Believing Sophie - Hardcover

Grade 1-3?On her way home from the grocery store, Sophie has a bike accident that sends her bag of chocolate candy all over the road. Fortunately, she is unhurt and goes back to Luca's. But as she is leaving with her new supply, a woman accuses her of hiding a pack of cough drops she had originally bought for her father in her belt. The clerk, who was not there before, tells her to wait in a back room until the owner arrives. Mr. Luca believes her, and when she remembers the receipt tucked in her sock, she is totally exonerated. This empathetic story could lead to some interesting discussions. However, although Sophie is a nice kid, the adults, except for Mr. Luca, are an insensitive group. There are references to how she feels throughout, such as "...a little hurt funny, a little queasy funny, a little sad funny," and some of these brief analyses work better than others. Many children may be able to relate to Sophie's emotions and reticence, but the text is a bit long. The predominantly full-page illustrations are colorful and cartoonlike, capturing the action and setting in a style that is well suited to the story.?Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-8. This buoyantly illustrated picture book about a moral dilemma does a good job of maintaining the child's point of view. Everything's fine when Sophie goes to Mr. Luca's grocery store to buy chocolate for her giant cookies and cough drops for her father's throat. The trouble starts on the way home when the candy gets stuck in the spokes of her bike. Returning to the store, Sophie tries to buy more chocolate but is accused of stealing the cough drops. Determined to prove her innocence, Sophie triumphantly produces the receipt she has stashed away in her sock. The full-page colored-pencil-and-watercolor paintings are highly patterned with a good dose of exaggeration and new-wave flair. The picture-book crowd will need help with the recipe for Sophie's cookies, featured on the back page. Julie Corsaro