Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Tale of the Terrible Secret by Kristina Stephenson
| Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Tale of the Terrible Secret by Kristina Stephenson | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Kerry King
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| Summary: It seems something dreadful has happened in the tall, tall tower (with the pointy roof) and the only person who can put things right is - you guessed it - our very own honourable, feisty and brave young hero, Sir Charlie Stinky Socks! A tale of pluck and courage for the pre-schooler in your life with fabulous flaps and magnificent illustrations. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: November 2011 |
| Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd | |
| ISBN: 978-1405253970 | |
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The brave and bold Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and his companions - who are, as I am sure you already know by now, his good grey mare and his pet cat, Envelope - are led to a castle that teeters on top of a hill from which strange cries are heard. Sir Charlie knows that even though he is a bit scared, he must be brave and put right the terrible thing that has happened in the tall, tall tower (with the pointy roof). And so our hero's tale begins…
Joyfully, the story unfolds before your very eyes. And I mean the pages actually, literally unfold, with the aid of double page, sumptuously illustrated flaps that rather deliciously have little nibbles taken out of them.
Now, Sir Charlie is a very brave young knight and he will need to be, because to be quite honest with you, this book is a little bit scary in places – to the point where we have all decided that this is not a bedtime book in our house. When our hero and his chums reach the creepy castle, they must enchant the gargoyles, making them sing before Sir Charlie can chop his way through the dangerous weeds. And when Master Stinky Socks suddenly falls into the dungeon, we had a moment of relatively high anxiety for a four year old, but thankfully, the author has the presence of mind to give Charlie (and the listener) something to do (and think about) other than the fact he has actually fallen into a dungeon, by making him uncover a terrible secret (which actually is key to the story's message – in that it really turns out to be not so terrible after all), but I won't spoil the surprise that unfurls from this beautiful book like a treasure map (or, if you need something more realistic to compare it to mums and dads, think Michelin Routemap of Southern Provence or The Illustrated British Ordnance Survey of Cornish B Roads) as that's half the fun in reading it.
With gloriously long and engaging sentences that sprawl across the flappage, both you and your little one cannot fail to be captivated by this book. That said and as mentioned previously, it's not a bedtime read (for one, it's too long for the end of the day in my humble opinion) because more relevantly to us, the new and interesting monsters du jour – the Gargoyles – needed some explanation and a creepy castle is not really the kind of mental territory I want introduced to my daughter just before she closes her eyes (castles, for my daughter, are mostly pink and are where princesses in pretty dresses live). However, as a daytime read or a group read, it's utterly perfect, because the flaps require quite some going over to consume every morsel of fabulousness and there is plenty of fun in squidging up against your best friend and squealing in shared delighted horror.
This is my first Stinky Socks outing, but I'm told that the Sir Charlie Stinky Socks (isn't that just the most irresistible name to have if you are a pre-schooler?) books are a huge hit with the boys – presumably in the same way that all the female focused pre-schooler icons like Dora are a massive hit with the girls – and I can quite see why… Sir Charlie is easy to identify with and his heroic escapades are eminently emulate-able and that, my friends, is a winning formula.
In summary, though I have seen some mixed reviews, I must recommend this book as a terrific tale that is lively and fun, packed with twisty plots (unusual in a pre-schooler tome) and with a lovely message – if something is troubling you it's always better not to keep it as a terrible secret.
By way of further reading, I would suggest Don't Invite Dinosaurs To Dinner by Neil Griffiths and Peggy Collins because it, too, is riotously colourful and more of the same flap-filled fun. Similarly, if these flappy books are your little ones' thing you ought to take a look at We're Going to a Party! by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross because it is ever such fun trying to figure out who is wearing what fancy dress outfit.
Lastly, we at Bookbag would like to extend our thanks to the kind ladies and gents at Egmont Books for sending us this copy to review.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Tale of the Terrible Secret by Kristina Stephenson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Tale of the Terrible Secret by Kristina Stephenson at Amazon.com.
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