The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep - Mirceau Catusanu

A Thriller
Viking, 2009
$16.99
For: preschool
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Orange, hands with outstretched fingers, sheep and number at tip of each finger.

There's a cute video on You Tube that you can watch - it's only a minute and a half long, but it's fun!

There's something about these sheep, this cool burnt orange, the expression on the sheep's faces - that just makes you want to grab and ingest. And who can resist reading a book by an author/illustrator with a name like Mircea Catusanu?

Ten sheep live in Happy Valley, cared for by "one Super Sheep Dog named Doug.: He counts them every night as they go to bed. But then one night, they are missing. Now, guess who lives in nearby Dark Forest. Yup. Wolf. And he needs sheep. (When we find out why he needs them, not only are we relieved, but we are giggling....) So he lures them away with a clever trick (candy!).... Super Sheep Dog Doug to the rescue!

Very cute story with lots going on in the very cool illustrations. You can see the texture of the canvas and hunt for all sorts of things being said and going on. So much fun. PLUS, you can reiterate to kids about going off with strangers for any reason.....

The Boy Who Cried Wolf - B. G Hennessy

Illustrator: Boris Kulikov
For: Kids
Published: 2006
Rating: Fun
Read: January, 2009
Endpapers: Different parts of the whimsical sheep in rought circles, bugs & butterflies...

This is the standard Boy Who Cried Wolf story with the added benefit of really great illustrations - and font! It's called "Uncle Stinky" font. I always like the special touch of a snazzy font.

Okay, this boy is really bored tending the sheep on the hillside (you can see the village in the distance). He tries to enlist the sheep to play with him, but all they really want to do is chew on grass, although they go along with him a bit. I love his dirty bare feet, the fly that keeps landing on his nose, the attitude of the sheep that you can SEE in the illustrations. He loves it when he cries "wolf" and the whole town comes running. A friend stays to hang out with him for the rest of the day. So he tries it again. And when a wolf really does come skulking, of course, the townsfolk ignore him. At the very end, after the wolf is gone, the boy goes looking for the sheep and they're all clinging togethr in the top of a tree. Really fun stuff.

I read it aloud to my fifth graders during our Aesop unit, showing them who you can take a bare-bones fable and simply by adding detailed illustrations, you have a great read. It's all in the details! ! ! !

The Wolf Who Cried Boy - Bob Hartman

Illustrated by Tim Raglin
Published: 2002
For: kids
Rating: Cute
Read: Jan, 2009 with Aesop unit/5th grade
Endpapers: Counted cross-stitch in light blue on cream

Little Wolf hated what his mother prepared for dinner each day - sloppy does, lamburgers, chocolate moose, three-pig salad. He longed for BOY chops, baked BOY-tato, BOYS-n-berry pie. So in a take on the classic Aesop's Fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, he pretends to see a boy and his parents hunt and hunt in the woods for him, just to please their son. Twice. But when he does see a boy - lots of boys- a whole scout troop of boys - his parents have had it and ignore him.

Okay, the story is a fractured fairy tale (well, actually it's a fractured FABLE), which is fun, but it's the illustrations here that are delightful. The expressions on the wolves' faces are super, the details are great fun. Mr. Raglin uses a needlwork motif on the cover, endpapers, and title page, and I'm not sure why, since it doesn't relate to the story in any way, but I really like it.

This is a wonderful model for kids to see how you can take a simple fable, add embellishments, details, color...and voila, you have a great story.