love it already! The alliteration of the title is fun! Since you say that you couldn't helping laughing, I want to pick this up just for the fun of it! I don't have kids, but I like to be a kid at heart! Thanks for the cute story!

[Mary Garrison]

I think this will be a great book to use while I teach children about senses. Thanks for the fun review.

[Mercelle]

Let me get this book and see whether the grossness will be funny. I agree with you that it is not for everyone.

[Lildivadesi]

I loved reading your point of view and opinions on this book. I'd appreciate you reading my review of this book to compare opinions!

[Manang Muyang]

I think I will have fun with this book. I'm sure the ebook will not smell, but I wonder if the paper book will. (Magazines are able to do that with perfume ads. However, I don't know if that will help to sell this book, lol.)

Thanks for the fun review, MarisaRose!

[VanessaAisel]

I love this! Such a simple concept of finding out what stinks and turning it into a child little adventure! Sounds and looks like a lot of fun! (I'm that adult that still giggles at farts!) Thanks for your great review!

[MsTri]

I've actually already downloaded this from Amazon, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Now I'll surely have to because I'm firmly in the camp of "loves gross things" (in fact, I've been collecting all manner of 'poo' stuff, lately; pillows, PJs, keychains, etc, but I digress). Thanks for the awesome review!

[Sweetpee]

Awesome job! Your review gave me a clear picture of what the book was about and how the illustrations looked.

[inaramid]

I'm grinning like a maniac already. What a fun idea, engaging the sense of smell through visual means!

[Kxr3536]

I think my son Adrian would love the illustrations! Am excited to read it to him and see his reaction .Thanks for the in depth description of the book .

[Anjum]

I wonder how the author was able to merge grossness and humor together. He must be really artistic!

[BoyLazy]

I like humor from gross things. I too read this book and really had a good laugh.
Please check out my review of this book and share your comments
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=52548

[Insightsintobooks729]

My son would laugh out loud at this book. I think I'll pick it up for him. Thank you for the review.

[story3girl]

I really hoped that this book would be funny like you said, but my daughter and I both just kind of found it to be meh. Great, thorough review though!