Sophie Simon Solves Them All

Score another find on the new book shelf at my local library in Hilliard! By the way, I hope all of you Central Ohio friends will support the Columbus Metro Library when you vote on November 2. We are so fortunate to have this great resource, voted number one in the nation, AGAIN, even with their budget cuts and we need to support them. My name is Bill Prosser and I approve this commercial. Now on with my review!

Lisa Graff writes great stuff for older elementary kids, The Thing About Georgie and The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower are two of my favorites. I was thrilled to see that she has now written something for earlier readers, I'm thinking late second and third graders, and just like her other stuff, Sophie Simon Solves Them All is good!

Sophie Simon is a child genius, she can't be bothered with everyday kid things like third grade, friends, birthday parties and the like. She's so smart that she could say the alphabet backwards and forwards at age two, the Russian alphabet. She performed open heart surgery on a worm at the age of seven, all five of the worm's hearts! and the list of accomplishments goes on an on.

Her parents, on the other hand, get all of their parenting advice from a doctor on TV who encourages parents to not push their children, let them grow up "well adjusted." Imagine the horror when they discover a college calculus book in Sophie's backpack! They are appalled that their child may not be growing up "well adjusted." The parents are too funny with all of their little pet names for Sophie, all of them food items like wonton, apple crisp, lemon wedge, gum drop, each one funnier than the next.

As the story goes on we find out that all Sophie really wants is a graphing calculator, and we meet her classmates.

Owen Wuu who likes things quiet and orderly but his mother is overbearing and boisterous and always does the opposite of what Owen wants.

Daisy Pete who is constantly tripping over her own feet but is forced to take ballet lessons by her parents the pet store owners.

Julia McGreevy who aspires to be a journalist even though her math professor father wants her to be a mathlete and compete in problem solving competitions.

All four third graders have problems with their parents and all of them have thoughts that maybe they had been switched at birth. They all come together in sort of a perfect storm kind of way with their issues. Sophie, as the smartest person they all know, finds herself at the center of the storm and figures out the solution to all of their problems.

In the end, Sophie ends up with friends, something she doesn't quite know what to do with. It's fun story with twists and turns and humorous interactions. I'll be anxious to see what my younger readers think of it.

Other reviews:
She is Too Fond of Books (Great Blog Name!)
Reader Girls
Emily Reads (Haiku Review)