Sophie, Pay Attention (Rhoda, You Too)!

Has your child ever forgotten to do his homework? Or had trouble paying attention to little details? In Susan Barnett Baun’s Sophie, Pay Attention (You Too, Rhoda)!, young Sophie is struggling with the same problem. Not only that, but Sophie’s family doubts her when she says she’s spotted a deer in their yard. Their disbelief causes no end of frustration to Sophie. Sophie knows she needs to do something… but what?

Along comes Mrs. Westfall with a Sunday School lesson about another young girl who sounds a lot like Sophie: Rhoda. Rhoda was with a group of Christians who were praying for the apostle Paul when, lo and behold, Paul comes knocking on their door. Rhoda answers it, and is so excited she forgets to let Paul in. Then when she runs to tell the others, no one believes her. Inspired by the Bible story, Sophie determines to work hard, to do the right thing about her homework, and to keep telling the truth about the deer.

The story is told in first person with age appropriate language. Sophie is a likeable character with a good heart.

What I Like: I have been a long-time advocate for Christian children’s fiction written for this age group… so it’s refreshing to see another book geared toward this particular audience. Plus the story has a good takeaway value without being preachy. It reminds me of the Natalie books by Dandi Daley Mackall (targeted toward a slightly younger age group) and the Meghan Rose books by Lori Z. Scott (for grades K-2) and Cindy Kenney's Precious Girl's Club series (geared for ages 9-12). Sophie isn't quite as well written, but it’s still an easy and enjoyable read. If your children like those series, they'll probably like Sophie too. I also LOVE the price. You can hardly go wrong when the cost is so reasonable.

What I Dislike: This is minor, but I didn’t particularly care for the first half of the opening chapter, which read like a laundry list. I would have liked a stronger opening. Even so, once the author got into the action of the story, I found it engaging and fun.

Overall Rating: Very good

Age Appeal: The publisher lists ages 6-9.

Publisher Info: Amazon Digital Services, no year listed; ASIN: B005P3NKJ0; available in Kindle version only, 23 PGS., $2.99

This book is not available at Christianbook.com.
Buy the kindle version at Amazon.com for $2.99.