Review Detail

Shermy and Shake are back in this quintessential book on friendship between two second-grade boys. This is a sequel but the references from the first book are explained and I don’t believe it hurt comprehension not to have read the first book. This is an early chapter book whose chapters are divided up between incidents from September till Thanksgiving. In each incident, Shermy is navigating having a close friend who also makes him feel jealous and not as cool. It is a constant clash between the expectations of how he pictures events unfolding versus how Shake makes things happen differently. Shermy is a rule follower and sees life in black and white so when Shake can do things spontaneously or act in the gray of Shermy’s expectations it is hard for him to adjust. There is always a sweet resolution at the end of each incident making this a book easy to put down and then resume without confusion for young readers. The periodic illustrations also support a reader moving into chapter books and longer texts. Overall, this book encapsulates the push and pull of friendship and learning to cooperate around others which will resonate with early chapter readers.