The Great Sheep Shenanigans, by Peter Bentley, illustrated by Mei Matsuoka, 2012, London: Anderson Press. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1849393843.
Age/Interest Level: 4-9 years
Lexile Level: AD620L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A wolf called Lou Pine would love to chow down on some lamb. Unfortunately for him, the sheep might be more cunning than he realized.
Plot Summary: Lou Pine is a wolf with a big appetite. What he wants more than anything is to dine on some delicious sheep, which is nifty since there are some grazing nearby. Told in rhyme, the conniving wolf attempts to tackle the issue head on and runs right into Rambo the Ram, silencing his first attempt. So Lou decides to take on a disguise and become one of the flock, dressing up in the perfect sweater knit. However, it doesn’t look like the flock is buying it.
Critical Evaluation: This is a bright, silly work with a main character that you’d feel sorry for if it wasn’t for the fact he was attempting to eat some sheep. That noted, the sheep do appear to be more than capable of taking care of themselves, so it’s not necessarily that they need sympathy either. The rhyme is quite effective, and doesn’t suffer the similar fate many works do when brought to the US from the UK. Even in an American accent, the rhymes still work. Though attempting the proper accent as an American would probably elicit some laughs from a younger audience. The watercolor illustrations are nice and reminiscent of countryside, with varying use of green.
Why Included: The wolf is a likable, if problematic, main character. This is a fun, traditional rhyming work that has fast plot which would easily keep attention.
Age/Interest Level: 4-9 years
Lexile Level: AD620L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: A wolf called Lou Pine would love to chow down on some lamb. Unfortunately for him, the sheep might be more cunning than he realized.
Plot Summary: Lou Pine is a wolf with a big appetite. What he wants more than anything is to dine on some delicious sheep, which is nifty since there are some grazing nearby. Told in rhyme, the conniving wolf attempts to tackle the issue head on and runs right into Rambo the Ram, silencing his first attempt. So Lou decides to take on a disguise and become one of the flock, dressing up in the perfect sweater knit. However, it doesn’t look like the flock is buying it.
Critical Evaluation: This is a bright, silly work with a main character that you’d feel sorry for if it wasn’t for the fact he was attempting to eat some sheep. That noted, the sheep do appear to be more than capable of taking care of themselves, so it’s not necessarily that they need sympathy either. The rhyme is quite effective, and doesn’t suffer the similar fate many works do when brought to the US from the UK. Even in an American accent, the rhymes still work. Though attempting the proper accent as an American would probably elicit some laughs from a younger audience. The watercolor illustrations are nice and reminiscent of countryside, with varying use of green.
Why Included: The wolf is a likable, if problematic, main character. This is a fun, traditional rhyming work that has fast plot which would easily keep attention.