Review: Sweet Sammy
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 16, 2013
Sammy the Shark was a good children's book.  I liked the fact that it covered the whole face of the Kindle so the words as well as the pictures were displayed nicely.  (This is when it is held vertically.  If horizontal, you only get either the words or pictures, but it doesn't make the picture bigger.)The story is about a shark who wants to spend his day making new friends, but his appearance scares the other sea creatures.  His demeanor is well mannered, and he is polite, but the other creatures couldn't get past the way he looked.  The book is repetitive in nature with Sammy asking the different potential friends the same lines and all their responses are exactly the same.  The only thing that changes is the sea creature.  It would be good for an early reader because they can get used to the words because of the repetitiveness.  The sea creatures are captured by the evil fisherman that night after rejecting Sammy the Shark.  He is their savior and they realize that they shouldn't have judged Sammy before they got to know him.The lesson of course is, you can't judge a book by its cover.  My 8 year old said that he liked the book. He takes this lesson to heart because that is how he treats people.  People judge him because of how they think that he is because of his intelligence and shyness, so he is reluctant to do that to others.  He was making comments saying that he would be friends with Sammy because he wouldn't want to judge Sammy by how he looks, but by his character; how he treats others.