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The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing by Bob Hartman (view source)
Revision as of 15:52, 28 July 2014
, 15:52, 28 July 2014no edit summary
The illustrations put me in mind of Maurice Sendak's [[Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak|Where the Wild Things Are]] with their cross hatching shading. Little Sheep's expressions are always a joy and there are some nice visual jokes that start on the very first page as Little Sheep exuberantly puts a hole through a badminton net much to her parent's alarm. She clearly doesn't know her own strength and who knew that badminton was a sheep pass time? The animal's clothes hark back to 1930's fashion. Plus fours for Papa Sheep, a Charleston style dress for sister sheep and a wide boy's outfit of spats, a bowler hat, flashy trousers and waistcoat for Father Wolf. Good fun.
Not so good fun is the text unless I'm missing the joke here. This is a wordy picture book which could make it a good choice for early readers. However, the font isn't the clearest and the text is peppered with '''bold'''. In a larger font. Occasionally this looks to be for emphasis, but just as often it seems random. I may be over sensitive to this as I read ''A Sheep In Wolf's CLothing'Clothing'' coming fresh from another book that purposely avoids such conceits as they apparently deter and confuse reluctant readers (children AND their parents) and can apparently impede dyslexics. This aside, it just smacks of trying too hard to be original and witty.
'''The Sheep In Wolf's Clothing'' is a good read for the slightly older child. It's edgy humour and witty illustrations will appeal to many. There's a clear moral to the story for children about how to handle being different. Perhaps just as important is the lesson to all that it is best to ask exactly what is on the menu before accepting an invitation to dinner.