Duck Sock Hop

PreS-Gr 1—Here's a picture book to start a happy hullabaloo at storyhour, to get the little ones rocking and reeling. It all starts with a sock box, and so can your program. The lively illustrations, beautifully textured with handprinted patterns, add energy and rhythm to this peppy stop-and -start rhyming, alliterative text. "Ruffled, lacy,/Jeweled deluxe./Left sock, right sock,/socks on ducks." Once a week, the ducks get their sock box, pick out their favorite socks, of which there are many fun variations—moons, spoons, cars with button wheels, as well as the usual stripes and polka dots—and have a classic sock hop with old-timey musicians. They rollick and roll, get messy and hurt, and do it all again next week. There's not much plot here, just good times and homey illustrations with the typeface dipping and rising in tune. The bold India ink used to make the outline of each duck adds to their expressiveness. Many inventive layouts keep the pictures interesting and add rhythm, a fitting accompaniment to the writing. "Socks go S T R E T C H./Socks go RIP!/Ducks teeter,/tumble,/twist,/and trip." A good purchase for libraries in need of picture books for interactive, movement-oriented read-alouds.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City