Top 100 Picture Books #97: Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox, illustrated by Judy Horacek

#97 Where Is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox, illustrated by Judy Horacek (2004)
20 points

It was #96 at the last poll.  This year it’s sunk a single digit to #97.  Funny how some books keep their relative slots, isn’t it?  Funnier still that the last time I conducted this poll I wasn’t as intimately connected to this book as I am now.  Years ago when I was in graduate school getting my Masters in Library and Information Science (cause that’s how I roll) I took a class in children’s and YA programming in libraries.  For our storytelling section, two women came in and proselytized to us the word of Mem Fox.  At least that is how I remember it.  If there are evangelical Mem Fox fans in the world, these two women were definitely members.  Strangely enough, the only Mem Fox book I have ever reviewed is her 2004 winner Where Is the Green Sheep?  You can find the review on Amazon if you’ve half a mind to, and I guess the way I decided to best describe it was as “a surprisingly charming and winning little book that’s certain to earn the undivided love and attention of ankle biters worldwide.”

To steal a description from my review: “Using remarkably simple words, the book follows various sheep throughout their day. We see sheep of many colors and sheep taking baths. We have sheep up and we have sheep down. There are band sheep, wind sheep, near and far sheep. Just about any kind of sheep you can think of, this book’s got `em. Still, one question keeps popping up throughout the pages. Where is the green sheep? By the end, we discover the mysterious green sheep’s location and exactly what it is doing. It’s an oddly satisfying way to end the tale and so we do.”

Of course now I have a kid of my own.  We were given a board book version of this when the offspring was born and darned if I haven’t fallen even more in love with the book now than I had before.  First off, it keeps her attention without resorting to tactile elements or the photographs of babies’ faces.  Second, Judy Horacek is a certifiable genius.  Or maybe she’s just certifiable.  The more you look at the art in this story the weirder it becomes.  Am I the only one who has ever noticed the sheep wearing the welder’s mask and carrying a bouquet of flowers at the end?  Is that the Flashdance sheep?  I pray tis so.

Said Publishers Weekly of the title, “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.”

School Library Journal called it, “A welcome addition to the year’s flock of easy-readers.”

Booklist agreed with, “Laughs and interactive play will ensue among readers and listeners, alone or in groups.”

Horn Book came up with, “Much like Byron Barton’s Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (rev. 5/89), this bedtime story is as satisfying as a goodnight kiss.”

And even Kirkus liked it with a, “Horacek’s clear, matching watercolor-and-pen cartoon-style drawings flawlessly render each ewe’s role, providing little ones a successful reading experience and ultimately finding the green sheep’s hiding place. Ideally easy and well-designed.”

• If you skim to the bottom of this post you’ll see what has to be the world’s cutest first birthday party.  Three words: Green sheep cupcake.
• Actually, green sheep first birthdays are fairly common.  As you can see here and here and here.  And frankly speaking this one is just insane.
• A stage production?  I want to go to there.

And finally, the story behind the book.

Filed under: Best Books, Top 100 Picture Books Poll