CM Magazine: The Boy Who Cried Sheep. (Tadpoles Fairytales Twists).

________________ CM . . . . Volume XXII Number 30. . . .April 8, 2016

cover
The Boy Who Cried Sheep! (Tadpoles Fairytales Twists).

Laura North. Illustrated by Becka Moor.
St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2016.
32 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $25.95 (List RLB), $20.76 (School RLB).
ISBN 978-0-7787-2567-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2471-1 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7723-0 (html).

Grades 1-2 / Ages 6-7.

Review by Courtney Penney.

*** /4

excerpt:

Suddenly – THUD! The boy fell down the chimney and landed on the bedroom floor. The wolf looked up in surprise. Thump! Thump! “Baaaa!” A pile of sheep landed in the fireplace.

The Boy Who Cried SHEEP! is a fun, interesting twist on the classic story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. The young shepherd boy cries wolf several times. On each occasion, the villagers come to his rescue, but to their annoyance there is no wolf. When the wolf enters Granny’s cottage, he screams “Wolf!” but no one believes him. In the meantime, the shepherd has trained his sheep to jump and perform stunts. The sheep, under the instruction of the shepherd boy, successfully stop the wolf from doing harm to Little Red Riding Hood by jumping on the wolf. The story ends with the shepherd boy learning from his mistakes and putting on a show for the village people.

The illustrations in this book are colourful and bring to life the adventures of the shepherd boy, his sheep, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Each page is filled with intricate images that help bring movement to the story. A great addition to the book are the villagers depicted in this story as they are diverse and come from various ethnic backgrounds.

This book is part of the “Tadpoles Fairytale Twists” series. Those who read the book will quickly distinguish the differences from the original story. This is a book that teachers, librarians and young readers will enjoy reading aloud. Young readers that are just beginning to read on their own will appreciate the large font and the perfectly sized book that ever so neatly fits in their little hands. Activities at the end of the book, which consist of putting the story in order and choosing the correct speech bubble for the characters, bring an added depth of understanding to the book.

Get ready to go on an adventure with this shepherd boy!

Recommended.

Courtney Penney is the Regional Librarian for Central Division with Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries. She lives in Gander, NL.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364 Hosted by the University of Manitoba.