Smitten

by David Gordon, David Gordon (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Frog and Toad, Elephant and Piggie, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley — iconic literary duos — and now, Sock and Mitten. David Gordon's adorable tale of friendship, adventure and acceptance is a timeless reminder that life doesn't always go as planned, but that's OK. An excellent read-aloud for friends of all ages.

Sock and Mitten are both lost singles in a city full of pairs. Mitten is a left without her right. Sock is neither left nor right, but he knows how she feels. They set off on an adventure to find their other halves. But what they find instead is something much, much better: each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416924401
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/26/2007
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

David Gordon has done visual development for numerous production companies from Lucasfilm to Pixar, including Toy Story; Monsters, Inc.; A Bug’s Life; Cars; BlueSky’s Robots; and Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants. He’s also written and illustrated several picture books, among them Hansel and Diesel, The Three Little Rigs, The Ugly Truckling, and Smitten. He’s one of the illustrators of Jon Scieszka’s fifty-two-book, New York Times bestselling series, Trucktown. Visit him at IllustratorRanch.com.

David Gordon has done visual development for numerous production companies from Lucasfilm to Pixar, including Toy Story; Monsters, Inc.; A Bug’s Life; Cars; BlueSky’s Robots; and Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants. He’s also written and illustrated several picture books, among them Hansel and Diesel, The Three Little Rigs, The Ugly Truckling, and Smitten. He’s one of the illustrators of Jon Scieszka’s fifty-two-book, New York Times bestselling series, Trucktown. Visit him at IllustratorRanch.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gordon's (Hansel and Diesel) story of a stray sock and a lost mitten that meet in the big city and discover they're the perfect match has oodles of promise-along with a clever portmanteau title. The slickly imagined digital pictures have the familiar appeal of Pixar features (Gordon has worked on some of that studio's most popular movies), and the artist is especially good at infusing the metropolitan environments with drama, as scenes in a Laundromat or a subway tunnel show. In ingenious tests of Sock and Mitten's relationship, Sock shrinks in the wash, and Mitten gets unraveled by a speeding subway train. The text, however, often explains what's already clear from the pictures ("They made their way out to the sidewalk. Sock was so tiny that he fell behind") or adds detail that doesn't advance the plot. As adroitly sketched out as the concept is, it still reads more like a premise than a full treatment. Ages 4-8. (Dec.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2- A forgotten pink mitten and a lone blue sock meet on a city sidewalk in this picture book about friendship and adventure. Mitten, who is stuck atop a fence post, sees a sock fall out of a laundry basket being carried by a passerby. Both lost and lonely, Mitten and Sock set off together to find their other halves. After a harrowing experience with a trash can, they sneak into a closed Laundromat to get clean. Sock, who is made from wool, shrinks in the dryer; back outside, he is grabbed by two dogs that tug and stretch him to his natural size. As he recovers, the friends fall down a grate and Mitten is unraveled by a passing subway train. Sock carefully carries the pile of pink yarn to a knitting shop where he works all night stitching her back to her familiar form. Mitten and Sock finally realize that they have found their missing halves in each other; they hug, and "from then on they were... smitten." The cheery computer-generated cartoons will appeal to younger children, while the humor, wordplay, and themes will attract older readers. Gordon balances colorful spreads with ample white space, and the personified garments are engaging. This fast-paced tale will make a fine addition to story programs and is perfect for family sharing.-Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal