Ten Sleepy Sheep

Phyllis Root was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and attended Valparaiso University. A trip to a friend’s farm to help with lambing season was the inspiration for TEN SLEEPY SHEEP. Counting sheep isn’t always easy, she confesses. Once, while we were farm-sitting, my daughter and I had to chase down two runaway lambs in the growing darkness, then count twenty-seven frisky lambs to make sure they were all safe for the night. Luckily, they were. Phyllis Root has written many books for children, including BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY, WHAT BABY WANTS, RATTLETRAP CAR, and ALL FOR THE NEWBORN BABY.Susan Gaber has illustrated numerous books for children, including THE VERY FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY by Rhonda Gowler Greene, and WHEN WINTER COMES by Nancy Van Laan. She is very fortunate to live near a small market that has a fenced yard full of chickens, ducks, a pony, and sheep. While she was working on TEN SLEEPY SHEEP, she would study the two lambs that had come to live there. Sheep have a reputation for being peaceful and sweet, she says, but they can also have a stubborn and somewhat rebellious nature, especially when they’re young. Phyllis illustrates this so beautifully in her story. I’m sure children will identify with that, and I, unconsciously, may have too.