Socks Books

I purchased several Chicken Socks books for my kids to keep them entertained on a long road trip, and this was one of them. Both my kids loved all the books! The books provided many hours of fun and both my kids especially enjoyed this one.

This is a great tool to keep preschoolers occupied. Actually cutting and taping the book was lots of fun for my granddaughter. I had fun too! The book encourages imagination and not just following directions. This is now our favorite thing to do when she comes over.

This is a really great idea with one main problem, the tape does not rip off easily for a 4 year old. I have no problem doing it, but it is really hard for him. I have to end up tearing the tape off for him.

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas, and it was a hit. She can play with it anywhere in the house. It has everything she needs to create with tape. No mess!!

My almost 5 year old uses tape by the roll on just about everything so when I saw this book, I thought it would be perfect for him. He had a hard time tearing the tape initially but once he got the hang of it, he has had a great time taping the book. It seems like there is plenty of tape for the book and probably beyond - we've done this several times and there is still plenty of tape. I bought this as an activity for him to do on his own but so far, I have had to be there to supervise, as he gets frustrated when the tape won't tear or gets tangled up. In general, I think this was a worthwhile purchase.

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a couple of years and just recently got around to reading it. I'm glad that I finally read it, but wish I would have gotten to it sooner.

Jocks and Socks is a great book. The behind the scenes look at the world of baseball was very interesting. It was a great look into life inside the locker room and what really goes on before, during and after a game. Reading about the players of days gone by brought back some great memories.

Given the fact that Ksicinski was a clubhouse manager at County Stadium, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, was especially interesting to me since I'm from Wisconsin. I strongly recommend this book to any and all baseball fans or sports fans in general for that matter.

It was a nice read, pretty well exaggerated and the author, Mr. kscinski was not a very nice guy. I was one of the clubhouse kids that worked for "Big Jim" back in the 70's and I can tell you alot of stories not in the book about old Big Jim. This was a very greedy man and it seems like he still is. Those were some of the best years of my life, but this man was a very bad example for kids that worked for him. I look back at how you treated us and you should be ashamed of yourself. I'll tell you what, if I ever see you again I'll tell it to your face. You were a real Jerk and you can take that book of lies about your clubhouse and stick it buddy!

The book I read was called Jocks and Socks by Jim Ksicinski and Tom Flaherty. It is about what goes on in baseball lockerooms told by former players like Hank Aaron and other former baseball players.
The book had some interesting things in it like how black player's back in the 60s 70s even the 80s were discriminated by teammates and coaches. Other things that happened in the lockerooms were that teammates sometimes beat up another teammate for costing them the game and what some coaches said to the players after they lost a game. The rest of the things that went on in this book you will just have to read and find out yourself.
The book was very interesting I learned a lot of information about what goes on in lockerooms of baseball players. The players were treated horrible when discriminated, it was horrible about some of the things that happened to them and the world would definitely be better without it.

I like baseball, but am no one's idea of a major fan. I can't quote batting averages, I'm not sure which expansion team is in which league-I did like this book however.Jim Ksicnski had a fascinating career as the manager of the visitor's clubhouse of the Milwaukee Brewers.This is as much a piece of social history as it is a baseball memoir. How baseball players have changed over the years, how American men have changed over the years.This is an interesting, friendly book. Tom Flaherty's contributions are seamless, "Big Jim's" voice remains true.The book closes with several lists of fantasy ball teams.The raunchiest thing about the book is the title. It has nothing in it that a 12-14 year old baseball fan could not handle or comprehend.

If you're looking for entertaining baseball books, then this is the one for you. The author gives you and inside look at what baseball players do and say when they're in the clubhouse. There are several hilarious stories in here. Although the book's not as raunchy as some people might expect, it has its share of dirty moments. The male anatomy is mentioned more than a few times, and the best stories in the book deal with that part of the body. I won't go into specifics, but the Brewers had one heck of a kangaroo court one time when Big Jim was lucky enough to overhear the proceedings. There were a few mistakes in the book-for example, he says that George Brett retired after the '92 season when it was actually the '93 season, but overall it was a very entertaining book.

The Pets.com TV advertising campaign was hilarious. The commercials with the Sock Puppet standing in as the witty Pets.com 'Spokes-puppet' were pure marketing genious (although sadly not enough to stop their recent demise).... The book however, is only moderately amusing, and doesn't really capture the humor that was found in the TV commercials. A collection of pictures accompanied by some handwritten captions made for a fairly average read. I'd highly recommend purchasing the actual 'Sock Puppet' from Amazon.com...since I think for the extra few bucks it's more fun to entertain kids or co-workers with the charming little terry-cloth sock, than spending money on this book. Only diehard 'Sock Puppet' fans should spend their money here. I don't mean to be cutting, but I guess I was expecting a little more.

