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SHEEP DOG AND SHEEP SHEEP

BAAAD HAIR DAY

From the Sheep Dog and Sheep Sheep series

This caper is, ahem, shear fun for young readers.

Can Sheep Dog pull the wool over Sheep’s eyes? She isn’t so easily fleeced.

The farmyard pals, introduced in Sheep Dog and Sheep Sheep (2019), return. Sheep’s lush, woolly coat, which she loves to style, is too long; it falls over her eyes. Sheep Dog suggests a good shearing, but Sheep obstinately demurs. She opts for a ten-gallon hat but quickly abandons the oversized headgear (it doesn’t bring her joy). Sheep Dog raises the haircut idea again, but this time, Sheep has abandoned her friend, preferring to hide from him in a bush. She admits she’s not ready to part with her wool. However, when a duckling (“a water chicken,” as Sheep calls it) points out that her fleece will grow back, Sheep can’t wait to be shorn. It turns out she loves her shorter coif, but when she tells Sheep Dog it’s now his turn for a trim, guess who’s not so keen to seize the scissors? This is a lively, humorous romp, and readers who are less than thrilled to submit to haircuts themselves will relate. The supportive relationship between the friends is sweet and charming, and the fine-lined cartoon illustrations are comical and very expressive. Kids will appreciate Sheep’s funny antics and dialogue. Occasionally, both characters’ speech is set in large capital letters for dramatic emphasis, and onomatopoeic words are used to good effect.

This caper is, ahem, shear fun for young readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 30, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-267739-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

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THE WONKY DONKEY

Hee haw.

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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.

In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.

Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018

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