It’s my pleasure to join the Book Birthday Blitz for Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks by Sally Fetouh, illustrated by Alexis Schnitger. My thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate.

Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks is available for purchase here or directly from the author.

Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks

Cheerful text and whimsical illustrations bring alive this heart-warming story of kindness and inclusion featuring a character with Down syndrome.

When young Jana receives heaps of beautiful socks from her parents after learning how to put on socks all by herself, she can’t wait to show her friends at school. They are always kind and patient with Jana when they play together. Jana decides to share a pair of her new socks with each and every friend. This calls for a school sock parade! All of the children had so much fun showing off their colourful socks together that they gave a very special and huge gift for their kind and generous friend, Jana, a box of more socks!

Author Sally Fetouh was inspired to write this touching story by her own daughter who has Down syndrome, feeling it was important for her and other children like her to be able to see themselves in literature. Two years ago, after reading a different story about a girl with Down syndrome to her daughter’s preschool class, Sally says, “The children were so engaged in the story and asked questions. They were very accepting and loving of their friend—my daughter. I left with a heart overflowing with emotion and that inspired me to write my story.”

My Review of Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks

Jana has Down syndrome and loves socks.

What an absolutely lovely book. Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks is the perfect book for children because it encompasses positivity for all regardless of race, colour, intelligence or the number of chromosomes they might have. I loved the way the beautiful illustrations enhanced this effect through the range of children depicted, children of different colours and race, wearing glasses or being in a wheel chair perhaps. The inclusivity and the generosity of spirit as Jana shares her beloved brightly coloured socks and is rewarded with kindness in return is just wonderful.

There’s a perfect balance of illustration to text so that independent and emergent readers can enjoy the story as well as those who might need adult input too. With socks of all designs as a metaphor for people, the concept is highly relatable. Most children where the book might be shared in the home, school or other institutions will find socks familiar so that they can understand the message clearly and effectively.

The font style is also accessible and the sentence structure would be fabulous for use with young writers as it models writing really well. I think the diminishing socks as Jana gives them away would be great to reinforce numeracy and counting too.

I thought Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks was a beautiful book – in both message and illustration – and I thoroughly recommend it.

About Sally Fetouh

Writing is very much a part of who author Sally Fetouh is as a human being. As a child, writing was a way for her to express herself and all of the stories and ideas she had in her head. Now, as an adult, she has been inspired to write a beautiful story of kindness and friendship, Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks, a heart-warming picture book loosely based on her daughter who has Down syndrome.

It was important to Sally that her daughter and other children like her were able to see themselves represented in literature. The idea came to Sally when she visited her daughter’s preschool to read a story about a girl with Down syndrome. The loving, accepting, and inquisitive responses from her daughter’s classmates inspired her to write a story reflecting these caring friendships.

Sally believes a great book is one that has impactful characters and a story that provides a new experience or perspective to the reader that stays with them long after the book is closed. She hopes that her young readers with disabilities or those who are different in some way will be able to relate to the main character and see a little bit of themselves, while also aiming for other readers to gain insight into the world of Down syndrome and the importance and impact of kindness and friendship.

When she isn’t writing thought-provoking children’s books, Sally works as a lawyer and a photographer. She enjoys being in nature, hiking, and horse riding. She lives with her family in Sydney, Australia. Jana’s Brightly Coloured Socks is her debut picture book.

For further information, find Sally on Instagram and Facebook.