Customer Reviews

Sheep

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

People just don't give cover art enough credit. The cover of a book can make or break a novel, you know. Especially one for children. For example, if the art looks like it stepped out of a 1985 Twisted Sister music video, the book is going to suffer. If it's shiny and has lots of fantastical images crowding for attention, it will possibly do well as an impulse buy. Then you come to covers like the one accompanying Valerie Hobbs's, "Sheep". First of all, nice use of white space. Clever concept too. Who's gonna resist a picture of a dog imagining a sheep? But then you begin to understand just how smart the picture was. This is a book about a young border collie who dreams of herding sheep in spite of the increasingly difficult situations he finds himself in. The dog on the cover of this book is EXACTLY the right age. He's not too old and he's not too young. Add in the intelligent but quizzical look the dog is throwing you and you have a perfect complement to a lovely little book. So a tip of the hat to Patrick Doyle and a big big bow to Valerie Hobbs. "Sheep" is a lovely succinct little tale of a dog, his quest, and his place in the world.

Our hero has had lots of names over the years, but for the purposes of this review let's just call him Jack. Now Jack was born a border collie and he's a border collie through and through. His entire life is bent on the sole purpose of herding sheep someday. Unfortunately, tragedy hits his ranch long before he's old enough to start working alongside his father. When a fire forces Jack's owner to sell him off to the wide wide world, the little pup is devastated. He finds himself in a pet shop and sold to a little girl with let's-dress-the-dog-up-in-baby-clothes issues. With a quick leap over the fence and away, Jack is soon on the road and meeting all kinds of people. He jolts around with a man who lives entirely with a pack of goats. He takes up with a pair of "Of Mice and Men" type cons and after that is made to suffer in a two-bit circus. At last he finds a boy like himself who's alone in the world, and Jack finds that he can still make a difference in someone's life. Even if it doesn't involve herding sheep.

At a scant 115 pages, "Sheep" is an ideal book for any kid who's just gotten comfortable reading chapter books that don't have pictures in them. Jack's tale is always exciting but that doesn't mean it has to rely on constant action. If Hobbs is good at anything she knows how to carry a theme through a book without making it overly obvious or simplified. One of the things I liked about this story was how Jack had a certain innate dignity. Any time that dignity was compromised he would extricate himself from the situation and move on to another. This happens with his first adoption, results in a severe beating he receives later on, and is at the core of why he sticks with the boy he loves at the end. Add in the title's humor and the fact that you never have a moment's doubt that this is a dog you're listening to and you've got yourself a fine little book.

Of course books from a dog's point of view are hardly new. The first thing I thought of when I saw, "Sheep" was Ann Martin's, "A Dog's Life". Dog P.O.V.s exist in everything from the fantastical ("Dogsbody" by Diana Wynne Jones) to the comical ("I, Jack" by Patricia Finney). No one ever gets sick of them and it seems as if you can never have enough of them around. Certainly "Sheep" feels fresh and fine with every page. A great title for kids who refuse to read anything but dog books, kids who are reluctant readers, and kids who just like a good story. Simply swell.

NO, wait a minute! Author Valerie Hobbs believes with " 'boy' ~ 'Blackie' ~ 'Shep' ~ 'Spot' ~ 'Sparky' ~ 'JACK' " that Dogs are NOT for Dancing.

The eyes of this multiple-named border collie tug at your heart from the cover of Valerie Hobbs' "SHEEP." 'Jack' is poised on the brink of adventure. He tells us all about his experiences on the way to achieving his life's dream: "A fellow's got to know he's made a difference." 'Jack' tells us that his passion is to be the best sheepherder ever. Valerie Hobbs' story may have been told many times but in the saga of 'Jack' there is a difference. This border collie has 'character' & 'determination' - - traits that most parents want to see in their offspring/litters of pups. The author includes the requisite reality checks from a sly hobo to a cruel circus master. As counter-balance 'Jack' absorbs a smattering of philosophy, Eisenhower vintage, from friendly adopted owner, the Goat Man: "Love and Grief grow in the same garden" / & / "make your sails of Patience."

Strengthening the story outline is a 'sniffing-out' of a dog's life told convincingly in 'first-person Canine.' This is the strongest part and reminds us that so-called "boys' stories" have great appeal for girls, too, and also grandmas brought up on "The Heart of a Dog" by Albert Payson Terhune (# 0899669840). Hobbs is as deft building her tale as 'Jack' becomes at streaking across fields and feinting sheep. So it is that 'Jack' continues to win (manage) friends and influence (herd) people to do what is good for them - - while delighting the readers of his auto-biography. .

Reviewer mcHAIKU suggests that 'Jack' may gain proud status as a classic.

She likes that it is from the dog's point of view and that you get a good sense of what it is like to be a dog.

My 5th grade daughter brought this book home from school and we both ended up reading it. . . and enjoying discussing it. We fell in love with the dog and had lots of fun chats, mostly having to do with speculating about what would have happened if such and such had happened differently.

One great thing about this book is the way that everything that happens to the dog along the way ends up being extremely significant in the end.

