Review: When Sheep Cannot Sleep: The Counting Book

One of the few book reviews written by satoshiland.

   One night, Woolly the sheep can't sleep. So what does an insomniac sheep do? He goes for an evening walk apparently. The counting component of this charming book is very subtle and it can be read just as a simple tale. The adventures of Woolly are appealing as he strolls through fields, interacts with other animals, wanders into an empty house and cooks himself a simple meal of tasty peas (with the requisite apron on to protect himself of course!).

   All the classic Satoshi Kitamura touches are here. The engagingly cluttered kitchen with various paraphenalia scattered about will provide parents and children alike with new discussion points and objects to seize their attention with every read. Children will enjoy counting the key objects in Woolly's sleepless tale and his appropriate expressions to each new undertaking. Parents will enjoy the humour as Woolly encounters UFOs, clever squirrels and at one point, decides to paint his adventures thus far, echoing the story and providing useful repetition for younger readers. Satoshi's typically fine watercolour washes can be found throughout.

   Upon entering a house that he stumbles upon, each depiction of the rooms Woolly wanders through engages by the means of an open door. This entices you to continue further into the house, leading to the final conclusion which is to a bath and then bed, complete with blue stripey pyjamas. Now clean and cosy, Woolly finally has the peace to think about his family, i.e. sheep! In the end, we have a snoozing sheep and hopefully, a good night's sleep for all.

   This most unique counting book is highly recommended.

Reviewed by satoshiland.

A Publishers' Weekly review.

   In one of the more subtle counting books around, Woolly, a sheep, can't sleep and so he goes for a walk. He chases a butterfly, sees two ladybugs, and "some owls" (three in the picture) call to him. Readers have to count the four bats, five apples, six squirrels and seven ladder rungs. Woolly finds a house where he starts drawing pictures, which he hangs on walls, has a dinner of peas, looks at the (20) stars, and goes to bed in striped pajamas. He starts thinking about his (21) relatives (all sheep, of course) and drifts off to sleep. An index at the back provides a complete list of the items to be counted. Kitamura takes full artistic license with the logistics of the plotWoolly beds down for the night in a conveniently empty mansionbut his counting is impeccable. An off-white sheep set against deep-toned watercolors, Woolly is an truly endearing insomniac.

The following review was first published in School Library Journal.

   PreSchool-Grade 2 Woolly, 1 sheep, has insomnia, and so he goes to the meadow where he finds 2 ladybugs, 3 owls, 4 bats, etc.all the way up to 22 "z's" when he finally nods off in an unoccupied house that he has discovered. The droll watercolor illustrations contain the items to be counted, but they are not enumerated in the text, and so it is a game to find and count them. An index at the end of the book lists the numbers and the items. This playful work is simpler than Anno's Counting Book (Crowell, 1977), which is more visually sophisticated and it is as irresistible as Lisa Campbell Ernst's Up to Ten and Down Again (Lothrop, 1986). Like Kitamura's What's Inside: the Alphabet Book (Farrar, 1985), this presents an engaging and fresh approach that young readers will enjoy on their own.

Reviewed by Lorraine Douglas, Winnipeg Public Library, Manitoba, Canada.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.