Sophie's Lovely Locks

PreS-Gr 3—Sophie loves her long, blond hair. Soft lines in the watercolor illustrations show its movement and her delight in it as she twirls and swirls. The curving lines become tighter and the scenes around Sophie more cluttered as her hair both coils in the rain and gets in the way of her energetic play. After she pops some bubblegum in her hair, she finally decides that it is too much work. A smiling Sophie sits for a haircut at the salon and a shorter-haired but stylish Sophie packs her ponytail into an envelope addressed to Locks for Kids. The next page shows a girl who looks quite a bit like Sophie delightedly trying on her new wig. Later, both girls style their shoulder-length cuts in their own mirrors. Sophie concludes that "two girls with short hair are better than one girl with none." The playful main character presents the obvious message in a joyous, engaging way. Three organizations that accept donated hair are listed at the end of the book.—Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD