Gustafer Yellowgold's Infinity Sock

PreS-Gr 2—This simple story features Gustafer Yellowgold, a former sun-dweller who fell from the sun and landed in Minnesota. As he is doing his eel friend's laundry, he finds socks everywhere—on the ceiling, on the fan, in the fridge, etc. In his garden, Gustafer discovers a sock that stretches off into the distance and follows it to discover where it ends. Along the way he meets up with a rock and roll bee band, a kitten named Cheddar, and an all cheese clothing store. The story is depicted in a series of panels, with cute, minimally animated cartoon characters who don't speak. Instead, the story is accompanied by ten alternative pop, gentle acoustic, and folk rock songs featuring very nice harmonies. The DVD can be played in karaoke style, where the lyrics appear at the bottom of each story frame. Song titles include "A Sock Runs Through It," "Slim Gets in 'Em," "Infinity," "Snake Proms," "Question Marks," "Sock of Ages," and others. The CD includes the soundtrack. Bonus features include "Proof or Foof," in which a scientist experiments to determine whether Solarians like Gustafer are real or a hoax; and "Gustafer Guitar Lessons" and "How to Draw Gustafer" with demonstrations by illustrator/song writer Morgan Taylor. This gentle film with lovely songs will be a welcome addition to public library collections for young children.—Beverly Wrigglesworth, San Antonio Public Library, TX