Surprise, The


ILLUSTRATED BY
Sylvia van Ommen

Ages: 2 and up
Pages: 32
List Price: $15.95
Cover: Hardcover
Published: 4/1/2007
ISBN: 1-932425-85-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-932425-85-7

Sheep carefully charts the growth of his wool coat. When it's long enough, he rides his moped to buy some red dye and dyes his wool and shaves it off. Sheep puts on a sweater and takes the wool to Poodle, who spins it into yarn. Back at home, Sheep knits a beautiful red sweater as a surprise present for Giraffe.

Awards

  • Included in NEW BOOKS FOR MISSOURI STUDENTS, 2008 edition produced by the Missouri State Teacher Association

Reviews

"A feel-good tale ... bright in both mood and color."
     —Kirkus Reviews

"True to its title, this quiet, wordless story will keep readers wondering just what the protagonist, a sheep, is up to. ...Obviously she is preparing something special–but what is it? The final page turn brings a satisfying resolution to the mystery. Even the very young will be able to follow the story by “reading” the uncluttered, outlined illustrations. The vignettes of the sheep dying, washing, and blow-drying the wool while it is still on her body and then shaving it off are priceless. Her trips via motorcycle, pocketbook slung across her shoulder, bag of wool strapped on the back, and the scenes depicting her struggle to keep her eyes open as she plies her knitting needles reveal her dogged dedication to her task. A fine addition for wordless-book collections."
     —School Library Journal

"[V]an Ommen portrays a sequence of initially mysterious actions that conclude with a sweet, satisfying message about generosity. ...[C]harming compositions in thickly applied gouache clearly chronicle the sequence of events. ...A crisp story-in-pictures for prereaders, or for use with older children in writing exercises. This is especially suited as a way to practice "process" vocabulary words (first, next, then, finally, and so on)."
     —Booklist


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