When I heard about this book, I was expecting an elaborate autobiography detailing the Sock Puppet's mysterious past. Unfortunately, I discovered too late that it was only a 64-page paperback w/ witty photos and equally witty captions written by the Sock Puppet for each photo.

Don't get me wrong - the book is hilarious. But I guess I was expecting much more. This is an extremely fun book to read at a bookstore if you're there with nothing better to do, but only die-hard Sock Puppet fans should make a purchase.

A breathtaking journey into the very soul of a sock puppet. I laughed. I cried. I licked myself.
I truly had no idea the pure joy one could receive from manually stimulating a canine's backdoor. Thank you Pets.com!

This book is hilarious.... reminds me of the humor in Mad Magazine or in a Saturday Night Live skit! A great gift for anyone that appreciates tongue and cheek humor!

It looks slick, maybe even gimmicky. But it was worth the price to find this thin shiny book that completely hit the mark in capturing the fun of the Sock Puppet. The photos and writing were excellent -- they caught the quirky humor of the commercials, and managed to stay brilliant by keeping it short and to the point. (Although short, as the Sock Puppet says in the introduction, is a relative term when you measure time in dog years.) Now, if only they would add some audio...

Sock Monkey 2008 Calendar
Finally, a reason to look forward to those dreary winter months! Who could not resist these charming memories of childhood. This wonderful calendar, chock-a-block filled with clever sock monkey portraits, is a true delight as you look through the 12 months of photos. Thought I'd try to hold off and not look through the entire calendar until the appropriate month came, but that lasted about 5 minutes! So, if you want a cheery, marvelously kooky little face greeting you with each passing month, then get this calendar. I absolutely adore this calendar and I will be buying multiples for presents for the holidays.

This is the best calendar I've seen in years. The photos are sophisticated yet playful, making it perfect for all ages. I learned of Arne Svenson's sock monkey photos after discovering his brilliant book, Mrs. Ballard's Parrots, and as much as I love the black-and-white sock monkey photos, this color calendar is a true delight. Every wall should have one.

Those poor sock monkey pictures look like mug shots. The artists and hands that created the creatures would be horrified to see them displayed in such an unimaginative line up. It doesn't look like they were having any fun at all. Sock monkeys belong in the circus not a dead circle going nowhere.

I loved Arne Svenson's book "Sock Monkeys, 200 out of 1,863" so it's no surprise I love this calendar! As the photographer for both, he's captured the personalities of each monkey beautifully and the color format on the calendar brings out the creativity of each monkey's maker even more. If monkeys are your thing, this calendar is sure to please and if they're not, it's a smile-inducing addition to any room.

I just love this calendar. The pictures remind me of sock monkey school photos - just the thing to brighten another boring work day. I highly recommend this calendar to all sock monkey collectors and anyone else who appreciates the uniqueness of the sock monkey.

CeCe Bell rides again in this delightful tome! Sock Monkey is a fabric-based hero for our times! I, unlike some reviewers, have no problem with Sock Monkey kissing....he's no less a sock monkey for doing what a sock monkey has to do! I wish someone out in Hollyweird would pick up an option on Sock Monkey and put this character on Nickelodeon...of course they'd probably ruin it. For now I'll just be content with these wonderful books!

I've been reading this to my 18 month-old son for about 3-4 months. He picks out his own books now--this one is in "heavy rotation". I think he is entertained by the simple pictures and the phrasing of the text (not sing-song, but interesting in its own way). The book's wearing thin with me--doesn't have the adult appeal that other books seem to maintain.

The loveable Sock Monkey character is back, and he must face a fear. He has just landed a super movie role and can't wait. This means he'll get to wear cowboy clothes, ride a horse, lasso a cow, and...KISS A GIRL?! The starring role is too good to pass up, but he can't imagine kissing a girl. Whatever will he do? His friends help where possible, but they can only do so much.

Cece Bell's lively story and illustrations are sweetly funny. The story has a good morale at the end when Sock Monkey must overcome his fear of kissing in order to spare another character's feelings. Readers will learn that when we have to do things we don't want to, things can turn out just fine.

Older preschoolers and younger elementary students will enjoy the sweet silliness of this book.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
12/11/2006

4.5 Balloons on WUAT Kids = 5 Stars on Amazon

Cece Bell's wording and illustrations are so engaging, you will enjoy reading this book over and over. Even the background characters are funny. I thumb through them when I need a giggle. I bought one for a friend's child and one for me! It is the 3rd in the series so far. If you haven't already, just go ahead and purchase all three.

To see some of Cece Bell's art around her house, go to her web site. Sign up for the fan club while you are at it. I did!

