We have just discovered Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and we’re excited that there are other stories that we can enjoy. He’s a fearless knight who is not afraid of what lurks in the deep, dark forest and comes up with ingenious solutions for the problems that he faces.
The Story: Sir Charlie Stinky Socks saddles his horse and along with his cat, Envelope, sets off into the forest (followed by a witch on her broomstick). In the forest he has to deal with groaning trees and moaning beasties before riding to a tall tower guarded by a fire breathing dragon. After dealing with the dragon Sir Charlie climbs to the top where he finds the witch stirring her cauldron and a sobbing princess. Sir Charlie rushes in to save the princess and… (we were surprised by the ending so we don’t want to spoil it for you!).
There are several twists in the adventure which introduce elements of suspense and keep you turning the pages. Sir Charlie Stinky Socks is fearless and deals bravely with the slobbering beasties and the fire breathing dragon (unlike Envelope and his horse who quiver at any sign of trouble!). He ignores the continued presence of the witch who is delighted when Sir Charlie climbs to the top of the tower. But all is not what it seems (for those of you who like a happy ending you won’t be disappointed!).
Fairytale elements are woven into the story with the introduction of the forbidding forest, the tall tower, the witch, the princes, the dragon and of course the brave knight, Sir Charlie Stinky Socks. Several of the pages fold out (or up in the case of the tall tower) and the final spread folds out into four pages. The easy, fun to read text uses different fonts and is interspersed with the pictures on the double page spreads. The illustrations are big, bold, colourful and full of details, my daughter likes looking for the wiggly woos and the witch and I love the range of expressions shown on the characters’ faces.
This is a really fun story to read to a group of children, the first time you read you can really get them thinking creatively about how Sir Charlie could solve the problems that he encounters throughout the adventure. Older children could write their own adventure, it would be great to put the adventures together to make a class book or wall display. Sir Charlie Stinky Socks includes so much rich language, some fantastic verbs and alliteration which makes it a great story to use in the literacy classroom.
We’d love to hear which Sir Charlie Stinky Socks stories you have enjoyed. Which one should we read next?
Age Range: 3 +
Author / Illustrator: Kristina Stephenson
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