Count the Sheep to Sleep

by Philippa Rae, Stephanie Rohr (Illustrator)

Overview

“Late last night I lay in bed and found I couldn’t sleep. So I scrunched my eyes up tightly and counted woolly sheep.” In this amusing bedtime story, a little girl decides she must count sheep in order to fall asleep. Starting at ten, her sheep begin to suffer humorous mishaps as she happily drifts into dreamland. Each number illustrates sheep flying off in different directions, unable to control their skateboards, the slippery floor, or their crazy dance moves. Children will laugh and learn in this combination bedtime and counting book. 

The sing-songy verse and bright, whimsical illustrations provide a visual counting aid, as well as entertainment in the moments before bedtime. Count the Sheep to Sleep is sure to help children fall asleep to their own leaping sheep, transforming bedtime from a struggle into a fluffy white parade!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616086602
Publisher:	Sky Pony Press
Publication date:	07/01/2012
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 8.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

PHILIPPA RAE worked at the BBC for over fourteen years in the Education and Children's Production departments. She produced radio programmes for BBC Children's Radio and Cbeebies Radio for over nine years. On Cbeebies Radio she had over thirty stories, as well as many poems, featured. She also has had stories and poems included in anthologies. She holds a BA in dance and an MA in film and television studies and has choreographed pieces for children for the British
Arts Awards. She currently lives in England.

STÉPHANIE RÖHR is a young French illustrator with a passion for children’s books. Her unique style earned her a distinction for her bachelor’s degree at EVC (The Art and Design
Communication School) in Paris. She lives in
England.

Editorial Reviews

A little girl snuggles in her bed unable to sleep and resorts to counting wooly sheep. As the ten sheep leap, glide, boogey, and float overhead, one by one they succumb to calamity. Among the mishaps that befall them are rolling too fast on a skateboard, falling into a circus lion's cage, slipping on a soapy floor, and floating too high in the sky. One by one the sheep fall to the wayside leaving the little girl with no sheep to count. But there is no reason to worry, for she is now fast asleep. The whimsical rhyming verses scan well when read aloud and the scenes of cavorting sheep and their various disasters will make young listeners giggle. There are visual clues to aide in counting and while the illustrations are energetic and busy the book can still be used as a bedtime tuck-in choice. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey

Children's Literature - Beverley Fahey

When a little girl has trouble falling asleep, she tries the age-old remedy of counting sheep in this wild and woolly bedtime countdown. The young narrator announces: "Last night I lay in bed / and found I couldn't sleep. / So I scrunched my eyes up tightly / and counted woolly sheep." Her countdown commences with 10 sheep leaping over a clothesline until one lands in a pair of undies, reducing the herd to nine. But as the remaining nine sheep glide on skateboards, one rolls away, leaving eight. Another vanishes in a cloud; another falls into a lion's cage; another sheep swings too high while disco dancing; another skids on a bar of soap; another loses balance surfing…. Finally, there's one survivor, who gives up and falls asleep. The repetitive, lilting cadence of the rhyming text alone should lull wee readers to sleep, while the hilarious mishaps of the dwindling sheep will surely provoke bedtime chuckles. Bold illustrations in neon yellows, reds, blues and greens rely on spiky, simple lines and shapes to showcase the dramatic, highly charged, almost surreal antics of these accident-prone sheep as they leap, skate, prance, balance, dance, glide, surf, float, trot and finally sleep across the double-page spreads. Check out these soporific sheep. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews