Sylvia van Ommen

The Surprise is a wordless book where the colorful and non busy pictures carry the action and sequence of the story. A furry sheep uses his wool to make a sweater for his giraffe friend. The story line walks the reader through the process that the sheep goes through to make the sweater. At the end, the giraffe's facial expression shows gratitude for the gift. The use of complementary colors makes the illustration engaging. This book is delightful, however one picture is questionable as it show more portrays a poodle smoking a cigarette. This book would be great for storytelling.

Age appropriate: ages 5 and up

Ommen, S. (2003). The surprise. Homesdale, Pennsylvania: Front Street.

The Surprise and Follow Carl have strong images that are cohesively connected, creating a storyboard that is easy to follow. Although both of these wordless picture books have whimsical elements to their story line, Follow Carl presents realistic images that are relatable to children. The characters of the story mirror what is in real life, showing experiences that could possibly happen to them. Yet, The Surprise gives animals human like emotions sharing a universal message to the readers about giving and friendship. Both of these Wordless books have a clear middle, beginning and end. show less

Ommen, Sylvia van. The Surprise. Front Street, 2003.

Plot: This is a wordless book illustrated by Sylvia van Ommen, and was originally published in Belgium. It is the story of a sheep who takes great pains in dyeing and shearing his wool. He then has the wool spun into yarn, and knits it into a sweater. The sheep gives the sweater to his friend, giraffe, as a surprise present, along with a gentle kiss.

Illustrations: The illustrations appear to consist of gouache paintings. They are done in show more bright, saturated colors. The images are outlined in black, which makes them appear clear and stand out from the background. The simple and clear quality of the images make this wordless book easy to understand, and easy to tell the story from.

Age: This book is appropriate for children ages 3-7 because it conveys a simple story through simple images, and will keep them guessing until the end as to what the sheep made, and will do with the wool. They will delight in the sheep riding his motorbike to and from the paint store, to the yarn spinner, and to the giraffe’s house.

Use: I would “read” the story once all the way through with children. Then I would have them “read” the story to me, to hear them explain the pictures that they see, and ask them if they think the giraffe liked the surprise present, and whether they have ever made a surprise gift for someone else. show less

This book was a good example of fantasy because it was about a character that sacrificed to create a present for their friend, the characters were however a sheep and a giraffe making the book unrealistic. This book was written with only illustrations causing the reader to use their imagination.
Media Used: Acrylic
Age Appropriateness: Primary

A lovely wordless picture book about a sheep's gift for a friend; features a scooter.