Sophie's Snail

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Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. Find sources: "Sophie"book series– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( May 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Sophie is a very determined, very independent little girl who is mad about animals and dreams of being a lady farmer when she grows up. She lives with her mother, father and older twin brothers Mark and Matthew. The stories also introduce herclassmatesDawn (not herfavourite person!), Duncan and Andrew and herbeloved Great Aunt Al who lives in the Highlands of Scotland. Dolly – Tomboy's only daughter; a tortoiseshell cat. When Tomboy has her four kittens Sophie hopes they are all girls and calls them Molly, Polly, Dolly and Holly in the hope that they themselves will grow up and have more kittens. However, when a 'large, tall lady' (later revealed to be Meg Morris - the owner of the local riding stables) visits with the intent of buying one of the kittens, she tells Sophie that all the kittens are boys except for Dolly, whom she buys. A couple of years later, when Sophie and her mother visit the stables to ask about riding lessons, Dolly is shown to remember Sophie; she runs straight up to her and rubs against her legs, which causes the stable owner to remember Sophie as well. Four and a half stars for this delightful little story of a girl who knows what she wants, if not how to get it. She also knows what she doesn't want, and won't put up with. Sophie is older than her age, but that's not unusual for the only girl (and one who is not a spoiled princess), used to holding her own against older brothers. Her relationship with the animals she loves, particularly the snail, is charming without being sweetie-sweet, and the illustrations depict real children doing real things. The artist catches not only their features but their feelings in a way that made me laugh with recognition.Overall, though, this is a cute story with fun illustrations about overcoming shyness and fear with the help of friends. It might be a good choice for shy kids who are just starting out at school as a tool for reassurance.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. My daughter received three Sophie stories as a Christmas present last year and once we started reading we couldn’t put them down, they areso entertaining and funny. The books were first published in the early nineties but I had never heard of them before. These versions, illustrated by Hannah Shaw, were published in 2015 and we definitely wantto read the other three stories.Beano – Sophie's second pet; a large albino rabbit who is a present from Aunt Al in return for Tomboy's kitten, Ollie. Sophie wonders what to call her new rabbit, and when she learns from Aunt Al that he has pink eyes because he is Albino, she settles for 'Beano' on the grounds that they already have an 'Al' in the family ('Sophie Hits Six'). Sophie's Shell is about a little snail named Sophie who starts school and must face her newfound shyness with the help of a friend. A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.