Jocelyn's Box of Socks
by Kristen L. Jackson
illustrated by Tino Santanach
Date: 2019
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley
Jocelyn loves socks. She wears them everywhere... even in the bathtub! When a box of socks depicting different emotions arrives in the mail from her grandparents, she is ecstatic. After tearing open the package, she decides to wear a different pair of socks for when she's happy, when she's sad, and everything in between. Jocelyn soon discovers that her beloved new socks are not as exciting as they seem and are weighing her down. Can she learn how to manage her feelings and mix and match her socks to fit her every mood? Complete with a teacher's guide ideal for parents and educators.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
I've said before that I love it when picture books teach me things. However, there's one thing I really don't like: when picture books try to teach me things. This book is an extremely transparent attempt at teaching a lesson about feelings, making it suitable mainly for very young children. It doesn't help that the main character is drawn looking like she's about eight years old; shouldn't kids be able to identify emotions by that point?
The story that this lesson is built around is pretty weak. Jocelyn is a kid obsessed with socks. She wears them everywhere. One day, her grandparents send her a box full of socks covered in smiley faces that run the gamut of emotional states. Now, obviously her grandparents don't know her very well, because what happens next makes the box of socks seem like a rather cruel present. Jocelyn thinks she has to wear the socks that match her mood... and because her mood changes so quickly (partly due to the frustration of being obsessed with those socks all the time), she's changing her socks in quick succession. It isn't until her brother suggests that she doesn't have to match her socks to her mood that she stops and calms down. (And, like I said, because Jocelyn isn't drawn as a very young child, it's confusing as to why she doesn't know this already. Does she think there's a sock police or something?)
The illustrations are kind of cute, quite cartoonish and colourful, and it's fun seeing all the socks. But I don't know why her parents are drawn like they just stepped out of the '60s. That's kind of odd.
Overall, I'd probably only recommend this one to parents of very young children. If the illustrations had made Jocelyn look a bit younger, I might not be struggling with this one as much as I am; I just keep wondering what's wrong with her that she doesn't know the basics at her age. I also wonder if preschoolers will be able to relate to a "big kid".
Thank you to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing for providing a digital ARC.
Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 2/5
Enjoyment: 2/5
Overall: 2.33 out of 5
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