Sammy the shark is super stoked for the first day of school. But when Sammy gets excited, he tends to bite things. He gets so excited about breakfast that he bites the table. At school, he gets so excited playing tag, that he swallows another student. He gets so excited about story time that he eats the book. He gets so excited about his painting, he eats it. During creative movement, he gets so excited that he eats the teacher. It's unclear if she survives the shark attack, but kids will get a kick out of Sammy crunching into things that shouldn't be eaten, and giggle at his excitement over everyday things.
British author and illustrator Nick Ward's cartoon version of a young shark is friendly and colorful. Sammy is placed in human settings, but if you look closely, you'll see little bubbles in each illustration to remind us that Sammy is a marine animal and all of this is happening in the ocean.
There is a sequel about Sammy - Don't Eat the Babysitter (yikes), which you can get along with Don't Eat the Teacher on Amazon.
Interesting fact: Ward is a survivor of one of the worst sailing accidents in modern history.
This cute story lists all the thing teachers can't do - use the hall pass to go to the bathroom, finger paint in their good clothes, feed the class pets by themselves, cry if they skin their knee, etc... I laughed out loud at the assumption the child makes that teachers doesn't know the answer to 2+2, otherwise why on earth would they keep asking the students for the answer?!?
Author Douglas Wood ends with this sweet thought, "No one knows why there are so many things teachers can't do. Maybe it's because they're so busy doing the thing they do best of all. Teaching you."
Illustrator Doug Cushman (he has a how-to watercolor series on YouTube) has created vivid, happy illustrations, and though I confess I'm not sure exactly what animal these characters are, the pictures are a spot on portrayal of teacher life.
Other books in this series - What Mom's Can't Do, What Dads Can't Do, What Santa Can't Do. All of these are available on Amazon.
When I opened this book today, I saw this and a wave of love for this student and her sweet family washed over me. She was in my class for 2 years, both of her little sisters were in my class for 2 years as well, and her mom was an AMAZING classroom and school volunteer! I can hardly believe she is married with 2 young children - XO, Ashley!
- Why Picture Books are Important by Doug Cushman
- What Teachers Can't Do read aloud by Missy Monsivais
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