By: Laura Numeroff, Nate Evans Publisher: Puffin Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Puffin Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 32 Publication Date: November 03, 2005 Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Book Description: Sherman Crunchley is Biscuit City's nicest police officer, but that's just the problem. He's too nice! Sherman comes from a long line of police chiefs, but it's hard to be a great police officer when you're the kind of guy who can't say no. Can Sherman find the courage to tell his father he doesn't want to be the next chief of police? Beautifully illustrated and filled with canine capers, this silly story barks out a serious message—being true to oneself.
Two authors, two stories We got this book from our local library after seeing it offered in our monthly Scholastic books order form. As I have come to find out, if you are ever thinking about buying a book that has been out for a little while, you would be smart to go to your local library before making an investment in a book you know little about. I am glad that we did with this particular book. I would have bought it on Laura Numeroff's name recognition alone, but after reading it, we will not be buying it. The synopsis of the story has been well detailed by other reviewers, so I will go straight to my likes and dislikes of the book itself.
The book starts out talking about a dog who does not like police work, but stays in the profession because his family has been in the business forever. Suddenly, we find out he likes hats. I know that they come in to play at the end of the book, but until you get to the end of the book, you begin to wonder why this has become a sidebar of the book. Then the book just seems to jump from one idea to another without any real organization to the story. I almost got the impression that the two authors were given different parts of the story to develop, but they failed to talk to each other about what they were doing, and then decided to meld their pieces of the work to create a book. Which leads me to wonder, why did it take TWO authors to write this story anyway?
I give credit to the authors in trying to teach children how to say "no", and staying true to yourself, but the story is just not cohesive. There are funny parts to the story like Sherman using a hypnotist to help him learn to say no, with disasterous results, but it does not make up for the rest of the story. The illustrations are adorable, and your children will enjoy looking at all the wonderfully creative hats the illustrator has designed.
For all you Laura Numeroff fans out there, be advised that this book is nothing like her famous "If you Give a Pig a Pancake", the "Moose and Muffins" book, or anything else from that series. I would also question one of the other reviews that said she wouldn't hesitate to use this book with older children or even adults. And using it as a book for students learning to read stymies me as well. It would be a challenge for a new reader because of some of the vocabulary that is used is beyond a new reader, and it is longer than most level 2 reading books. It would really be more appropriate for an independent reader since you will encounter words like hypnotist, expected, officer, distract, sombrero, retirement, miserable, foreign, commercial, and many others that a new reader would not be able to handle. My suggestion is that you try your library first, and then make the investment if you like the book better than my son did. He decided he did not want to buy the book from Scholastic for his own collection of books after we read it, and so back to the library it went.
NOT Taking a Bite Out of Crime Police officer and beagle Sherman Crunchley is just not suited for law enforcement. He's much too nice and unassertive, and so he has a dilemma on his unsharpened claws: He will inherit the position of police chief--passed down through his family like an heirloom--upon the approaching retirement of his father. Sherman's clearly unsuited for the job: he won't give tickets, and seems oblivious to the crimes of Biscuit City, a small town populated only by dogs. However, Sherman is afraid he'll disappoint his dad that his calling is collecting hats-not taking a bite out of crime.
The unassertive Sherman needs to tell his dad, somehow. He turns to how-to books at the library, on TV ads, and, most humorously, from a small canine hypnotist. None of these schemes works. When Professor Hamboni trains him to say, "No, I don't want to be the chief of police!" Sherman repeatedly shows that he is a poor candidate for hypnotism. Leaving his trance, Sherman enthusiastically flubs his line:
"I don't want to be the chief of fleas!" "I don't want to be the chief of slow geese!" "I don't want to be the beef or the cheese!"
Sherman does what all young pups all taught: He uses his words. In this case, that means spelling out his message, one letter on each party hat worn at his father's retirement fete. His father gets the message, and two happy surprises conclude the book: Dad wants to stay on the job, but had his own problem-he didn't want to disappoint Sherman. Even better, Sherman opens his own hat store, where his difficulty in saying "yes' endears him to his many customers.
"Sherman Crunchley," beginning with the title, is a humorous but ultimately somewhat contrived book. The device of the hat telegraphs the ending, and seems pasted on as a convenient solution. Why would a dog like hats? The book is episodic and jokey, but at least they're good jokes, and young ones will especially like--and perhaps relate to--Sherman's cleverly imagined but repeatedly failed attempts. In an interesting twist, veteran author Laura Numeroff ("If You Give a Mouse a Cookie") and Nate Evans take a chance by directly addressing their audience with the phrase "you get the idea," as in "His great-great-great (you get the idea) grandfather was the first ever police chief in Biscuit City. Unfortunately, the device wears thin; it would have lasted longer had Numeroff and Evans really, really, really, really, really exaggerated the repetition.
Although the story doesn't flow as smoothly as it might have, the jokes and wonderful big-faced pictures of dogs by illustrator Tim Bowers is enjoyable and could prompt some discussion about how to talk about things you'd rather not talk about, and "Woof!" is not an option.
This book is fantastic! This book is so wonderful. It is the first book my 7 year old, almost second grader has really "read". We have struggled. His principal told me, when you find a book he is interested in, he will read. I found it! I could have fainted when he was just reading along, all the words he normally struggles with. Not just reading either. He was throughly enjoying this book. The part about Hamboni, cracked us both up. Thank-you for writing this book. It has brought us to a bridge I thought was unreachable. Heartfelt thanks to the writer and illustrator.
Christopher's Mom
Gentle, but Powerful This gentle story is creatively unique, full of life lessons charmingly presented and illustrated. A parent or teacher could use Sherman Crunchley as a "cute fun story" or as a book to read to a school class for "hat day".
A parent or teacher could also go deeply into the book, discussing Sherman's problem solving process, the topic of being true to one's self, the use of personal interests for choosing a career, creativeness and more.
I wouldn't hesitate to use it with young children, teens or adults. In fact, I have used it for my community college class, "You Can Teach Someone to Read". The life lessons are that pertinent and the story is that delightful.
Written by Lorraine Peoples, author of award-winning book, YOU CAN TEACH SOMEONE TO READ.
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