Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Great Sheep Shenanigans - a book review


Quote of the day: 



 "There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.  Love of books is the best of all. "

                          - Jacqueline Kennedy





Today's featured book:




Title:  The Great Sheep Shenanigans
Author:  Peter Bentley
Illustrator:  Mei Matsuoka


Let's peek inside shall we?








My take on the book:

Written in rhyme, full of wit and humour,  this book is so much fun to read aloud.  A conniving wolf named, Lou Pine (pun intended I'm sure) was prowling around a flock of sheep looking for a young, tasty lamb to fill his meat cravings.  He snuck through the hedge and came head-on with the flock's guardian, Rambo the Ram, who snorted smoke from his nostrils and wielded boxing gloves in the face of the perpetrator.  "Scram!" bellowed Rambo. "Vamoose!" Steer Clear!" Wolves are NOT welcome! Buzz off out of here!"

Lou, not to be outsmarted decided to don a disguise so he could infiltrate the flock and fulfill his heart's desires.  Mmmmmmm....how would he like that served up?  What should he choose?  Lamb cutlets? Roast leg of lamb? Chops with mint sauce? Lamb stew? Burgers? Moussaka? or Lamb vindaloo?  He licked his chops in delight and salivated just thinking of the possibilities.  After many attempts at the perfect camouflage he decided on a sweater knit by none other than Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother.  The old lady in her wisdom knew exactly how to outwit the nasty wolf bully named Lou Pine.

The outcome of this tale will have your child (and you) rolling on the floor with laughter.  I won't spoil it for you here but believe me the wolf will not try that shenanigan again for a long, long while.
Smell you later.


FYI:  Smell you later was used as a farewell. The phrase "smell you later" is another way of saying goodbye.   Invented in the 20th century, its prime usage was in the 1990's.  Its slow decline started in the early 2000's.  The phrase was mostly used by the young.  "Smell you later" is very similar to "see you later" and means the exact same thing.  Although not as popular as a farewell anymore, people still recognize the phrase and its meaning. 



About the author:




Peter Bently was born in Tidworth and attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied for a BA Hons in Modern Languages.
He has two young children and now lives in Devon. He has also written several other award-winning picture books, including A Lark in the Ark (Egmont) and Shark in the Dark (Macmillan).


About the illustrator:
Since graduating from Kingston College of Art in 2004 Mei Matsuoka has been in much demand as an illustrator. Her illustrations for a short story won first prize in aUNESCO sponsored competition, which she travelled to Japan to collect in 2005. Mei was on the final longlist of candidates nominated as Best New Ilustrators, and is one of the UK's most exciting newcomers to children's books.





Book review rating:  8        (Fantastic!)  



Read on and read always everyone!

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