Annie Argyle’s Amazing Adventure

Description

Have you ever wondered what happens to that one sock that goes missing from the dryer? Annie Argyle is tired of spending her days in dark, smelly places. She wants to have an adventure. Leaving her worried sock twin Andy and the unsuspecting little boy Harrison behind, she slips her toe into the dryer vent and Whoosh out she goes. A traveling carnival leads to plenty of fun and adventure: roller coaster rides, ice cream, merry-go-rounds. Then an unlucky toss sends Annie into a different dark, smelly place. One she doesn’t like at all. Can Annie make it safely back to Andy and Harrison? A fun read for children ages 3 to 7.
Paperback: 28 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 2, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1499789890
ISBN-13: 978-1499789898

Review
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars!

It’s a big scary world out there, but sometimes the lure of the unknown is just too powerful to resist. Especially for a sock! Imagine the life of a sock: always stuck on someone’s foot inside a smelly shoe, day after day. Then tossed into the washing machine and then the dryer, only to be put back on that foot again and stuck inside that smelly shoe. Not much of a life. For Annie, the one of a pair of Harrison’s special sports’ socks, Argyle socks to be precise, there is a powerful urge to see, to really see what lies beyond. And besides, there’s a fair in town. She tells her partner, Andy, that she’s going to grab her chance to see the fair and no one’s going to stop her. So out she goes through the dryer vent and into the big world of wonderful and often scary things.

Caren Cantrell’s charming picture book story, Annie Argyle’s Amazing Adventure, is a pleasure to read. The illustrations are bold and colorful and truly complement the story. But it’s Annie’s story that will capture the reader, both young and old. Annie, the sock, speaks to all of us who wonder what lies beyond and if the grass is really greener on the other side. There is a hidden message in this story as Annie’s adventure unravels: be careful what you wish for. Young children may think they know what they’re doing and they may believe that an adventure is safe enough to explore on their own, but sometimes all of us, young and old, need to hold back on these urges and think things through before boldly plunging into the great unknown. Annie learned her lesson and her story ends happily, but sometimes entering the unknown adventure solo can be terrifying and dangerous. A good lesson well taught, and a delightful story as well.