No one is immune. Two socks go into the dryer. One comes out. In Jacquese Groves’ delightful new children’s book, Sassy Sisters vs The Sock Monster, two precocious young characters, modeled on her own daughters, try to unravel the mystery of their missing socks and are surprised by what they discover.

The younger sister overhears their parents talking about how the sock monster
got their socks again. She convinces her older sister to help her find the sock monster.

The little one subscribes to the Nike theory: Just do it. Her guiding principle is to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

The girls eventually discover that the sock monster means no harm — she just happens to like some of their things and wants to keep them! That’s when the sisters step in and set the record straight to save their family’s socks.

Jacquese Groves is a children’s book author who is passionate about writing stories that feature children of color as the lead characters having normal child-like experiences. Long concerned about the lack of diversity in children’s books, she made the decision to address her concern rather than complain about it. Jacquese firmly believes that representation matters. For a child, it is transformative to open a book and see herself represented in its pages.

Groves said, “I wrote the book for my girls, very much a way for me to say, ‘You are worthy of being stars in this story.’”

She explained that most books for Black children feature mostly historical characters and sports stars, but not normal Black children having normal childhood experiences. In any media, “When we don’t see ourselves we feel invisible; but when we do see ourselves we feel invincible. We need to see that in print too.

"When you see someone who looks like you being extraordinary, it’s transformative and empowering.”

Through her writing, she hopes that seeing themselves represented reinforces for children of color that they are indeed worthy of the starring role and that their dreams and goals are attainable. Sassy Sisters vs The Sock Monster, her first book, was published under her own imprint, ChocolateBlue, LLC. It earned acclaim from the prestigious Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

			“That new little sticker in the corner means so much to me! This book was a love letter to my daughters. I didn't write it for awards. I wrote it because representation matters and because I want them and other kids that look like them to know, unequivocally, that they too are worthy of being the star of the story. That said, the recognition is icing on the cake, and I am humbled.”

About the Author

	Jacquese Groves is a Nashville native, wife, mom of two, realtor and lifelong lover of books. Sassy Sisters vs The Sock Monster was born out of her desire to bring increased diversity to the children’s book landscape by writing stories that feature children of color. The book was published by ChocolateBlue, LLC, the publishing company that she founded in tandem with the debut of her book in October 2020. Passionate about childhood literacy, Groves sits on the board of a local childhood literacy nonprofit organization, Book’em, and, as part of her commitment to that organization, volunteers as a classroom reader at a local elementary school. Sassy Sisters vs The Sock Monster was named by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group as one of the best indie books of 2021.

For more information, please visit www.jacquesegroves.com, or follow the author on Instagram at @iamjacquesegroves. The book is available at Barnes and Noble.

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