When Things Just Keep Going Wrong

You know those days, where you feel like you can’t do anything right. In The Sorry Life of Timothy Shmoe by Stephanie Simpson McLellan and Zoe Si, Timothy doesn’t seem like he can ever do right his whole life. He is constantly having to write apology notes, to his dad, his Aunt, his sisters and the list goes on. He just seems to always be in trouble. For as much trouble as Timothy getsin, his family loves him, no matter what.

The Sorry Life of Timothy Shmoe is a funny story, written in a series of apology notes written by Timothy. He certainly shows remorse for the things he does and it is clear that he doesn't get into trouble because of any malice, just a series of poor decisions. So many children will identify with the making of not great decisions because this is where we are doing the most testing, learning and figuring out limits. 

Zoe Si’s illustrations add to the humour of the story! I particularly love the illustration at the dance recital and mom and dad’s frazzled looks. I enjoyed how all of the adults in the story never look mad, they look tired and frazzled but never so mad at Timothy that you don’t still know they love him no matter what.