The Warrior Sheep Go Jurassic by Christopher Russell and Christine Russell
| The Warrior Sheep Go Jurassic by Christopher Russell and Christine Russell | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: It's a fourth case of controlled madness, as the unlikely sheep heroes save the world and stand proud on the Isle of Wight. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 224 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Egmont Books | |
| ISBN: 9781405267182 | |
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It all started so simply… Tod and his nan, Ida, were only hopping across to the Isle of Wight to lead some people in creating the world's best carnival float, but they had to demand their five rare sheep went with them. Crossing to the Isle, the motherly one, Sal, saw an advert for the Dinosaur Museum, and remembered a rare piece of sheep mythology, stating how the world needed saving from the hatching of the last dragon's egg. Still, there wouldn't be any trouble for these experienced Warrior Sheep to track it down, would there? Oh yes, what with not one but two groups of humans trying to get their hands on it at the same time…
Yes, while it sounds quite ridiculous in short-hand, this book carries the silliness of its plot like a badge of honour, and it's a badge that's been buffed up very well. If you haven't met the Warrior Sheep in any of their three previous outings, you might think it improbable that they can read, head-butt their way past any obstacle – and eat so much. But the exuberance of the adventure here makes it perfectly plausible that they can ride Isle of Wight buses, get in the way of crime, and generally provide for a very entertaining lark.
The humans take a back seat, although the inept baddies here (all of them) provide for some sort of Ealing-styled comedic pratfalls and so on. They are merely colour, however, for the various sheep, and all have their characters perfectly pointed out – the maternal one, the clever and adventurous one, the brute one, the primping flighty one, and the, er, Rasta one. They collectively are so successful on the page there is no way of typing the words Warrior Sheep without capitals, for they deserve them and more. There are definitely worthwhile smirks and still surprises in these pages for the adult, and for the target audience of 8-12s they are just going to race by. It's all silliness, but very clever silliness, and comes highly recommended.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy. We also have a review of The Warrior Sheep Go West by Christopher Russell and Christine Russell.
You might like to compare and contrast the cartoonish animals here with those in Atticus Claw Lends a Paw by Jennifer Gray.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Warrior Sheep Go Jurassic by Christopher Russell and Christine Russell at Amazon.com.
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