Derek the Sheep by Gary Northfield

Derek the Sheep by Gary Northfield
Buy Derek the Sheep by Gary Northfield at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
Summary: Thirteen comic strips taken from the Beano, of a daft sheep who gets into all sorts of silly scrapes around the farm. Light, gentle fun.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 64	Date: September 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-0747594246
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Derek spends his days eating grass, talking to other sheep, trying to avoid angry bulls and entering the Farmyard Best Haircut competition - y'know, typical sheep stuff. Derek the Sheep packages together thirteen of the comic strips from The Beano into an enjoyable collection. Derek is charmingly daft. He gets into all sorts of silly scrapes around the farm. He's a pleasant everyman character (or rather everysheep) and the comics make for light, simple reading.

The illustrations are bright and interesting, although not overly detailed. There's plenty of gentle slapstick, adventure and cheesy gags. Other Beano characters may be better known and indeed better loved, but Derek's still a lot of fun. I chuckled frequently, but by the end I fancied a bit of a change of pace - the sort of thing that a Beano Annual with its mix of comic strips would provide.

Some comic strips, such as Garfield, can sustain the level of interest throughout a whole book, whereas others work better mixed amongst others. That's not to bash Derek or say it's poor quality - he's a lovely sheep and the comic strips themselves couldn't be improved in any way. The gentle nature of the comic just means it would benefit from something different now and then, even just alternating reading one strip from Derek the Sheep with another set of comics.

Derek the Sheep would make a nice present for anyone who likes animals. It's great for either reluctant readers, or someone who would enjoy a break from more detailed children's books.

Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.

If you enjoyed Derek the Sheep, check out everyone's favourite daft animal: Sensible Hare by Daren King. For more sheep-based fun, Pete the Sheep by Jackie French is well worth a look.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Derek the Sheep by Gary Northfield at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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