Member Reviews

What a lovely book. It was supposed to be a book with music but unfortunately we couldn't get the music portion to play. Looking at the pictures though made it so easy to imagine the music that would have been playing. My 5 year old loved it and we read it quite a few times in a row. I will definitely recommend this book to children with kindergartners. I will probably purchase it so that we can hear the music and read it a few more times. This book was given to me by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

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Captain Sofia is a fun pairing of lovely classical music and beautiful artwork that makes Sofia's imagined adventures come to life! Each time Sofia closes her eyes she dreams up a new and exciting experience. One moment she may be a princess in a castle, then a witch concocting potions, and finally, a pirate! Journey along with Sofia to see where her spirited mind will take you in this delightful new children's book. I highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book!

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Thanks NetGalley for the ARC! My toddler and I enjoyed every page!!! We always enjoy a good book that helps encourage imagination and Sofia came through with that! Even without being able to hear the sound element of this book, we still enjoyed reading the story. What toddler doesn't enjoy pirates, mermaids, and treasure?! Looking forward to adding a hard copy to our bookshelf so we can experience the music portion with the story. It will make for a great before bed story.

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What a fun introduction to classical music! The illustrations were gorgeous and the story was wonderfully imaginative. Great information in the back about the composer that can be included or left out when reading to your littles depending on their level of comprehension.

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Should be fun reading this book, with background musics to help you imagine the scene better. Moreover, the musics are from Beethoven! A good way to introduce classical musics and composer to kids.

This is the story of Sofia, who can be anything she wants, if she dreams about it. This time being a strong pirate captain, who is fearless and adventurous. The copy provided didn't include the music, although we have an excerpt to listen to, and it sounds fun merging with the story. Please have a read too!

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I have actually recommended this book to the music teacher at my school. I think it would work well with her classical music unit.

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This is a beautiful book with detailed but soft illustrations. Sofia imagines she's a pirate and battles a sea monster by staring it down. Parents might want to be aware that the mermaid in this book doesn't wear the usual seashells to cover her chest, though she is a young girl. At the end of the story, young readers are given a brief summary of Beethoven's life and introduced to his Symphony No 5. The best thing about this book are the 13 music fragments that are included with buttons on each page. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital copy.

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Captain Sofia is an enchanting story about the power and beauty of our dreams, accompanied by gorgeous artwork.

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This short book about a girl who is on a huge boat. The drawings in the book make you feel like you are right on the boat and in the water with Sofia. How will she be as a Captain? What will she find while in the water? This would be great for a classroom read or a bedtime story at home.

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This was a cute children’s book and the addition of audio clips was new to me. Some of the audio clips didn’t seem to match the tone of the passage they were connected to and some seemed like they could have been longer. The story itself was cute but felt rushed at the end.

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Thanks to Clavis Publishing (via NetGalley) for an advanced e-review copy of "Captain Sofia" by An Leysen, including music by Ludwig von Beethoven.

Ahhh I can not wait to be able to see "Captain Sofia" in person and hear how the illustrations and words and music all come together. From the e-copy, I have high expectations.

I love the imagination, the strong female character, and the illustrations that put you right into the action.
What an incredible combination!

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I love a children's book with a female main character, especially one where the character does typically masculine things... like become a pirate and a captain to a huge ship and fight off huge sea monsters. This is a cute short book about a girl who dreams of being something amazing each night and it shows girls that they can do anything and everything they dream of.

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Thank you to Clavis Publishing and Netgalley for having this Earc to read and review.

While Sofia is asleep she dreams of being a fearsome pirate, going on a fun adventure taking over a ship, battling sea monsters and more. I loved reading this story it was filled with adventure, the illustrations were stunning and so beautiful capturing the story before us perfectly. The added classic musicals the story goes along adds the atmosphere and gets the mind working.

I highly recommend this book, it would be perfect as a peaceful book to read with a child before bed, with the relaxing classic music for the effect and the fun pirate adventure to imagine.

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My daughter loved this story. It is a very imaginative story about a little girl called Sofia who becomes a pirate in her dreams and goes on a wonderful adventure. Her adventures include battling sea monsters, meeting mermaids and discovering treasure. The illustrations are beautiful and my daughter spent a long time looking at each of them. Unfortunately we couldn't listen to the audio with the story (as our copy was an ebook) but I'm sure the music added even more to the story. There seemed to be a couple of typos in the print (Sofia was spelt as Sophia on a few of the pages.)
I would recommend this book to children aged 3-6 years.
Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

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Captain Sofia takes us on a daring adventure at sea as we enter Sophia's dreams. We meet a mermaid, stare down a sea monster and even find treasure.

It is beautifully illustrated and the style of artwork portrays the story perfectly. On each page is a sample of Beethoven's music. I liked the idea of piecing the two mediums together to create a new experience while reading. I didn't have access to the music but it is stated in the back of the book and I am familiar with Beethoven's work. There is also a reference in the back that shows you the songs played so you and your little one can listen to the piece in full. Perhaps to relive that moment of Sophia's adventure. Or perhaps to simply admire the music. The end also includes some info about Beethoven himself which is great for little ones curious about the music.

The story itself is exciting and easy to read to little ones. It is recommended to 4+ years but I think 3+ would also enjoy it.

Content Note: The illustration of the mermaid does feature her without clothing. This means her chest is bare. The mermaid is a child (similar age to Sohpia I'm guessing) and not developed. I didn't find this off-putting or inappropriate by any means. However, I know there are some parents that may, so I thought it necessary to note it.

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher and NetGalley (thank you so much!) All opinions are my own.

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Captain Sofia is a lovely story that both myself and my 4 year old son enjoyed. The illustrations were beautiful and really enhanced the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for my ARC.

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This book makes excellent use of descriptive language to draw the reader into the fantasy world of the main character's dream. Wonderfully drawn illustrations masterfully portrayed the story.

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A Cute story perfect for bedtime. Will definitely be added to out rotation.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

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I did not get the opportunity to listen to the music that accompanies this story, but I love the idea of mixing mediums together. I enjoy music, and I know that music is a fantastic way to help students learn.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful, but I am concerned that some parents may find one of the pictures inappropriate. There is one picture showing a mermaid with no clothing over her breasts. If you are one who believes that issues like this are not a big deal, then please ignore this. If you prefer not to see frontal nudity in a book, even if it is on little girl mermaids, then you might not want to purchase this book for your child.

Even though I love the idea of including the music in the book, I will not be purchasing a copy of it for my school's library. Books with gadgets like this tend to get broken easily, and it is difficult to keep it in pristine condition for everyone.

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I received an advance copy of, Captain Sofia, by An Leysen. This is a cute story about the adventures of Sofia. You can even hear music to accompany the story. The illustrations are really good too.

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