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Reviews
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Children’s Books Ireland - BookFest Recommended List
A nice twist on counting sheep, this is great fun, with delightful illustrations that mirror the burst of wakefulness that comes with bedtime. Sylvie finds the huge number of sheep she has conjured up just as ‘exasperating’ as her mother found her – they won’t stay still enough for her to count – until they fall asleep in the sun after a day at the beach. A perfect bedtime story.
Kirkus
McQuinn and Shaw breathe new life into an old saw—counting sheep—by matching an imaginative, wide-awake little girl with a large flock of peripatetic sheep far too busy to be counted. Ensuing bovine ambulation includes dancing, skating, cycling, scootering and swimming, followed by assorted gaming and crafting on the beach. When the sheep then understandably slumber, Sylvie can finally count them, which results in—well, you know. Shaw’s cheery mixed-media pictures depict skinny-legged, woolly sheep amid a plethora of accoutrements. Sylvie’s stuffed elephant is busy—and sleepy—when she is. Emergent readers can decipher, with help perhaps, signs, book titles and T-shirt messages as well as a trove of visual jokes. And even if they don’t understand the last laugh (as the sheep tiptoe off to a ship, an old ewe says, “Whew, I’m exhausted. / I thought she’d never nod off!”), they’ll think they did. A pleasant romp, wry and sweet.
Publishers Weekly – May 10, 2010
This winning bedtime book celebrates a child's imagination. When her frustrated mother suggests that she count sheep to fall asleep, Sylvie quickly imagines "hundreds and hundreds of sheep," but they are a wily flock. Shaw's (Evil Weasel) witty pen and ink drawings are chockablock with charismatic sheep "rumbaaa-ing," skateboarding, and otherwise milling about, none of which helps Sylvie count them ("Hey, sheep," she says, "you're really exasperating"). Sylvie follows the sheep to the beach where they play cards, read storybooks, arrange flowers, play board games, and finally fall asleep, at which point Sylvie is able to count them and fall asleep herself. The sheep--who, it turns out, clearly know what they're doing--tiptoe away and sail off aboard "The Dream Boat" ("I thought she'd never nod off!"). McQuinn's (Lola at the Library) clever conceit is expanded considerably by the comic details that fill every spread (the sheep's apparel is wonderfully diverse, especially at the beach, where they don "trunks and bikinis, suntan lotion and snorkeling goggles"). The gentle adventure blends seamlessly into the calming bedtime-ready ending.
School Library Journal, July 2010
Sylvie is the kind of child whose mind never stops. She demands stories, and water, and drives her mother to distraction in order to avoid bedtime. When her mother suggests she count sheep, Sylvie gives it a try, but they won't stay still. They dance, swim, and rollerblade, making it impossible for her to get a tally. It isn't until the herd pretends to sleep that the child can successfully count them and drift off herself.
The cartoon pen-and-ink drawings paint vivid scenes of Sylvie's imagination and are flush with fun details... A counting tale sandwiched in the middle of a bedtime story, The Sleep Sheep moves along at a rapid clip and with enough humor to be a successful read-aloud. Libraries aren't wanting for additional child-won't-sleep stories, but this silly romp through dreamland and wild take on the counting sheep story offers a new bedtime option
Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA
Books for Keeps, 2010 - five star review
Bedtimes are something of a trial for Sylvie and her mother; mother thinks daughter is exasperating, daughter thinks otherwise – she just cannot sleep. Mum suggests the well tried sheep counting remedy but in order to induce sleep in Sylvie, the particular sheep in this story have to go to enormous lengths – line dancing, rollerblading, skateboarding and scooting right to the seaside – to wear out first themselves and then the insomniac Sylvie. There is so much going on in the candy-coloured illustrations, it’s no wonder she cannot sleep. Probably best not used as a bedtime story as I cannot imagine any child not wanting to spend ages poring over the multitude of delicious details such as the sheep doing handstands in the sea, bloomers aloft, or the bikini-wearing sheep reading ‘Goldilocks & the 3 Sheep’ to two infant sheep, one sucking an ice-cream cone.
The Bookseller, 19th March 2010
A very original take on the classic bedtime tradition of counting sheep. It is packed with lots of details and jokes for both children and adults.
The Hartford Courant, May 2010
Pay attention to the title page. By this little girl's bed, there is a container of chocolate milk and several ads the Sleep Sheep Hotline, with special Happy Hour Sooze Hour rates, 7 to 8pm. As the story begins, Sylvie has had three rounds of stories and three glasses of water. Nothing left but to count sheep. And so she tries to, for page after page, while the sheep refuse to be orderly. Put in a line they begin to dance. Finally, exhausted by her shepherding, Sylvie sleeps. As one old sheep . As one old sheep puts it, "Whew, I'm exhausted, I thought she'd never nod off!" Lots of fun in he small details, such as the books Sylvie is reading and the board games sheep play.
