Sophia’s Secrets

In this delightfully compelling picture book, a young girl named Sophia provides great insight into her thoughts and dreams expressed as “tiny kid secret[s]”, many of which she keeps to herself or shares with special friends, living or imagined. For instance, her secret system of wearing certain colours on specific days is told only to Poppy Parrot who may or may not share it with her other stuffies. Sometimes, a thought or feeling is more complex, like a “grumpy secret” or a “deep secret”, in which case Sophia will keep it private, sometimes engaging in ritualistic behaviour to manage her feelings. But when she exchanges secrets with her brother Ben, Sophia discovers the pleasure and wonder of hearing someone else’s hidden thoughts.

Written in a rhythmic, poetic manner, Sophia’s Secrets presents an astounding array of potential secrets children can carry with them. Young readers will find the book’s contents to be incredibly relatable. The illustrations are exquisite, done in mixed media (charcoal, coloured pencils, and digital), in an especially detailed fashion, including subtle shading and interesting facial expressions or features (e.g. the teacher’s “caterpillar eyebrows”). The elaborate and accurate depictions of nature are noted, such as the varied colours of leaves. Sophia’s Secrets is an interesting and unique title addressing children’s inner worlds.