Baabwaa & Wooliam
by David Elliott
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Candlewick Press, 2017. 36 pages.
Starred Review
This book had me at the introductory spread:
This is Wooliam.
He is a sheep.
You will note that Wooliam is reading.
There are not many sheep who read.
But Wooliam is one of them.This is Baabwaa, also a sheep.
In this picture, Baabwaa is knitting.
Knitting is a very practical hobby for a sheep.
It’s surprising not more of them do it.
Oh well.
Reading and knitting! These are my kind of sheep!
One day, when Wooliam has been reading about adventures, he suggests that they set out to have an adventure of their own.
It’s not easy to find an adventure in a field with a stone wall around it. But then, they are approached by another sheep.
A sheep with a long, rangy tail.
A sheep with a sharp, whiskered snout.
A sheep with a filthy wool coat.
However, well-read Wooliam recognizes the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing from his reading.
After some chasing, the wolf wants to find out more. Wooliam has read about him?
Eventually, the sheep develop a friendship with the wolf. Wooliam teaches him to read, and Baabwaa knits him a better sweater. But there’s still a fair amount of chasing. The sheep needed some exercise anyway.
And they decide it was quite an adventure, after all.
This book is quirky, warm, and fun. It even gives a message about the value of reading. Melissa Sweet’s illustrations are also quirky, warm, and fun. As it happens, I was planning on doing a preschool storytime this week about “Adventures,” and this book will fit in perfectly.
Friendship is one of the best adventures of them all.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/baabwaa_and_wooliam.html
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
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