Sherman Crunchley by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans is an adorable book about a dog, who is supposed to take over his dad’s job as a police chief in their town; however, he does not want to be a police chief. Feeling immensely pressured, Sherman does not know how to say no to the offer. He attempts many ways to learn how to simply say “no” to the job, but can’t build up enough might, scared he might disappoint his family members. Finally, he denies the job at the end of the story.
I love the way the author shows how nervous Sherman is to tell his family that he doesn’t want the job by showing all the extremes he goes to for help (videos, etc), because I’m sure this is something many children (adults too!) can relate to. We all have those situations where we are faced with an offer we do not particularly want, but have trouble building up the guts to say how we really feel. This story lets students know they are not alone. In addition, the message also offers that you don’t need to do what your parents want you to do, but to do what you want to do. The pictures in the story are great-really bright with lots of colors, and I like how the picture at the end of the book gives away the ending, without using any words.