Sock on the Loose

December 15, 2020
A sock consumed by wanderlust decides to leave the safety of the dresser drawer. Socks always seem to go missing--but just one of the pair. Where do they go? This particular fuzzy blue foot covering has a lot to explore. "Did it run away with a moose? / Sneak off for some juice? / Whatever happened, it's a..." The titular phrase is shouted joyfully across the next double-page spread: "SOCK ON THE LOOSE!" The cerulean protagonist meets other socks who have also set off for adventures. There's Dot (who has orange polka dots), Old Sock (who is gray and wears tiny spectacles), Sport Sock, and so on. The escapades that the socks enjoy are silly and arbitrary, with no clear connection to their sockness: "There are so many things a sock can do / when given the chance to try something new. / Surf a big moon wave! / Explore a watermelon cave!" Ultimately, as is often the case, after getting a better sense of oneself from a trip into the wider world, home beckons. Newcomer McGlauflin's text has a fun bounce--but it also reaches to complete the rhyme and at times struggles with meter, both coming at the expense of storytelling. The splotched watercolors (foreshadowed by the sock's artistic endeavors depicted in the frontmatter) add to the glee and whimsy of the open road. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 33.4% of actual size.) A story that encourages exploration and finding oneself along the journey. (Picture book. 3-6)

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