Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep? by David Metzenthen, illustrated by Jonathon Bentley

Title: Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep?

Author: David Metzenthen, illustrated by Jonathon Bentley

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 29^th August 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: A gorgeous, funny, tongue-twisting picture book by two incredibly talented creators. Perfect for bedtime reading.

Do you think the sleepy sheep will sleep on top of this wild and windy hill
Baah!
No-o-o, this windy hill is far too high and wild for a sleepy sheep to sleep on!
Do you think the sleepy sheep will sleep deep down in this steep and stony valley?
Baah!
No-o-o, this valley is far too deep, steep, and stony for a sleepy sheep to sleep in!

So where will the sleepy sheep end up sleeping? A delight from beginning to end – bedtime reading at its best.

~*~

Poor sleepy sheep is trying to find somewhere to sleep for the night. But everywhere is too windy, too high, too wild, or too stony for the sleepy sheep. And one place has too many foxes and dingoes. Everywhere is just not the right place for a sleepy sheep to sleep tonight. The poor sleepy sheep – will they ever find a place to sleep?

Where Will the Sleep Sheep Sleep? is a fun picture book, filled with rhymes and repetition as the sleepy sheep looks for the perfect place to spend the night. Every place the sheep finds on the farm is not good enough, a little bit like Goldilocks in the Three Bears. The sleepy sheep is looking for the perfect place to sleep, after they appear to have been separated from their herd.

This is a very fun picture book, and one that will be a great bedtime read. Kids who are a bit wriggly might enjoy as they settle into bed, finding the perfect position for sleep, and it has an Australian flavour on a sheep farm, with dingoes present. I loved reading this, as I think it can be read in an excited tone when not going to sleep, or a calming tone when you need to settle a child down quietly or for sleep.

David’s fun words are accompanied by fun, colourful, and active illustrations by Jonathon Bentley, and the very sleepy sheep toddles across each double page spread. I loved that the pictures seemed to move – the sheep fell, ran, blew about in the wind, and everything in between as it sought the perfect sleeping place. I loved that the sheep’s expressions showed how they felt throughout the book, showing the exhaustion that the sheep is feeling.

I think the illustrations and words work wonderfully together to tell the story in an invigorating and enjoyable way, and I think readers of all ages will enjoy it, because picture books are for everyone. Anyone can enjoy picture books because there are so many layers to them and ways of understanding them, that they can be widely appreciated, and I love that this one will be one that will have something for everyone and will become one of those books that will be read over and over. A funny book that I hope will become well-loved.