FICTION

Sheep Go to Sleep

by Nancy SHAW
illus. by Margot Apple. 32p. Houghton Harcourt. May 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780544309890. LC 2014009947.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—Shaw's eighth installment in her beloved "Sheep" series (Houghton Harcourt) is as lifting and soothing as the first. Rhyming text softly rocks readers alongside a patient border collie who puts five sheep to sleep by fulfilling their bedtime wishes. These requests range from a hug, a drink, a cozy quilt, and a teddy bear. The story is illustrated with Apple's signature colored-pencil drawings; they are sweet and soft, just right for bedtime.
VERDICT This book will be a favorite for any reluctant sleepyheads.
Reviewed by Melisa Bailey, Harford County Library System, MD
After frolicking through seven books (beginning with Sheep in a Jeep, rev. 11/86), these five iconic sheep are just plain tuckered out. No surprise that it’s time for bed. But complications arise: “Screeches! Rustling! Noisy crickets! / Sheep hear hoots from nearby thickets. // Nighttime noises scare the sheep. / Really, who could go to sleep?” Enter a trusty border collie who settles the sheep down one by one, nicely integrating core concepts such as counting, addition, and subtraction. Apple’s soft colored-pencil illustrations set a peaceful pastoral scene, while the soothing assonant sounds of the text ask young listeners to, well, begin counting their own sheep. A clever ending gives a (quiet) shout-out to Mother Goose. betty carter
After frolicking through seven books, these five sheep are tuckered out. It's time for bed, but "nighttime noises scare the sheep. / Really, who could go to sleep?" Enter a border collie who settles the sheep down, integrating core concepts such as counting, addition, and subtraction. Soft colored-pencil illustrations set a peaceful pastoral scene; the text's assonant sounds are soothing.
 , Feb 01, 2015

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