Book Buzz: Let Me Sleep, Sheep!
Let Me Sleep, Sheep!
Written by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge
Ages 3-7, Candlewick Press
Remember when your mother told you that when you’re ready to go to sleep at night, just count the sheep jumping a fence and you’ll slip off to slumberland pretty quickly? That was what Amos thought would happen. It didn’t turn out that way.
It was time for bed and Amos decided to count those aforementioned sheep. Suddenly, he heard a THUD. Then, another THUD. Two sheep had tripped their way into his room. And, they were disgruntled sheep! They had been interrupted from having dinner and their wool clipped. And we all know that sheep hate getting interrupted.
Amos would like to get on with the counting sheep routine, but the sheep have certain demands. “Where’s the fence?” asks one of the sheep. “Fence?” says Amos.
And the negotiations begin. “That fence is too low,” one sheep complains as Amos tries to construct a fence to their specifications. “That fence is too high,” another gripes. The fence requirements go on and on. “Too wobbly, too hard, too boring!” These sheep are quite a nuisance. Amos is even asked to test the newly built fence by jumping over it himself. Counting sheep was not supposed to be this difficult.
Soon, Amos is just too tired to continue. Will he ever build a fence that will please the sheep? Will he ever get to sleep? Restful bliss is just a few fluffy leaps away.
Rudge’s mixed media illustrations are fun to discover. The whimsical quality of the characters add to the story more than the words can say. Tiny additions to the narrative create hilarious scenes that a wide-awake child can relate to. And, hopefully, fall asleep afterwards.
