Ten Sleepy Sheep

Publishers Weekly

Root's (The Name Quilt) bucolic bedtime counting book uses some spirited lambs to help young readers unwind. " `Time to sleep,'/ call the mama sheep/ in the grass knee-deep./ But ten little sheep/ don't want to sleep." A rhythmic, alliterative countdown ensues, as one by one the spunky lambs conk out at various places around the farmyard. "Five sheep scoot/ past the red barn door./ Swallows swoop./ Barn owls whoop./ Sleep, sheep./ Now there are..." (the numeral four tops the next spread). The italicized plea to sleep appears just above a vignette of a lamb settling down next to a bale of hay. The same lamb-looking more sluggish than his bouncy companions-can be found in the spread's main illustration. Gaber's (The Very First Thanksgiving Day) acrylic and pastel artwork nimbly portrays the energetic but dwindling flock while maintaining a dream-like air with soft edges and backdrops of dusky greens and blues. The pastoral scenes offer varied perspectives, from close-ups of the young sheep cavorting in a pond to aerial views of them frolicking amid the farm's routines as the day winds down. Comfortingly predictable in layout and rhyme scheme, this book serves as a soothing numerical nightcap. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

What happens when it's time for sleep, and ten sheep don't want to sleep? This is a story filled with adventure and charm! Ten sheep explore a green gate, leap a cucumber vine, and amble past an apple tree. Each page of this enticing picture book details an adventure which leaves one less sheep in the group. Finally, one sheep remains and can't sleep. So, Mama suggests counting sheep. Soon, the young sheep is soundly sleeping. The pictures are beautiful, soft, illustrations in hues of green, yellow, and soft whites. The tender expressions on each sheep will appeal to young readers. The written language is fun and includes; swallows swoop, crickets strum, and barn owls whoop. This beautifully illustrated and well written counting book is the perfect bed time story for any young child. The book would make a perfect gift for any young child and their family. 2004, Candlewick Press, Ages 3 to 5.
—Mindy Hardwick

School Library Journal

PreS-K-Ten frisky lambs romp around the farm not quite ready for bed. Each time they move from one place to another, one is left behind, sound asleep. All of the spreads are configured in the same manner: an oversized illustration extends to the second page with a short stanza on the right: "10/Ten little sheep/leap the cucumber vine./Long grass bends./Spider mends./Sleep, sheep." Beneath the text is a smaller, softly focused vignette spotlighting the animal that has just fallen asleep. Finally, under this drawing is the phrase, "Now there are-," which will garner listener participation and encourage a quick turn of the page. The lambs are all wearing different colored ribbons around their necks, a visual touch that allows readers to track them individually. At story's end, one lamb remains awake and her mama asks, "Have you tried counting sheep?" As the text reiterates all of the sleeping places, an illustration of the entire farm maps all of the locales. Done in acrylics and pastels, the art carries readers from sunset to moonrise and the light is soft with lush greens and blues darkening gradually as dusk falls. Gaber uses curved lines-bounding sheep, bulging buildings-and a close focus on the action to create an intimate perspective. This sweet and simple book is nicely paced for a bedtime tale but would also be effective for group sharing.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this snooze-time, count-down rhyme, ten lambs, each identified in Gaber's cozy, twilit scenes by a differently colored neck ribbon, gambol about farmyard and fields, nodding off one by one until the last one comes back to Mama: " ‘Mama, I can't sleep.' / ‘Hush,' says her mama. / ‘Have you tried counting sheep?' " The murmurous rhythms of Root's rhyme, the soothing serenity of Gaber's art, plus smooth verbal and visual transitions between spreads make this invitation to dreamland as hard for wakeful lambs of the two-legged variety to resist as Jane Dyer's Lullaby Moons and a Silver Spoon (2003), Ruth Louise Symes's Sheep Fairy (2003), or other bedtime reading that features the ever-popular woollies. (Picture book. 3-6)