ShBeep is a one-of-a-kind sheep that likes to use his imagination. One day he meets a girl with a pot on her head that tells him he can’t play checkers because he’s a sheep and there are no checkers on the checkerboard. He responds that he can, and it doesn’t matter he can use his imagination. So begins the friendship of Poppy and ShBeep.
The characters are interesting. I like that ShBeep is his own kind of sheep. I love that he wears silly clothes, I love his hat and long wool. The fleas he had were a bit much for me. Poppy is so cute she has her own style. I love the different outfits she wears to school. She has a beautiful big imagination. I love that we met her wearing a pot on her head. The Ringmaster was a good antagonist to having things go wrong at the circus. Poppy’s mother was interesting because she seemed to not be worried about Poppy even though she was gone a long time.
The illustrations were cute. The style is one that I haven’t seen before. I liked the drawings of Poppy the best. The dialogue between characters was a little strange. I felt if the author was trying to sound modern, but it didn’t quite translate into how kids would talk. It took me out of the fantasy world a little too much. The plot starts with ShBeep and Pop talking about the farmer and school. They go on adventures in their imagination at first. Then they decide to go on a real adventure to the circus. After the circus, the plot starts to unravel as they jump from one random thing to another making the storyline pretty hard to follow.
As a parent, I like the message of the book that we are all unique. I think more kids need to be reminded that it’s okay to have their own style and do what brings you joy. I think that Poppy and ShBeep showed the reader that aspect in a big way. As an educator, I liked the message of the book, but I would question if this book is something a chapter book reader could process. The plot is hard to follow and the dialogue very different might be hard for a young reader. It would be a book that a teacher would need to read aloud or read along with the child.
