What Does Sophie Eat is the second of 4 stories in the Sophie Story Series for young children (pre-K, Kindergarten, Grade 1). After each story page is read aloud, children tap “blue words” to trigger surprising animations that illustrate a word meaning or cause Wizding letter people to “dance out” the sounds of a word. Using blue words, children are introduced to cvc words like “red” and “hen” one sound at a time, simple sight words, like “and," plus “onset and rime,” in words such as, “ch-icks, chicks."

In Sophie 2, the hens, chicks, Angela and Carlos try to figure out what Sophie will eat. She doesn’t like chick mash! Will she eat hay like the cow? Blackberries? The hens are worried. Who can figure out what she’d like? There are 3 more Sophie Stories in the series, where Sophie grows up and takes the kids on her wings to new places. This comforting story is suitable for very young children, who can gain early reading insight while they delight in a story that resonates with their experience. What child has not disliked a new food?

Sophie Stories introduce children to “the alphabetic principle” (that letters make sounds, and sounds come together to make meaning in a word). Sophie Stories also build “phonemic awareness,” learning specific sounds of letters. But unlike workbook pages so common in school work, Sophie provides a delightful context for playing with letter sounds. Children like to find the silly surprises in blue words, and sometimes encounter some new phonics concepts along the way.