Delilah [Hardcover]

John Bemelmans Marciano (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Delilah is a lamb, a very special lamb. She's frisky and mischievous and she's Red's best friend. Ever since she came to the farm, Red's life has changed. The two are never apart. Each morning they eat breakfast and then Delilah helps Red with all the farm work. They even ride the tractor together. Red has never had so much fun. He can't wait for spring when a dozen full-grown sheep will be delivered. But Red's about to find out the hard way that Delilah's one of a kind.

In this gently told tale of friendship and belonging, John Bemelmans Marciano introduces a delightful new character, destined to be a favorite of children everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Marciano (Madeline Says Merci) says au revoir to Madeline his grandfather's beloved protagonist and introduces characters of his own in this text-heavy tale. "Unschooled" little lamb Delilah, less expensive than the highly trained sheep at the factory farm, is all that a lonely farmer named Red can afford. But Delilah and Red become fast friends and even workmates: not only can Delilah weed, she can paint barns and gather eggs with her teeth. When Delilah's productivity enables Red to buy a dozen trained sheep, their misanthropic criticism drives a wedge between Delilah and Red ("You lick his head? How unsanitary!"). Eventually, though, Delilah follows her heart and not her herd. Marciano draws faces with the evocative simplicity of his grandfather's draftsmanship. Unfortunately, that restraint does not extend to the storytelling or the fulsome painting style. On one page, Red, wearing a bold plaid shirt, is framed by gray brick walls, a red tile floor, a white board ceiling and a checkerboard-roofed house in the background; on other spreads, a swarm of patterns and colors compete for readers' attention. Unrelated facing pages compound the busyness (e.g., a river on a left page flows smack into the middle of a garage on the right page). Although nearly upstaged by the visual ruckus, the sweetness of Red and Delilah's friendship quietly shines through. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

reSchool-Grade 2-This debut effort by Marciano is a charmer. Red leads a quiet, lonely life until he purchases a little lamb-all he can afford. He names her Delilah, and she becomes his best friend, helping him on his farm. When he shears her in the spring, there's so much wool that he can afford a dozen more sheep-and they have been trained to be super productive. That's when Delilah's troubles begin. The other lambs make fun of her because she has a name, she works, and she likes the farmer. Poor Delilah is caught between her love for Red and the thought that maybe she should be a "normal sheep." By autumn, the others have worn her down and she joins them. Both Delilah and Red suffer through a long, lonely winter until, on shearing day, Delilah realizes that the sheep are mean and nasty and she licks Red's face. Young readers will delight in the ups and downs of this unusual friendship and absorb a gentle lesson about conformity and individuality. The gouache paintings make the characters even more endearing. Four wordless pages picturing the action during Delilah's sojourn with the sheep are unexpected and the transition back into text is a bit jarring, but readers will not be able to resist these engaging friends.
Jeanne Clancy Watkins, Chester County Library, Exton, PA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (May 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670035238
• ISBN-13: 978-0670035236
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,584,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Bemelmans Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the original Madeline books. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love story for homeschoolers and geeks!, July 10, 2005

By 

Debbie Byrd (MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delilah (Hardcover)

_Delilah_ is a picture book for 4-8 year olds. It is the first picture book I have ever seen with a pro-geek, pro-homeschooling message.

Farmer Red wants a lamb for wool and for company. The factory farm sells expensive sheep that are one year old and have been fully trained in obediance, grazing and wool production. All Red can afford is one little unschooled lamb. He names her Delilah. She is curious and eager to be with him, so he teaches her all sorts of ways to help around the farm. Delilah spends all year learning how to take care of plants and the other animals. For Christmas Red gives Delilah a collar with a bell. Red enjoys Delilah's company so much that in the spring he uses the money from her wool to buy a dozen year-old sheep.

But the factory sheep aren't like Delilah. They have been thoroughly indoctrinated to believe that all they should do is graze and grow wool. They don't want to work or even to play. And they want nothing to do with Delilah as long as she "acts like a person."

Red is unhappy because Delilah is unhappy. Delilah wonders if there is something wrong with her. She asks the sheep what it will take to be accepted by them as a "normal" sheep. They order her to give up her individuality and become a nameless member of the herd. It breaks Delilah's heart, but she can't stand being an outcast any longer. Red finds her discarded collar, and it breaks his heart too.

For months Delilah tries to be a "normal" sheep and not do anything except graze. The effort makes her and Red miserable, and the other sheep are just as mean to her as they were before. Finally Delilah can't stand it any longer, and joyfully goes back to being Red's friend and helper.

"As for the other sheep? They keep to themselves and eat their grass and can't understand why Delilah would want to do any differently. When they see her with Red, they make nasty faces, but Delilah doesn't care. It's a farm after all, and there's work to be done."

I'm so glad to see a picture book that celebrate individuality and achievement. May this book will help many young children fight off the corrosive effects of peer pressure to "conform". But for me the best part of the book is how I got it. My sister-in-law gave it to my older daughter for her 6th birthday, and the book represents my sister-in-law's ringing endorsement and support of our decision to homeschool our children.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book for any child who is homeschooled or who just needs encouragement to stand out from the crowd.

5.0 out of 5 stars personal buy, January 15, 2009

By 

Maurica K. Carter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delilah (Hardcover)

purchased book because grandfather grew up on storybook farm and sold farm to authors family, soooo cool. Cute story for readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars great story with a message, November 13, 2007

By 

Mahwah Girl (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delilah (Hardcover)

On the surface, this appears to be a story about a sheep; but it is really a parable about how much happier you will be if you are true to yourself and resist peer pressure. We read this story several years ago, when my son was around 4. He loved it and we would read it to him again and again. Now that my oldest is in high school, I keep remembering the message of this story. This book should have received an award, such as a Caldecott. I can't believe a great book like this is out of print. This is a book that is not just entertaining, but has a message that stays with you.