posted on 26 Feb 2023

Sheep School by Ross Montgomery, illustrated by Marisa Morea

Sheep are renowned for their passivity and their acceptance of a restricted existence as they are herded to and fro, so they are the perfect animals to represent the dangers of conformity and obedience. Schools are all about teaching pupils to follow rules and Sheep School is particularly strict under the regime of Mr Howler, a new head teacher who looks suspiciously like a wolf in disguise. The most important rule seems to be to learn to stand absolutely still in order to foil an attack by predatory wolves who live in the nearby wood.

William the lamb is the only one of the sheep who seems to have an ounce of common sense, as well as being constantly fidgety with his tapping feet and inclination to burst into song and dance. He has real problems following the standing still rule and is always in trouble with the Miss Bleater, the strict teacher, and is clearly a budding actor who loves dressing up and making his classmates laugh. She is concerned that he will let everybody down at the pending special event in the Big Field. He really wants to behave well and make his parents proud but knows in his heart that it will be impossible.

When the Big Day arrives he is determined to try hard but is unnerved at sight of Mr Howler ‘with saliva dripping from his mouth.’ His voice seems unusually growling and he greets them oddly:

‘You’re looking very delicious …I mean, er, healthy today!'

Despite his efforts, William is dismayed to be told that everyone must stand still for ten whole minutes with closed eyes! This predictably impossible task results in disaster:

‘William leapt up like a firework, somersaulted in the air and ended up doing the splits in the middle of the field’.

As a result, he is immediately expelled from Sheep School but goes on to prove himself to be the bravest and most inventive pupil that has ever attended. He even follows the rules but manages to bend them for the benefit of the whole sheep community.

I enjoyed reading this story with Naomi, my eight year old grand daughter who able to guess how the plot would unfold but relished the humour laced along the way and we both laughed out loud at many of the illustrations. This is another enticing story in the Little Gems collection of books published by Barrington Stoke. They always manage to find the perfect combination of author and illustrator to keep young readers engaged and enthusiastic. Without revealing any more of the delightful plot, I will finish with a few comments from Naomi:

‘I really recommend this little book for children to read because at the beginning there were lots of jokes. The actual story was very funny especially when William dressed up as a wolf with a long baguette on the end of his nose! The colourful cover was great because I liked his rainbow boots and the rainbow sprinkles coming down. I think William was a good character because although he was different and special, he turned out to be a super sheep. Real teachers seem to sometimes want children to all be the same in school, but everyone is different and everyone probably has different skills’.

 

Karen Argent and Naomi Adeoya

February 2023