The Super Adventures of Sophie and the City - All in a Day's Work

I’ll be honest and admit I received this children’s book as a Christmas gift from a good friend. If you’ve read my profile, you’ll learn that shoes are a personal weakness and the book utilizes Madison Avenue as the setting for the story.

The plot is simple. Sophie wants to spend the day with her dad, so hides in his car and sneaks to work with him. But before she can surprise him, she gets lost inside his building and finds herself at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here she creates an enchanted world of fashion and design history.

Kelly Florio Kasouf’s writing is good, but you may find her frequent use of designer names and brands questionable. On the other hand, fashion is part of the fabric (no pun intended) of our society and so, given the scenario, her approach makes sense.

Whether you agree with Kasouf’s point of view or not, there is one thing I feel certain you’ll concur with and that’s the book’s stunning watercolor illustrations. Judit Garcia-Talavera does a wonderful job capturing the aesthetics of the costumes and the appearance of the designers while also creating the magical quality so inspiring in a child’s imagination. Even at my age, I was transported into Sophie’s world. While the website doesn’t do the illustrations justice, it does give you a sense of how beautiful they are.

The tale ends with Sophie appreciating the richness of shared experience, but the true value of the book is delighting in its luscious watercolors.