International Book from France "Lizette's Green Sock"

Valckx, Catharina. Lizette's Green Sock. Clarion Books, 2002.

This book was originally published in France in 2002 under the title, La chaussette verte de Lisette.


The book is about a little bird named Lizette. She decides to go for a walk one day and finds a pretty green sock. Lizette is thrilled about this unusual find and proudly puts the sock on as she continues her stroll. She journeys upon two brother cats, Tim and Tom. The brothers love teasing Lizette and start to aggravate her about wearing only one sock. Lizette decides that she needs to find the matching green sock in order to make a pair. She returns home, unable to locate the matching sock. Lizette explains to her mom about finding the one sock upon the ground. Her mother takes the sock and washes it clean. Lizette's mouse friend named Bert comes to visit while she watching the sock hang on the clothes line to dry. Bert thinks the green sock is a cap and wants to try it on. As Bert is trying the sock on his head, Tim and Tom sneak around the corner and announce that they have found the second green sock. The brothers dart off with the sock with Bert and Lizette quickly running after them. The brothers run to a pond and toss the sock into it. When Bert and Lizette finally catch up, the brothers claim the sock flew away. Lizette and Bert walk back home while discussing how mean the brothers are. Since the cap looked so nice on Bert, Lizette tells him that he can wear the cap for a while. When the pair of friends return home, Lizette's mother has a wonderful surprise waiting for her!



This would be a good story of friendship and sharing for young children. It also provides a good example of teaching children not to tease others. Children would definitely enjoy the characters composed completely of animals. There are two birds, a mouse, two cats, and a fish. I wished the illustrations had been a bit more detailed, but they would probably appeal to children because they have a simple coloring book appearance.