Sophia wants one thing for her birthday. It is her One True Desire. She wants a pet giraffe. The problem is she has four roadblocks: her mother the judge, her father the businessman, her uncle Conrad the politician and her Grand-Mama who is strict. Presenting her case to each person one at a time, Sophia does not get any closer to her goal as she is informed that they are “too long” (or they are too effusive, loquacious or verbose) or have missing or incomplete information (no matter how nifty her pie chart might be). After all four have had a case presented to them, Sophia tries one more time with a group presentation. One that makes her realize that sometimes it only takes One Word from Sophia (and some compelling eyes) to make her case. Will this finally be the way Sophia can obtain her One True Desire?
Jim Averbeck’s text has humor and seriousness. They show how if you keep trying you never know what you might accomplish. Sometimes it only takes one-word (then latter two special words) to obtain your goal and to show appreciation.
Yasmeen Ismail joins in with illustrations that are whimsical and quirky. While there is no question what or who everything/everyone is, they are child-like and a tad bit abstract. This adds to the tone of the story, tying everything into place perfectly.
While I am not sure the ending was what I wanted or even suspected, it does fit the theme and tone.
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