We now have all three books.
Cece Bell is going down hill. The first book was WONDERFUL!
We kinda liked the second.. but this book is hard for a young
child to follow.. and the theme of KISSING is not really age
appropriate for what you'd expect of a sock monkey. It's not
worth buying folks. Get it from the library, free. Buy the
first book, maybe the second, but don't waste your money on
this. What was she thinking when she wrote this?? I think she was just
banking on the success of the first one. (no pun intended)
Pictures aren't even as well done. oh well.. spend and learn.

This book was published in Chinese at Taiwan first in 2006. I owned a copy of the Chinese edition and the cover is different from the English edition on Amazon. These cute sock creatures are very popular in Taiwan. They are almost everywhere e.g. notebooks, stationery, calendars.
The point is to creat your own sock creature, as the authors believe that the creature actually resemable the creator.

This book is full of inspiration with the general instructions. From the instructions and using your imagination you can make anything shown, plus many original dolls. I think it's the perfect setup for a book.

My 13 year old daughters just loved this book! The gallery of photos are amazing and such an inspiration for the very creative. I purchased Stray Sock Sewing by Daniel from a craft club's website. The cover is different than the one Amazon shows. I can't confirm that the contents of the books are identical; i.e., photos, instructions, etc. or that they are the same editions. I did find that the instructions lacked enough detail for the beginner. However, with a little imagination and intermediate sewing skills the sock critters are easy to re-create . The book is worth the purchase. A great gift for mother and daughter projects.

Stop! If you are thinking about buying this book solely because of the picture of the sock cat on the cover (the reason why I bought it), then you should reconsider your purchase. "Stray Sock Sewing" is yet another one of those highly irritating craft books that include photos of dozens of items that you would just love to make, but only give instructions for one or two of them (and never the one that you've fallen in love with). Yes, that's right; the instructions for the cat doll are NOT included in this book. Admittedly, an experienced sewer should be able to make their own cat doll from the photographs given, but that's not the same as working from instructions and it doesn't help beginners.

What is included in this book is a very cute and very well presented 62 page gallery of 22 of the author's sock creations, all photographed in full colour and in adorable poses. This is followed by a general section on the sewing stitches and techniques necessary to make sock dolls (making this book appropriate for beginners) and then instructions on how to make 8 different sock creatures, most of which were not included in the gallery at the front of the book.

The instructions given in this book are actually very good. They are clear and each step is accompanied by a colour photograph that shows exactly what is required there. If such instructions were given for each toy presented in this book, then I would probably have given this book either 4 or 5 stars. The only misgiving I have about these instructions are that they frequently depend on the use of a particular style of sock which I suspect might either be difficult to obtain, or expensive if you can find it. Nevertheless, because instructions are not given for all of the toys, I couldn't help but feeling ripped off by this book and as a result, my rating of this book went down accordingly.

It's kind of amazing how many books there are about making toys out of socks. This one is distinctive because of the author's ability to make sock animals that are---dare I say it--art. They are expressive, playful and fun. The cute/winsome factor of the photographs is off the charts. Can an ordinary crafter achieve comparable results? Maybe, maybe not. But the book is inspiring nonetheless. If you enjoy this sort of thing (and someone in my household really does enjoy this sort of thing), the book is worth having just as a gallery of inspiration and possibility. As a free-form crafter myself, I liked that he didn't use plain socks, which would be easier to find; instead he often worked with the kind of weird, embellished socks that seem to always end up without a mate.

Trisha Malcolm's anthology entitled Accessorize: Scarves-Hats-Ponchos-Socks & Mittens is a hard back collected works of past patterns from Vogue.

I like the instructions which are set down in basic understandable verbiage. Directions are trouble-free to track causing the resulting pieces to be very nice finished pieces.

It was that beautiful cream and pinks lace stitch shawl on the cover that instantly caught my eye as I was walking by the rack where the book was on display. A quick check of pages led to purchase. Directions are offered on the left of a two page spread with a large full color photo of the finished piece on the right. It was a spiral lace capelet in delicate white, fringed geometric wrap for using up all those odd bits of yarn every needleworker has on hand, and gorgeous summer lace shawl edged in wide scallops that influenced me; this book provides patterns I will make and wear.

Yarns listed for pieces are the high-priced ones, however, I learned long ago to replace with lesser dear yarns and adjust needle size and gauge accordingly with little effect upon finished pieces. I was right and I do like the capelet very much, it knitted up quickly, as I followed those easy to read instructions. I now look forward to making the lacey summer scarf during these long winter evenings.

