Where is the Green Sheep?
by Mem Fox
illustrated by Judy Horacek
reviewed by Mia Macrossan
This year Puffin Books celebrates 80 years of publishing. Puffin Books originated with Noel Carrington in 1940.
It was thought that evacuated city children would need books on farming and natural history to help adjust to country life. Staff and paper shortages kept the numbers low during the war years but by 1983 one in three of every Penguin book sold was a Puffin.
Famous Puffin authors include Arthur Ransome, Roald Dahl, Ursula K Le Guin and perennial family favourites such as Matilda, Spot, the Very Hungry Caterpillar and Where is the Green Sheep, first published by Puffin in 2006 and still a family favourite today.
It is a very clever and very simple picture book that introduces young children to many useful concepts.
We meet a blue sheep, a red sheep and a bath sheep but where is the green sheep? We see a thin sheep, a wide sheep, a swing sheep and a slide sheep but where is the green sheep?
Mem Fox cleverly builds anticipation while introducing little people to multiple concepts including up, down, sun, rain, wind, wave, scared, brave, near and far and so on.
Judy Horacek’s joyful illustrations are brimful of energy and fun. My favourite is the rain sheep who is doing an impersonation of Gene Kelly singing in the rain.
Where is the Green Sheep, well deserves its classic status and every family should have a copy.
Puffin 2006
