Sophie's Tom

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Five-year-old Sophie finds that going to school and making friends is more difficult than running a farm! The ups and downs of Dick King-Smith's stoic, determined heroine will appeal to children and parents alike.A classic story for young readers by the beloved author of Babe.From the beloved author of Babe comes the second of six stories about Dick King-Smith's most adored (human!) character, the inimitable Sophie, re-imagined twenty years later by the witty, perceptive paintbrush of the award-winning Hannah Shaw. At last, Sophie has a farm of her very own - complete with barn, pond, cows, sheep and even a spotty pig! But a model farm is not quite the same as the real thing. Sophie's fifth year brings new challenges, like going to school, making friends and chicken-pox. Another year older and even more determined...

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

As spunky and stubborn as ever, animal-lover Sophie makes a comeback in this sequel to Sophie's Snail. Still planning to become a lady farmer, the pint-size heroine continues to raise livestock (slugs, wood lice, earwigs, etc.) in the potting shed. Shortly after her fifth birthday, she adopts her first four-legged pet--Tom, a stray black cat--despite protests from her feline-hating father. This and other memorable events--starting school, forming a brief friendship with classmate Duncan, getting even with her number-one enemy, Dawn--are humorously accented by Parkins's winsome drawings. With remarkable clarity, King-Smith ( Babe: The Gallant Pig ; Mar tin's Mice ) expresses the concerns of a highly imaginative child who emerges as the British equivalent of Ramona Quimby. While Sophie's spirit is sure to win readers' admiration, her lively antics and unique perspective will keep laughs coming. Ages 5-9. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 1-- The strong-willed, five-year-old, first introduced in Sophie's Snail (Delacorte, 1989), now faces her first year at school. Still intent on being a farmer, she continues her insect herds, but also decides she'd like to have a pet. She befriends a stray cat, whom she she calls her Tom, and manages to move him into the house despite her father's protests. King-Smith does know his cats, and Tom will also move right into many readers' hearts. The author also knows just how cats communicate, which makes Tom very easy to understand. Unfortunately, the book isn't always easy to understand due to the use of a few awkward Briticisms. Fortunately, the format is a real improvement over the first book. The print size has been greatly enlarged. Parkins has done bold ink sketches that are dramatic, lively, and striking through the use of contrast. They really show the characters' personalities. And personality is one thing Sophie is not lacking. She's a tough little girl who doesn't believe in tears. The likable heroine may remind readers of Ramona at times, but King-Smith's onlooker's point of view and tongue-in-cheek tone are not as appealing as Cleary's light, sure finger on the pulse of childhood. Since the main character is so young, the book may serve as an entertaining read-aloud rather than a selection for newly independent readers. Pleasant, though nonessential, fare. --Susannah Price, Boise Public Li brary, ID (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 2-4. Five-year-old Sophie, who first appeared in Sophie's Snail [BKL O 1 89], returns as firmly sure of her future as ever. Sophie is going to be a farmer, and although she wants to own pigs and cows eventually, at the moment she will settle for a cat. So when a black cat appears in her yard, Sophie assumes this is the cat she's been waiting for, despite her allergic father's insisting it isn't. Along with making sure Tom stays hers, Sophie must deal with starting school and the fine art of making friends. King-Smith probably can't write a bad book, but this is certainly one of his weaker ones. The "surprise" ending, in which Tom the cat, who has been growing fatter and fatter, has kittens, is such a tired ploy even five-year-olds will recognize it. Most of the book's humor comes from feisty Sophie herself, but even with Ramona as a precedent it may still be difficult to find older children (those capable of reading the book) who aren't put off by a five-year-old heroine. This may work better as a read-aloud to the younger set. ~--Ilene Cooper

Horn Book Review

Now five years old, the indomitable heroine of 'Sophie's Snail' (Delacorte) finds Tom, an apparently lost black cat, makes him a home in the shed, and extracts a promise that he can come in if ever a mouse is seen in the house. Needless to say, Tom is taken in, and, hardly to the reader's surprise, presents Sophie with four kittens. Sophie also starts school, where she trains a docile little boy to be her pony and completely trounces an obnoxious little girl. The book presents an endearing picture of a sturdy, self-reliant small girl. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

The delightfully determined small person introduced in Sophie's Snail (1989) celebrates her fifth birthday on Christmas Day; honoring her plan to become a ``lady farmer,'' her parents and twin brothers give her a splendid toy farm, but her live pets are still limited to the wood lice, slugs, earthworms, and so on she keeps in the potting shed. To these she hopes to add a stray cat she's feeding; Dad doesn't like cats, but--with the connivance of great-great-aunt Al, who suggests importing a mouse into the kitchen--Sophie gets her way. Meanwhile, she's started school, where she negotiates in her own inimitable way with classmate Duncan (``not only a malleable little boy but very greedy'') and old enemy Dawn. A predictable conclusion--Dad is entirely won over, and ``Tom'' has kittens--but King-Smith's narration in this sequel is wonderfully crisp and unsentimental, while bright, quietly persistent Sophie (like Lowry's Sam) has rare charm. The language has suffered more Americanization than Sophie's Snail, detracting from the pleasant British flavor; on the other hand, Parkins's amusing cross-hatched drawings, nicely blending humor and deft characterizations, are superior. (Fiction. 5-10)