Garden of Lost Socks

A curious girl helps a new friend find his lost sock in Giller Prize winner Esi Edugyan’s first picture book, Garden of Lost Socks.

The cover art shows two children in an urban garden. The girl is looking though a magnifying glass, and a boy holds a notepad and pencil. They are looking for something. Illustrator Amélie Dubois’s soft-coloured and pretty drawing is a good hook for what appears to be a young children’s adventure story.

But confusion begins when the reader turns to the first page. The text reads, “Akosua was always told she was too nosey.” But Dubois’s drawing shows the little girl, Akosua, blowing a type of piccolo clarinet at her dad who seems to be surprised. The illustration should explain or advance the narrative, but, in this case, it’s at odds with the author’s intent.

Edugyan writes: “Her parents loved her very much, but she always seemed to find trouble.” Should one assume that waving her instrument at the cat (perched on the fridge) or banging a frying pan are unacceptable, troublesome activities? Neither loving nor disapproving parents
appear in the picture.

Akosua then says, “I’m an exquirologist … I can find anything.” without leading the reader to understand that an exquirologist is an outdated term for an inquisitive person. The magnifying glass in her hand is the only clue. How she discovered this description for herself, or if someone else applied it to her, is unknown.

Her brothers then deride her for not having friends, again without support.

Akosua goes out the door where she meets Max, a boy who has lost one of his favourite socks. She offers to help find it. He’s delighted and tells her he’s a journalist who writes about the neighbourhood. Some of his quirky headlines include: Little boy who talked to ghost for 2 years learns only now that it loves mushroom soup. He’ll chronicle their journey.

Off they go, down the street, through Max’s bedroom to the laundromat where they discover a longhorn beetle missing a leg, something which Akosua declares is good luck (no explanation provided) and a barbershop where garden slugs wearing numbered jerseys are racing (no explanation as to how the slugs got in or why that is happening in a barbershop).

They finally find the sock which a mama cat has added to other socks she’s stolen. She’s collected them to make a cushy nest for her kittens in the community garden, surrounded by colourful fruits and vegetables. Max breaks the news with the headline: Missing sock finds new life as home of the 6th kitten of peach-eating cat. That’s great news, however, there is no evidence of the cat collecting or consuming peaches from the nearby tree. No peach pits litter the grass.

Dubois, who illustrates books, magazines and for television, puts a whimsical touch in her drawings. The children are slightly imperfect and endearing, which justify their atypical vocations. The socks she draws will make any child envious. The cats are wide-eyed, curious and pleasingly innocent. Dubois’ pictures are busy, but she deftly uses a combination of muted and brighter colours that make each page interesting to examine.

Victoria-based Edugyan achieved notoriety in the literary world for her book, Washington Black, which won the Giller in 2018 and which was also a finalist for the Booker Prize. Her earlier noted works include Half-Blood Blues and The Second Life of Samuel Tyne.

The Garden of Lost Socks is an acceptable picture book, one that could be developed further for its humour and lessons that it’s okay to be quirky and that quirky friends can be great friends.