My daughter and I had a great discussion about how so many of the bad things that happened to the dog ended up being his salvation. Because without each of those bad events, the happy outcome would never have happened. And not only did Jack save himself, but he saved someone else, too. It's a good theme for her to remember when she encounters difficulty or disappointment. Those things may be the building blocks for something awesome in her future.

Since I have started reading this book to my daughter (age 5) she has slept with the book by her side every night. This book is a perfect example of how to use an engaging plot with a challenging point of view (that of a dog) in order to increase the love of reading in children. Honestly, I'm a writer myself and I can think of no greater compliment than having written a book that makes the graduation of a child from the familiar world of illustrated children's books to chapter books so smooth that the child actually sleeps with the book.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone reading to their children at younger ages and any older children who are starting to read chapter books by themselves. (It's also a lot of fun for us oldsters)

I purchased this book by accident and fell in love with it's character Jack the Border Collie and his quest for the perfect home. A heart warming story where Jack runs away from the spoiled child who dresses him up in doll cloths, the ultimate humiliation for a sheep dog. His adventures include hooking up with the Goat Man. I recommend it highly....!

I absolutely loved this book. I saw it at a friends house that I was cat sitting for and after a few pages I decided I had to read it so they loaned it to me. I have a rescue Border Collie/Aussie mix and could really relate. I loved it so much I purchased 2 copies for my great-neices and nephews for Christmas! I think it rates right up there with Charlotte's Web!

This is a fun read...even for adults. As I am the owner of herding dogs, I feel the author was on the mark with the behaviors. I have purchased and given this book to several young people as well as other adults in the herding dog community. Very well done!

My daughter loved this book. I got her a hard cover because she was getting the author to sign it for her. The author loved my daughter's unique name and asked if she could use it for a character in a future book. My daughter was so excited.

While it's always good to see another dog book on the shelves, especially one where the actual dog (rather than the child's emotional issues) is the center of the book, I found a lot to annoy and irritate me about this particular book.

It would be a shame if any child got an idea of dog training from "Sheep." Jack goes through most of his life completely untrained, but then is easily taught to 'play dead' simply by being shown how to do it. This is followed by a session where an evil circus owner trains him by hitting him with a whip until the dog GUESSES what he is supposed to do. And yet the circus actually has a trained dog act. What a lot of psychic dogs Evil Billy seems to have rounded up. On the other hand, the pooch seems to possess perfect human intelligence and comprehension of the English language down to knowing the name of the state he lives in, so Evil Circus Dude may be on to something. What, Jack never bothered to learn his street address or telephone number? What a short journey it could have been.

Most of the characters and situations are clichés and rehashes from other books and movies. The Goat Man was a singular and interesting exception, and deserved a better book to be in.

But by far the greatest pet peeve was the rampant and flagrant sexism of the book, which makes me surprised it was written by a woman. Allow me to list every female character in the entire book. There aren't many, almost every one can be slotted into a stereotype, and most are completely passive characters.

Ellie: Ellie loves Sheep Rancher Bob, Bob loves Ellie. She makes sure he remembers to wear his hat and gloves. That's all we know about her: Bob is the one the pups love and who goes out to herd the sheep and worry about the farm.

Jack's Mom: She tells Jack (and his brothers) that he is her darling boy. She does not, however, herd sheep. Apparently, Jack's father and Old Dex (male) are the sheepherders. Mom just stays at home with the puppies and takes long naps.

Jack's sister: We never even know she exists until they are separated by the pet shop truck.

Penelope: Spoiled brat girl who dresses Jack in baby clothes and tells him he'll be spanked if he wets himself.

Penelope's Mom--thinks this is cute.

Penelope's cat--walks by on the fence top. Does nothing else.

Trudy--Fell in love with the Goat Man, ran away from home to marry him, and died, her mission in life (and this book) accomplished.

A pretty spaniel--Jack sees one in the street, but her female owner pulls her away.

Tiffany--Jack's love-at-first-sight with the usual sweet and tender lack of personality of female love interest characters. His love for her keeps him from running away from the evil circus, where Evil Billy forces her to dance for the audience. Eventually he leaves and can't convince her to run away with him. We never get a full description, but originality kudos to the author for a least not making her a Poodle.

By now, frankly, I am just skimming, waiting to see if this pattern goes on, so the few remaining female character descriptions are not as fleshed out as they might be. The writer seems suddenly to have realized she needed some women in the book who actually mattered, so she added:

Miss Pinch: Nasty dough-faced orphanage leader who calls Jack a mutt and forces Luke to come to Adoption Week in hope of getting rid of him.

Raggedy Annie--The only positive female figure in the entire book, She collects old clothes for the poor, and convinces Jack to read by giving him The Call of the Wid, and is also good for handing out cookies when Luke sneaks away from the orphanage. She is fat, wears raggedy clothes, and is missing several teeth. Basically a Grandmother substitute.

Luke's Aunt--the one who dumped him on the orphanage.

The Pretty Lady--her and her bad-hair husband adopt Luke. Neither actually speaks a word.