Review by Booklist Review
Sophia has two problems: her giraffe, Noodle, gives supersloppy kisses to Grand-mamá, and he snores. Loudly. It's up to Sophia to find permanent fixes. First she researches and then asks an expert an acoustical engineer by the name of Ms. Canticle how to address the snoring. Through trial and error, Sophia zeroes in on a solution. Altering the snore by reshaping Noodle's long neck doesn't work. Blocking the noise by plugging everyone's ears doesn't work either. Finally, Sophia creates a mask for Noodle to wear when he is asleep. The mask works, and when the family sleeps through the night, they realize that Noodle belongs with their family no matter what problems he brings. Averbeck presents a clever, great introduction to methods of experimentation, showing children through the narrative how to hypothesize, plan, and investigate. This book is filled with high-level vocabulary, scientific words, and, to help with all that, a glossary. Good for one-on-one reading and explaining.--Camargo, Rosie Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this engaging sequel to One Word from Sophia, Sophia, an inventive and mechanically gifted girl must find a solution to the perturbing problem of her pet giraffe's raucous snoring. The child thought that having gotten Noodle, her "One True Desire," she would be completely happy. However, it turns out that having a giraffe as a pet comes with its own set of problems. Sophia's sleep-deprived mother demands that she find a solution to the unbearable snoring and Noodle for his part, tries to make up, but his sloppy kisses only aggravate the adults in the household. Brilliant young Sophia does extensive research and seeks out an acoustical engineer for assistance but it's ultimately her own ingenuity and engineering prowess that saves the day. The bright watercolor-and-colored pencil illustrations show Sophia's family chugging coffee as they suffer through the sleepless nights. Meanwhile, Noodle's serpentine neck swoops gleefully in and out of spreads with ossicones waggling. The book presumes that readers are ignorant of important giraffe data and offers a "Giraffacts" page right off the bat. The simple text contains some complex vocabulary but in keeping with the original, there is a handy glossary in the back for further assistance. VERDICT Pair this title with Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty or Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen for a female-centric STEM storytime.-Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Because of giraffe Noodle's loud snoring, Sophia's new pet (her birthday gift in One Word from Sophia) may be exiled from her quirky family. Approaching the problem scientifically, inquisitive Sophia consults an acoustical engineer, then experiments, fails, and finally builds a wacky "snore transformer" that turns Noodles's snoring into "a sweet giraffian lullaby." Loose, Raschka-esque watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations complement the story's playful language. Glos. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sophia proves she's not only a gifted linguist and negotiator (One Word from Sophia, 2015), but a brilliant engineer, as well.Endpapers (cleverly oriented to require a height-emphasizing 90-degree turn) open the book with "giraffacts" that are referenced in the story. Sophia's birthday wish from the previous installment has been fulfilled, but she's "happysad": It seems that "giraffe-size problems" come with Noodle, her kiss-happy, snoring One True Desire. Ismail's expressive, hilarious watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations once again shine. Noodle has a long tonguethe giraffacts state it's about 20 inches longwhich makes his liquid kisses less-than-welcome to many members of Sophia's interracial family. Though Noodle is "especially fond of Grand-mam," she is decidedly not a fan of his "sloppy" kisses. Neither is the family dog, who, dismayed and disgusted, is lifted right off the ground by Noodle's extralong tongue! With Noodle's snoring keeping the entire family awake, Sophia's jurist mother gives her a directive: "to find a perdurable solution to his problems" (the first of many synonyms for "permanent"). That's all Sophia needs to let her incredible engineering skills shine. First, she wisely consults an expert, an acoustical engineer, depicted as a woman of color. When at first she doesn't succeed, Sophia, who has brown skin and wears her hair in two Afro-puff ponytails, perseveres until she finds an abiding solution.Fun, clever, and empowering, this is the rare case of a sequel that outshines its predecessor. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
