Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Where Is the Green Sheep?

The Bibliography
Fox, Mem. 2004. Where Is the Green Sheep?. Ill. by Judy Horacek. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 015204907x


The Plot
Lots and lots of sheep... blue sheep, swing sheep, slide sheep, train sheep, but where is the green sheep? Sleeping under a green bush, of course! We don't find him until the last page, though. This story keeps kids guessing until the end, trying to find that silly green sheep!

The Analysis
I really like Where Is the Green Sheep?. The illustrations are adorable and the story is cute and fun. I love heavy outlines and they make the watercolor sheep really stand out. It's a fun story to tell, too. Kids really like it and that's the best part of any storybook, sharing it with kids! There is not much of a connection to another culture, unless you just know that both Mem Fox and Judy Horacek are from Australia.

The Review
Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Mar. 1, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 13))
Here's the blue sheep. / And here is the red sheep. / Here is the bath sheep. / And here is the bed sheep. / But where is the green sheep?" Little ones will bounce with anticipation as the simple yet clever text takes them to visit one sheep and then another. The green sheep, however, is nowhere to be seen until the final spread, where he is found under a very green bush, fast asleep. Until the lost sheep turns up, children will have fun with the other sheep that make an appearance and perhaps, unbeknownst to them, also get lessons in colors and comparisons (the near sheep, the far sheep). In this neat and satisfying wedding of text and art, the squat, square format uses wool-white backgrounds to display much of the amusing pen-and-watercolor pictures. As for the sheep themselves, Horacek has concocted simply lined happy animals, whose wool is indicated by dozens of curlicues. Laughs and interactive play will ensue among readers and listeners, alone or in groups.

The Connection
This story could be used to share with kids authors and/or illustrators from another country. It would be neat to share with them the book Ready to Dream by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft, both of which are not from Australia, and see which book they think was written and illustrated by Australians.
Oh ho! Tricky!

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