Smelly Socks

Robert Munsch, a prolific children's book author, has written some of the silliest stories around. I personally have been a fan of his for a long time. Some of his more well-known books are "Love you Forever", "The Paper Bag Princess", and "Stephanie's Ponytail". One of Dakota's favorite Munsch book is called "Smelly Socks". It is about a girl named Tina who talks her family into buying her a new pair of multi-colored striped socks. She loves them so-o-o-o much that she won't take them off. Soon, everyone notices them...or should I say smells them. Even the animals around town fall over and act as if they are dying. Finally, her friends have to take action. (You'll have to read it to know how it ends.) Michael Martchenko, the illustrator of many Munsch books, tells a great story as well through his pictures.


We learned of Dakota's love for this book at a very young age. She was only two when Grandma Hyte came to stay for a couple of weeks to help us when I had Oakley. And then again, four months later, when I had my hernia surgery. Grandma read "Smelly Socks" to Dakota numerous times. The bond between the two of them grew as they shared this book together over and over. It wasn't even the story, necessarily, that was so great. It was the individual time she was spending on Grandma's lap, that was so important. Later, Dakota and Grandma would talk on the phone about reading that book together, and they'd make plans to read it again on her next visit. It was a sad day when I packed up all the children's books, including that one, for our move to Mapleton. We didn't see the book for a while. When the book was finally re-discovered, it was as if we'd found a hidden treasure. And since then, Grandma has read it to Dakota many times over, especially during her extended stay in Utah (while Suzi was getting her stem cell transplant and radiation therapy).

The last time Grandma Hyte passed through here, on their way back to Vegas, she brought the girls a little something...their own pair of "smelly socks" (of course theirs aren't smelly...yet). Below are some pics of the girls donning their new socks.

Check out the "heels" of these socks. They're obviously a little big on her, but equally cute!

This photo right above is so cute. Everyone is plugging their noses, except Suzi, who is wearing her filtering mask (something she's had to add to her accessories wardrobe since completing her stem cell transplant). She is holding up the page in the book where some of the characters have clothespins on their noses, are wearing gas masks, etc. as they carry Tina off to the lake.

I hope many of you find joy in "reading" with your family members. We love books at our house. My personal library is a testament of that. I just wish I had more time to do it. At the right is my list of recent reads. I'm not a fast reader, so my list does not get added upon regularly. But, my nightstand always has a stack of books on it, along with a list of titles I want get next. Do you have any good book to share? I'm off to read a bedtime story...Happy reading!