10 Funny Sheep

10 Funny Sheep by Ed Allen, illustrated by Andrea Edmonds (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $13.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-637-9
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Some people count sheep to go to sleep but not the sheep in this book! Counting backwards – to the tune of 10 green bottles – these sheep start by singing silly songs which get sillier as one sheep at a time disappears until they are all gone.


This is fun to read aloud:
Four funny sheep trying to win the game.
Four funny sheep trying to win the game.
And if one funny sheep should get all the blame, 
There’ll be three funny sheep trying to win the game.

The accompanying picture shows four sheep playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey who happily munches apples, oblivious to their game. But when one sheep pins the tail on the donkey’s forehead, the donkey looks up and the other three sheep run. The illustrations are entertaining. All the sheep are individuals and it’s fun to guess which one will be next to leave the pages. Hidden in each scene is a number to find as well.

10 Funny Sheep joins other titles in this series including 10 Silly Wombats also by this author/illustrator team and is a light, amusing and entertaining way for young children to practise their counting – forwards and backwards.

10 Hooting Owls

10 Hooting Owls by Ed Allen, illustrated by Simon Williams (Scholastic Press)
PB RRP $13.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-698-0
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

I really enjoy these counting books based on the Ten Green Bottles song. 10 Hooting Owls is yet another enjoyable and amusing version, perfect to read aloud to young children.

The rhyme works well and is consistent throughout and each owl has an amusing reason for leaving the flock. In nine the owls are in disguise and the poor owl dressed as a magpie is being shuffled off by other magpies who don’t seem to notice the difference. In seven, one of the skating owls becomes a champion.

I love the illustrations. Williams’ owls are fabulous, especially their facial expressions and body language. In six, the fluffy pink owl gets chicken pox and is all droopy while the other owls have moved to the far end of the branch and watch him out of the corner of their eyes as they knit.

This is a vibrant, joyful book. One in which the pictures tell as much of the story as the creative and rhythmic text. And as an added bonus the relevant number is hidden on each page and is not always easy to find. 10 Hooting Owls is a really fun backwards counting book which will be enjoyed by adult readers and the young children they read it to.