Feeding the Sheep

In simple, rhythmic prose, a little girl learns from her mother the cycle from sheep to wool to sweater. Each picture shows a different part of the process, starting with feeding the sheep and ending with knitting a sweater, including sheering, carding, dyeing, and more along the way.

This is an educational story to read to young children who will be fascinated to see the process that leads up to the finished process. It's also a sweet and warm story showing a mother's love for her daughter and the passing of the seasons on a farm. The simple rhymed refrain at the end of each section of text is perfect for making this a gentle bedtime story.

U'Ren's art is simple and clear enough so that children can understand the various processes, but show more also includes fun pictures of the little girl playing with the wool and her dog and snuggling up to her mother.

Verdict: Recommended. I haven't seen any other sheep stories, especially not any that manage to be both informative and entertaining show less

A little girl asks her mother what she is doing all along the process of the mother feeding the sheep and shearing the sheep all the way up to the finished product of a warm, woolen sweater knitted for her daughter.

This was a lovely book on many levels. Without being heavy-handed or didactic, it shows a beautiful bond and love between daughter and mother as well as how much hard work goes even into simple, everyday items that we all take for granted. The coming-full-circle ending with the daughter going out to feed the sheep is just perfect. The illustrations help to express the text, but my only quibble is that some terms (particularly "carding") might not be familiar ones for everyone and are not fully explained.

This was a nice read so O could see how the wool on sheep gets turned into clothes or the wool that I use for felting. It's always nice to find a book that extends the learning from something she already knows a little bit about.