A nice twist on counting sheep, this is great fun, with delightful illustrations that mirror the burst of wakefulness that comes with bedtime. Sylvie finds the huge number of sheep she has conjured up just as ‘exasperating’ as her mother found her – they won’t stay still enough for her to count – until they fall asleep in the sun after a day at the beach. A perfect bedtime story.
Kirkus
McQuinn and Shaw breathe new life into an old saw—counting sheep—by matching an imaginative, wide-awake little girl with a large flock of peripatetic sheep far too busy to be counted. Ensuing bovine ambulation includes dancing, skating, cycling, scootering and swimming, followed by assorted gaming and crafting on the beach. When the sheep then understandably slumber, Sylvie can finally count them, which results in—well, you know. Shaw’s cheery mixed-media pictures depict skinny-legged, woolly sheep amid a plethora of accoutrements. Sylvie’s stuffed elephant is busy—and sleepy—when she is. Emergent readers can decipher, with help perhaps, signs, book titles and T-shirt messages as well as a trove of visual jokes. And even if they don’t understand the last laugh (as the sheep tiptoe off to a ship, an old ewe says, “Whew, I’m exhausted. / I thought she’d never nod off!”), they’ll think they did. A pleasant romp, wry and sweet.
Publishers Weekly – May 10, 2010
This winning bedtime book celebrates a child's imagination. When her frustrated mother suggests that she count sheep to fall asleep, Sylvie quickly imagines "hundreds and hundreds of sheep," but they are a wily flock. Shaw's (Evil Weasel) witty pen and ink drawings are chockablock with charismatic sheep "rumbaaa-ing," skateboarding, and otherwise milling about, none of which helps Sylvie count them ("Hey, sheep," she says, "you're really exasperating"). Sylvie follows the sheep to the beach where they play cards, read storybooks, arrange flowers, play board games, and finally fall asleep, at which point Sylvie is able to count them and fall asleep herself. The sheep--who, it turns out, clearly know what they're doing--tiptoe away and sail off aboard "The Dream Boat" ("I thought she'd never nod off!"). McQuinn's (Lola at the Library) clever conceit is expanded considerably by the comic details that fill every spread (the sheep's apparel is wonderfully diverse, especially at the beach, where they don "trunks and bikinis, suntan lotion and snorkeling goggles"). The gentle adventure blends seamlessly into the calming bedtime-ready ending.
School Library Journal, July 2010
Sylvie is the kind of child whose mind never stops. She demands stories, and water, and drives her mother to distraction in order to avoid bedtime. When her mother suggests she count sheep, Sylvie gives it a try, but they won't stay still. They dance, swim, and rollerblade, making it impossible for her to get a tally. It isn't until the herd pretends to sleep that the child can successfully count them and drift off herself.
The cartoon pen-and-ink drawings paint vivid scenes of Sylvie's imagination and are flush with fun details... A counting tale sandwiched in the middle of a bedtime story, The Sleep Sheep moves along at a rapid clip and with enough humor to be a successful read-aloud. Libraries aren't wanting for additional child-won't-sleep stories, but this silly romp through dreamland and wild take on the counting sheep story offers a new bedtime option
Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA
Books for Keeps, 2010 - five star review
Bedtimes are something of a trial for Sylvie and her mother; mother thinks daughter is exasperating, daughter thinks otherwise – she just cannot sleep. Mum suggests the well tried sheep counting remedy but in order to induce sleep in Sylvie, the particular sheep in this story have to go to enormous lengths – line dancing, rollerblading, skateboarding and scooting right to the seaside – to wear out first themselves and then the insomniac Sylvie. There is so much going on in the candy-coloured illustrations, it’s no wonder she cannot sleep. Probably best not used as a bedtime story as I cannot imagine any child not wanting to spend ages poring over the multitude of delicious details such as the sheep doing handstands in the sea, bloomers aloft, or the bikini-wearing sheep reading ‘Goldilocks & the 3 Sheep’ to two infant sheep, one sucking an ice-cream cone.
The Bookseller, 19th March 2010
A very original take on the classic bedtime tradition of counting sheep. It is packed with lots of details and jokes for both children and adults.
The Hartford Courant, May 2010
Pay attention to the title page. By this little girl's bed, there is a container of chocolate milk and several ads the Sleep Sheep Hotline, with special Happy Hour Sooze Hour rates, 7 to 8pm. As the story begins, Sylvie has had three rounds of stories and three glasses of water. Nothing left but to count sheep. And so she tries to, for page after page, while the sheep refuse to be orderly. Put in a line they begin to dance. Finally, exhausted by her shepherding, Sylvie sleeps. As one old sheep . As one old sheep puts it, "Whew, I'm exhausted, I thought she'd never nod off!" Lots of fun in he small details, such as the books Sylvie is reading and the board games sheep play.