An odd little tale about ten sheep tricked by candy into getting out of bed and following a wolf home (maybe not the best message to send). In the end it their "Superdog" tender finds the wolf just wanted to count the sheep in order to fall asleep. The dark orange and brown illustrations with interesting detail might make it hard to use for storytime, but the text is simple enough to be enjoyed by preschoolers. A pseudo-fractured fairytale. ( )

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE MISSING SHEEP is a story about a dog named Doug who counted the sheep every night before he went to bed. One night before bed, one of the sheep was sidetracked before bed and wanted the candy he smelled outside of the house. The candy outside of the house was a luring token from the wolf, and he was somehow able to lure all ten sheep into the dark forest. The illustrations in this story are pretty fun to view as the story goes on mostly because of how the illustrator labels all parts of the pages. For instance, it seems odd but he labels everything drawn like the dark forest, the trees, and the ‘speed lines’ in the air, for a few examples of what the illustrator drew and labeled. This would be a fun story to read to a child right before bedtime because they could also count sheep if they are struggling to fall asleep. It is a pretty neat story to read without any animal violence. Although one thing that could be learned, is to not follow people into somewhere unknown, even if there is candy involved, this is a tactic that some people use to lure in children. That being said, this is an example of what not to do if offered candy by someone a child doesn’t know. ( )

Catusanu, M. (2009). The Strange Case of the Missing Sheep. New York: Viking.

9780670011315

Appetizer: "Inspired by TRUE events," this "thriller"shares the story of how a wolf tempted ten sheep to his house in the dark forest. It's up to the sheep dog to find the sheep and bring them home.

What a fun picturebook! I love how this story has a lot of fun with a wolf trying to catch the sheep.

There's a lot of activity on each page, with signs, arrows, the occasional definition, not to mention all the different activities the sheep get up to. Kids will want to spend some time staring at the stylized (predominately orange) illustrations.

I especially like the endpages of this thriller picturebook, since they show a pair of hands with the one of the ten sheep above each finger, it would be the PERFECT page to pause over with a toddler to reaffirm how to count to ten.

Dinner Conversation:

"In a place called Happy Valley, there lived ten sheep...and one Super Sheep Dog named Doug."

"Next to the Happy Valley was the Dark Forest. Wolf lived here. And he had a problem...."

"I need sheep..."

"Sheep, get in line! I...2...3..."

To Go with the Meal:

This fun book can be used as a bedtime read, with a teacher or parent discussing some of the routines necessary to get ready for sleep and encouraging wee little ones to count sheep as they drift off. And in general, this book can be used to help with counting.

This could also be a fun read. Kids will like that it plays with expectations over why the wolf wants the sheep.

Tasty Rating: !!!! ( )

This zany twist on the old adage of counting sheep to sleep provides entertainment to parents reading the story aloud to their children. Humorous little details within the pictures are targeted at an older audience. For example, the lens of the spyglass is labeled, "Made in Japan, assembled in China." The wolf has a sheep suit that is 100% polyester. Pictures of the sheep wearing bunny slippers and pumping iron delight children of all ages. Last but not least, the back flap of the book has a notice that "No animals were harmed in the making of this book."
Classroom uses: identifying humor and irony ( )