From Publishers Weekly
Slick digital design and silly antics rule the roost in this paper-over-board celebration of footwear, narrated by an excitable young chicken. "Notice anything different about me?" the peep asks. "Nope, it's not my glasses," he adds, pointing the squiggly line of his wing at the heavy black frames around his black-dot eyes. A close-up of his feet reveals two reasons for his apparent delight: "I got New Socks!" Where the chick's yellow body is a double-yolk kidney bean shape, with black sticks for legs and just a hint of chatty beak, his bulbous orange socks look like inflated moon boots, with a star-shaped sparkle on one toe to indicate their pristine condition. The chick skates across a wood floor and, at the playground, calls out, "Watch me not be scared on the big-kids slide! In New Socks!" Graphic designer Shea uses animation techniques akin to Mo Willems, from emphatic first-person statements to iconic illustrations to near-empty backdrops of minimalist white and robin's-egg-blue. This comic sequence holds up as an exercise in dynamic layout, but like its title product, it seems unlikely to seem fresh after repeated use. Ages 3-6.
(Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2—In this lively, self-confidence-boosting tale, a pleased-as-punch chick shows off his new bright-hued footwear and feels ready to take on the world. With brief, often exclamatory sentences, the narrator enthuses over his snazzy socks (they "fit just right! Orange must be my size!"), revealing that he can now tackle the "big-kids slide." He even receives a phone call from the president, who wants to check out the special stockings. "What can't these New Socks do?" he wonders, before anticipating his next milestone: "Now I'm all excited to get pants!" The text, which presents a childlike blend of fervor and silliness, is wonderfully extended through the artwork. Plain backdrops in pale blue and white focus the attention on the protagonist. The chick's body is a yellow lima-bean-shaped blob; black-dot eyes, a beak fashioned from two half-moons, and thick-rimmed glasses define his face and add expression. His wings, rendered in simple black curves, are in constant flux, injecting humor and energy into the pictures. Varying perspectives add visual interest and show the sensational socks off to best effect. With its naive approach, direct narrative, and wry illustrations, this book will appeal to fans of Mo Willems's pigeon. A fun choice for reading aloud or sharing one-to-one.—
Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
