The Reading Nook | Sir Charlie Stinky Socks & The Really Big Adventure
by Sandra Harris, posted on December 18th, 2012 in The Reading Nook
“Once upon a time, there was a deep, dark forest, where monstrous trees groaned, terrible beasties moaned and wiggly woos waited to tickle your toes”. With an opening sentence like that, who could stop reading?
While everyone around him is timid and a bit afraid, brave, bold and daring Sir Charlie sets out on a knightly adventure with his cat Envelope. And a sandwich of course, because you DO get hungry on an adventure.
This book has all of the ingredients of a perfect knight’s tale – the knight of course – Sir Charlie. His sidekick, the faithful and fearless cat Envelope. And of course there’s a witch, a dragon and a princess. But don’t assume that the story will play out just like every knight’s tale that you have ever read. For starters, Sir Charlie is about six, not your usual knightly age. I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to ruin it for you!
The illustrations are gorgeous and the book itself is beautifully laid out with fold outs here and there – especially for the tall, tall, tower with a pointy roof. It’s much too tall to fit onto one page!
It is no surprise that this book is a treat for the ears and the eyes as author Kristina Stephenson trained as a set and costume designer and worked for many years in young children’s programming for the BBC. After her first child was born (Charlie – this book’s namesake) she began illustrating children’s books in her attic.
You and your littles will love this book!