I find very handy that the patterns offered in the book are grouped according to function. The Table of Contents lists a variety of Wraps including stoles, shawls, shrugs and scarves. The eight patterns for ponchos and capelets are listed together as Perfect Ponchos. Included in the division is a one size fits all turtleneck poncho that is designed in uncomplicated stitches and can be made oversized for winter draping comfort. Ponchos with cowl necklines, made of rectangles, three with turtlenecks and a gorgeous chunky thread Aran knit that I know I will make as soon as I finish a fair isle piece, are all included in the poncho/capelet section.

I especially like the threaded sherpa scarf and matching head hugging hat shown together as a matching set in the scarf section. The directions appear simple, and I'm anxious to get started on them.

Offered for cold weather wear is an assortment of narrow draping scarves; some are plain knit, others feature cables, geometric designs, lace patterns or crocheted accents.

A ribbed hooded cowl is a piece I will be making, my head gets cold when standing yard duty during the cold winter lunch hour. Hats are offered in simple seed stitch, ribbed, fair isle patterns, or even four having ear flaps.

I enjoy knitting fair isle patterns and am happy to find a number of items offered in fair isle.

The section titled His and Hers provides more fair isle work as well as more hats, scarves, geometrics, cables and knitting possibilities.

Trisha Malcolm's well designed assemblage - Accessorize: Scarves-Hats-Ponchos-Socks & Mittens is packed with a satisfactorily rounded multiplicity of knit wear to stimulate the fancy of the most inveterate knitter.

From a diagonal stitch handbag, to mittens and gloves, scarves, ponchos, hats, warm cable graced winter socks and even covers for golf clubs it will darn near impossible for knitters to NOT find something to tickle their fancy or get those knitting needles going. Happy to recommend.

Molly Martin
Reviewer

If you are looking for a book with beautiful, sophisticated accessories, and you have the money to buy expensive yarns this book is for you. I love the designs, but I can't really afford to make many of the items. Many of them could easily cost you more than $100. I don't know about anyone else, but if I had that much money to spend on a simple, knitted accessory I would probably be buying it from a famous designer rather than making myself.

I purchased this book a while back because it was one of the few books I flipped through where I could see myself wearing almost all of the patterns featured. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the end results have been fantastic for everything I have knitted using them. Its true the yarn used is quite expensive but I have substituted other more affordable yarns for all my projects and they have turned out nicely. I have really enjoyed this book.

I was looking forward to this book so much, but I was vastly disappointed. At least half of the patterns in this book are reprinted from other Vogue Knitting books that I already own. I give it three stars because I am upset that I spent the money on this book and nowhere does it state that these are not new designs and have been reprinted from their other books. However, if you do not own any of the other books and you are only interested in accessories then you will probably enjoy this book.

I didn't buy this book because I read the editorial review first - seeing that it said "patterns from the archives...".

It's a nice idea and some people actually want a bound collection of past patterns some don't.

If you are looking for bite size stories that can be absorbed in a minute or less, this is a great book. Most are light-hearted and entertaining, though none will make you laugh out loud and some are pretty weak. However, with nearly 200 real stories covered, everyone will find a few that resonate with their own experiences.

This is a book for anyone whose business or job depends on above-and-beyond customer service. As technical account manager for enterprise software company NetIQ, customer service was my number one job, and I took heart from stories about taking off-hours calls when at first all I wanted was to spend the time with my family (see the story of Jeff Amland taking a call Thanksgiving evening to plow a driveway the same day when no one else would answer).

This book will have at least a few nuggets for everyone, but do not expect reading this book to lead you to any great paradigm shift.

Fabulous book. Great examples. Educational for all those in business as well as very entertaining. Heard that the authors are sponsoring an essay contest during June 1998 for all our good service experiences.

I agree. I'm in sales. The book is educational and entertaining. I heard about the contest too. All fans of Knock Your Socks Off Service should enter.

I bought this book to go along with a sock monkey I made for my grandchildren. The story is pretty lame. Very disappointing.

A simple yet clever book. Millionaire brings an endearing quality to this short story with humor and wit. You don't need to be familiar with Millionaire's other work to enjoy this book. Great for all ages.

This book is a lovely gift for a knitter or a sock monkey fan with a sense of humor. The story is cleverly told in two directions and the illustrations are gorgeous. It may look like a children's book, but I find Mr. Millionaire's books more suitable for adults.

I purchased several Chicken Socks books for my kids to keep them entertained on a long road trip, and this was one of them. Both my kids loved all the books! The books provided many hours of fun.

I bought this for my 3 year old daughter for a 9 hour plane flight (one of many items). She loved it! She wanted to go through each page and make each of the animals. She still loves it! We play with it every few days and she is now starting to get ideas for her own creations! A whole lot of fun.

The only drawback is that some pieces are small and easily get lost (Korean Air has acquired some felt pieces). Replacements are forthcoming.