Shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal, this hilarious import features a clever wolf, a nearsighted shepherd with a short attention span and a plot spun out through an artful blend of irregular rhyme and wordless scenes. Sam only has ten sheep, but like many of us he falls asleep as soon as he even starts counting them. This leaves him susceptible, one windy night, to an extra, slightly disguised “sheep,” who comes knocking. Fortunately, his real sheep are alert to the threat, so in a climactic double gatefold they put on a lively revue that proves to their drowsy keeper that his ten are already present, and leaves the flamboozled wolf out on the moor to spin away into the storm. Fluffy, wide-eyed sheep with striped nightcaps dance across the pages of this knee-slapper, then nestle down with Sam in a wide bed for a well-earned snooze. (Picture book. 5-7)
