posted on 25 Oct 2018

Sock Story by C.K. Smouha, illustrated by Eleonora Marton

‘Surely a sock isn’t interesting enough to have a whole story written about it?', you might well ask. But I can reassure you that the sock in this picture book has adventures that might make you look at your socks in a completely different way after reading it.

It seems that Phil and Dale are a devoted pair of red and white socks and they usually enjoy the wash, which is the highlight of their week. Unfortunately everything goes wrong this particular week because, as often happens in my experience, the socks become separated and so it seems that Dale might have to face the rest of his life alone.

The cut out circular door of the washing machine on the cover provides a good focus for what follows and we then see the two socks floating about happily against a highly stylised depiction of water on the front papers.  The first double page spread shows Phil and Dale packed in with other brightly coloured clothes as the door is closed. Who knew just how exciting it must be to be whirled round and round with the socks being free to do tricks like a ‘double axel triple flip’ as the rest of the clothes look on disapprovingly. The exhilaration of the pair continues as the washing machine moves into a noisy spin cycle and they continue their wild antics. But while they wait for the next part of the cycle to start, they lose sight of one another and other socks join in with the general abuse from the other clothes -  it seems that Phil and Dale are widely regarded as show offs. There is however one kindly piece of clothing, a voluminous red and pink shirt,that offers to provide some friendly help and allows Dale to sit in his pocket for the final spin cycle. But once the human hands appear to remove the washing from the machine, poor Dale is left alone inside to worry about his fate as a lone sock:

‘The best I can hope for is to become a sock puppet. Or a golf cosy’.

He is also fretting about why Phil left him:

‘I just assumed he’d always be there for me…’

During the next wash the pair are reunited but since being separated, Dale has been dyed pink and so Phil seems unwilling to resume their relationship. But at heart he is of course the same crazy fun loving sock and so the pair whizz around the spin cycle as before doing clever tricks together. The final pages show them on someone’s feet, both smiling and revelling in their oddness.

Obviously, this isn't a story rich in plot as not an awful lot actually happens other than a couple of wash cycles seen from the perspective of a sock. But, having said that, it is rich in other ways. We are treated to the rollercoaster of life’s emotions – from the ecstatic heights of sharing pleasurable experiences with a friend to the depths of despair and anxiety when it seems that the friendship is forever lost.

I really liked the overall design of the book with its bold, colourful blocks of colour and interesting layout on the different pages. I think that it would inspire some interesting artwork from young children and would also relate well to mathematical work in Early Years educational settings. Meanwhile, I feel the need to go and check my sock drawer to check that they are all happily paired.

Karen Argent

October 2018

(Click on any image below to view them in a slide-show format)