Sally and the Purple Socks

Title: Sally and the Purple Socks

Author:  Lisze Bechtold

Illustrator:  Lisze Bechtold

Publishing company:  Philomel books

Copyright date:  2008

Number of pages:  32
Genre: Fantasy

     I chose this book because my son really enjoyed it when he was in kindergarten.  I enjoy reading it with his baby brother now.  This book is about a duck named Sally.  She gets a pair of purple socks, but her socks start to grow.  They just keep on growing and she has a big giant, literally, adventure in those big, purple socks.  Until the rain starts to pour, then all of a sudden the socks start to shrink. 

     The artwork in this book is done with a brushed ink line on top of gouache paint.  There is a little bit of negative space on a certain few pages of the book.  The text placement is formal.  The words are strategically placed around the pictures.  The artist uses very mellow colors for everything in the illustrations; the only exception is the purple socks.  They are a bright and vibrant color purple.

     I would use this book in a kindergarten classroom.  I would use this book to introduce the color purple.  Additionally, this book would be great for a phonics lesson.  Although, I might use it in the first grade classroom to get students thinking about using their imagination in their writing.   I would use this book before a field trip, and then lead the class in a discussion about to expect while on the trip.  I think that this could also work in a science lesson about materials expanding and contracting.  As of this date, this book does not have any awards.