2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hairy Shearer, November 26, 2006
This review is from: Pete the Sheep-Sheep (Hardcover)
Although there's some initial confusion, this is a very original and wonderfully zany story, cleverly disguising a subtle message that "being different" is not only ok--its sometimes superior!
The plot develops a bit too quickly, assuming a knowledge of sheep and sheep dogs not possessed by many kids and some adults. Beneath a fetching opener ("Ratso, Big Bob, and Bungo sheared sheep in Shaggy Gully"), the first spread shows introduces three sheep shearers (Ratso, Big Bob, and Bungo), three sheep dogs (Brute, Tiny, and Fang) and a herd of unnamed fluffy sheep. That's a lot of characters to comprehend at once; furthermore, some won't understand the job of "sheep shearer," and the illustrations is too crowded--you have to work a little to find the dogs among the sheep. That's surprising, because these watercolor and ink illustrations are otherwise uncluttered and clear. The rest of the story is silly/sophisticated humor that neatly shish-kabobs traditional notions about how men should act.
The new shearer on the block (Shaun), employs a sheep-sheep (Pete), instead of a sheep dog. You may need to point out Pete; he's the sheep with the natty hat. "Baa!" said Pete politely, which in sheep talk means, `Delighted to meet you gentlemen. Madam, please follow me, and Shaun will attend to you shortly." Predictably, the traditional sheep shearers protest:
"You can't have a sheep-sheep!" cried Big Bob.
"You need a proper sheep dog," yelled Ratso.
"Strewth," muttered Bungo, who never said much.
IN his thematic response, Shaun replies, "Pete's as good as any sheep dog...We just do things...differently." For starters, Shaun doesn't merely shear sheep, he COIFS them, giving them haute couture clips. Pete, for his part, is unfailingly polite and attentive to their customers, who love Shaun's work so much that they ignore the sheep dogs' herding. As in an old Western, the three men sense trouble, and kick out Pete and Shaun. Undaunted, Shaun gives Pete a new shaved look; the other sheep are so impressed that Pete has an idea, and so "Shaun's Sheep Salon" is born. A very funny series of sheep customers with nouveau wool- follows, and in the coup de grace, even the sheep dogs desert their owners for trims from Shaun! The last few pages complete the transformation, as the herders become professional-level stylists, and Pete's latest idea ("Baa Baaaa!") which means "Everyone can look gorgeous) opens the door to a veritable zoo of new animal clients. The renamed "Shaun's Animal Salon" now serves all animals, great and small, and the newly groomed animals include a panda with a checkerboard top, a rhino with a curly-cue tail, a giraffe with a row of tufted and tied hair running up his neck, and even three human animals--the traditional sheep herders, opening their minds and redesigning their hair. Somehow, Jackie French pulls the whole thing together; her originality doesn't get in the way of the basic goal of telling an entertaining and engaging story.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous, January 31, 2006
This review is from: Pete the Sheep-Sheep (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful, quirky story with some great characters. Taking on the manly world of sheep-shearing, Pete and Shawn go about it, well, differently, to the delight of the sheep and the sheep dogs, but to the dismay of the rugged old-school shearers.
The drawings are perfectly matched to the story line, and kids absolutely love the expressions and the dialogue.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun, zany tale is created, February 12, 2006
This review is from: Pete the Sheep-Sheep (Hardcover)
Bruce Whatley provides fun simple drawings to accompany the tale of an Australian sheep shearer who doesn't have a sheep dog, but a sheep named Pete who speaks politely to the others, Pete and shearer Shaun are good partners - but the other shearers have a gripe, especially when Shaun creatively sheers Pete with a whole new look. A fun, zany tale is created.
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