Hide and Sheep

March 7, 2011
This amusing counting book features Farmer McFitt's sheep, who pole vault the gate and have a busy day in the city. While the format is familiar—one sheep stays behind at each location they visit—Beaty's (Firefighter Ted) smart couplets and Mayer's (All Aboard! A Traveling Alphabet) retro-inflected pen-and-ink artwork give the story its freshness. The illustrations are filled with enough humor to prompt requests for rereading and include plenty of jokes for adults as well. At the art museum, Dalí's wilted clocks are rendered as sheepskins while van Gogh's self-portrait is transformed into a sheep. Using a muted palette with pixilated cartoon textures, Mayer's illustrations are chockfull of action, adventure, and droll, rambunctious sheep who find their way to a baseball game, a movie theater, and the library ("Novels and poetry! All of it free!/ They nosh and they nibble from A down to Z"). The abrupt ending—it's unclear how or when Farmer McFitt found the sheep and accomplished his intended shearing, much less knit them new outerwear—is the only weak point in an otherwise comedic lark. Ages 4–8.

April 15, 2011

Farmer McFitt has lost his flock of mischievous sheep in this comical, rhymed counting book that features densely detailed illustrations that beg for repeat visits.

Ten wayward lambs hit the town to avoid a shearing. As a countdown progresses, the rambunctious crew creates a ruckus at various locales, offering readers adventures for varying interests. They visit the ballpark, museum, beach and library, where "Four hungry ewes run off looking for snacks. / They roam the library, inspecting the stacks. / Novels and poetry! All of it free! They nosh and they nibble from A down to Z." Even the cinema is overrun, as the lambkins dress up as their movie genre of choice (western, comedy and period piece). Mayer populates his spreads with playful tableaux, enticing readers to explore each escapade and find (and count!) sheep. Done in pen and watercolor with an offset pattern to layer in color and texture, his simple, cartoony drawing style—reminiscent of the Thimble Theatre–era Popeye comic strip—is organic, spontaneous and skillfully controlled. All ends well as Farmer McFitt finds his sheep, knits the fleece and gets to stop counting sheep and sleep. The countdown is entirely textual—no numerals here—so it's not a teaching text, but it's plenty fun for all that.

Beaty's amusing text teamed with Mayer's humorous artwork is one frolicking romp through numbers and naughtiness. (Picture book. 3-6)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2011

PreS-K-Farmer McFitts's sheep have escaped from the farm and gone to town to have some fun: "Ten frisky lambs run away to the zoo/to meet an okapi, a kind kangaroo." Brightly colored pen and watercolor spreads burst with action as they present a descending number of sheep cavorting in various venues-the circus, a baseball game, a movie theater, the library, etc. By book's end, Farmer McFitts has tracked down every last lamb, gets them all sheared, knits outfits for them, and falls exhausted into bed, surrounded by his recalcitrant and now-fashionable flock. This fresh counting book will have children busily searching for the naughty sheep while enjoying their antics.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
Preschool-G In this rhyming countdown story, Farmer McFitt snoozes while some of his sheep try to avoid a shearing by escaping to a variety of locations. Double-page spreads show 10 sheep at the zoo, 9 at the circus, 8 that wander onto a ball field (but are called out when they nibble the outfield), 7 who go to the movies, 6 to the art museum, 5 to the beach, 4 to the library, and so on. Eventually, Farmer McFitt catches them, shears them, and attires them in knit clothing just in time for returning to bed. The rhyming text is lively and fun, with only occasional awkwardness, and the muted pen-and-watercolor illustrations have a European-fairy-tale feel that borders on being too busy but still has plenty of appeal. Alice B. McGintys Ten Little Lambs (2002) and Margaret Wise Browns Sheep Dont Count Sheep (2003) are two other titles that combine sheep, sleep, and counting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)