This contemporary book is a 2025 Newbery Honor Book. Supported by the author’s illustrations, Magnolia and a new friend go on a simple quest to find the owners of the lost socks left at Magnolia’s family’s laundromat. Going through the neighborhood, interviewing potential sock owners, and following their hunches, the new friends interact with a wide-swath of humanity in New York City. It showcases the diversity that makes a small community within a large city wonderful, but also takes time at the personal level to touch on some real-life themes in an authentic and age-appropriate way. Clocking in at only only 145 pages, this is a quick read. This story starts on Magnolia’s 10th birthday so it is perfect for those nine and ten-year-olds out there.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Verbal shouting at someone and throwing an clothing at them; graffiti saying “go home” written on a building; verbal bullying.
Sex/Nudity: A girl admits she likes a boy.
Mature Subject Matter:
Racial prejudice, graffiti, anxiety, reference to parent who would get angry and violent.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
None



