Promotional Information

The all-time favourite, best-selling read-aloud picture book in a gorgeous limited edition gift set with soft and cuddly plush sheep.

About the Author

Mem Fox has written over 38 books for adults and children including Possum Magic, which has sold over three million copies and is the bestselling picture book ever in Australia. Mem has been presented with many awards including an AM in the 1993 Australia Day Honours for services to the cultural life of Australia; an SA Great Award for Literature in 2001; the Prime Minister's Centenary Medal in 2003; and she was shortlisted for the Australian of the Year in 2004. She worked as an Associate Professor of Literacy Studies in the School of Education at Flinders University, South Australia for twenty-four years and is now an international literacy consultant. Mem's books with Penguin include Where is the Green Sheep?, Hunwick's Egg, A Particular Cow, Where The Giant Sleeps, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, Hello Baby!, The Goblin and the Empty Chair, A Giraffe in the Bath and most recently Baby Bedtime. She lives in Adelaide, Australia. 'Mem Fox's books are like a warm blanket; they have a way of making the world seem a little cosier.' Sunday Age

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-Basic beginning vocabulary is repeated in this easy-to-read rhyme about different kinds of sheep. Children will quickly catch on to the repetitive phrase, "But where is the green sheep?" until they reach the conclusion, where the green sheep is found asleep. Font size is "schoolbook" large and black. White space is prevalent, giving a clear, crisp look to the pages. Horacek's simple, ink-and-watercolor illustrations feature the frolicking sheep basking in the sun, skiing down a slide, playing in a band, etc.; their facial features show their antics as they sing joyously in the rain or shake at the base of the swimming pool's high dive. A welcome addition to the year's flock of easy-readers.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

This picture book’s purpose is to engage very small children and I can imagine much interaction between reader and child happening with this book. The peskily elusive green sheep is nowhere to be found (except on the last page), but we meet all kinds of other sheep: blue sheep, bed sheep, bath sheep, near sheep, far sheep and more throughout the book’s pages. We also learn about size, colour, distance and some vocabulary while we’re there. The language is simple with a basic rhythm that will be easy for children to pick up and repeat. For me Horacek’s illustrations lack a little interest, probably because they’re missing the clever observations that usually go with her cartoons. Overall, the idea of bringing Mem Fox and Judy Horacek together is an interesting one, although not entirely satisfying to my adult eye. The littlies, however, will enjoy playing along with this one. For early childhood +. Jane Watson-Brown is a writer and reviewer. C. 2004 Thorpe-Bowker and contributors

The hunt is on for a sheep that's green all over. But before its undisclosed location is revealed, Fox and first-time picture book illustrator Horacek (previously teamed with Fox for the resource book Reading Magic) introduce children to a host of other whimsical woolly ones, all of which are described in pithy, vocabulary-building terms. "Here is the near sheep./ And here is the far sheep," writes Fox, as Horacek goes in for an extreme close-up on the former and takes a panoramic view of the latter. "Here is the moon sheep./ And here is the star sheep," explains the spread that follows, which finds two sheep staking claim on heavenly bodies. Turning the page, the audience will find all manner of sheep out for a day in the park save one. "But where is the green sheep?" asks the text (the question serves as the book's refrain). The answer finally appears on the last page, where the distinctly lime-green sheep is found snoozing in a meadow. Youngsters won't mind taking a circuitous route to the payoff, however: Horacek's wryly stylized non-green sheep, whose coats look like a hive of curlicues, are utterly endearing in their happy-go-lucky ways whether they're splashing in a bubble bath or schussing down a slide. Parents intrigued by Fox's ideas about early literacy (as expounded in Reading Magic, for example) will find this book a useful vehicle for putting her suggestions into practice. Ages 6 mos.-5 yrs. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.