Sunday, August 25, 2013

Rhymes and Sleepytime Sheep! robgirlbooks' Review of Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep by Julia Dweck

Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep
Written by Julia Dweck
Illustrated by the late Wilson Williams, Jr.
Published by Xist Publishing, 9/5/13
Children's eBooks

4.5 STARS Mary had a little lamb, yes, and he followed her wherever she did go, but then he quickly fell right asleep. No fun was this tired sheep, so Mary turned creative to keep her woolly friend awake. With determination only a child possesses in droves the little girl never quit until Sheppard Sheep was finally bright eyed and possibly more than she bargained for.

I read this book with my four year old son (a bunch of times). His eyes stayed glued to my computer screen. Each attempt Mary made to wake her friend was a mini-adventure. The rhyming is great fun and the illustrations brought the tale of Mary and Sheppard Sheep to life. There are even side characters like the cat, mouse, and cranky mom. At the end of the book you discover there's a mouse hidden on each page. We had so much fun looking for it. There's also a "find the differences" activity page, which had my son insisting we "do that difference thing again!" And author Julia Dweck went one step further with a favorite sites resource guide for parents and teachers.

Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep will be available for download 9/5/13. The story is a true delight. You can catch up with Julia Dweck on her Facebook page. As a side note, I recently read and reviewed another one of her wonderful children's books, Blucy. Here's my review.

(Sent to me by author for an honest review)

15 comments:

  1. My kids used to love these kinds of books when they were younger! Especially the searching for the mouse part. Now, my youngest (who's 8) loves the 'Where's Charlie' books. Sometimes, even I have a lot of trouble finding him.

    I hope your move went OK, that you are settling in your new home nicely, and that unpacking is more fun that packing.

    Have a great day, Robyn. *hugs*

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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    1. John loves those fun activities. We have one book that was Will's and passed down to John, but a few of the items I never found until John. Once he saw how excited I was that he found those long lost items he played it cool like it didn't matter one way or the other. He wants this book over and over. It's always so neat to find a favorite book for him.

      And the move has been pretty smooth, just dang exhausting. I will never live on the third floor again. If only I could change my personality for a short burst of time, then I'd be ultra organized. This is me, "I remember packing the bathroom stuff all together because that makes sense, right?" I have no logic and I aced logic in school! I was so awesome I didn't even have to take the final because there was no way I could get less than an A and yet my thinking does not add up at all!! So I guess the move is not going in straight smooth lines, but it's going.

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    2. I'm happy you are settling in smoothly, even if it is tiring. LOL - I failed logic but am more or less OK logically in real life :)

      *hugs*

      Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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  2. This sounds like a really fun book! Jack would totally dig this story - he loves answering questions like that about books. Raising the next generation of book lovers! :D

    How'd the move go?

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    1. This is a fun book to read, very visual and the rhyming is fun. I really liked Blucy too. It's neat raising the next generation of readers. I love this level of children's books, but I can't wait to dive into fantasy in a few years. That will be neato.

      As for the moving...I don't have a work space set up yet, so I'm typing on my bed. Yikes. I'll get there! How's the planning for a bigger house going?

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    2. We're trying to clean out our house, lol. Not terribly motivated. ;) We cleaned out our garage last weekend, filling up an entire dumpster! This weekend, we're putting things together for the yard sale we're having next weekend. Fun, fun, fun. But it'll be worth it in the end when I don't have to live across the street from my in-laws. *throws confetti*

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    3. Yay for the garage clean up! That's a massive accomplishment. Did you find a bunch of spiders? When I cleaned out my garage back when I had a garage the biggest, blackest spiders that ran way too fast for their size made me scream like a 4 year old. You live across from your in-laws? Just like that TV show Everybody Loves Raymond? It will be worth it.

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  3. Great review, Robyn. I can't remember the last time I read a Children's Book, but it makes me glad to see that you and John enjoyed the book.

    Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful week! :)

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    1. I know a few adults who read children's books because they enjoy them, but I am mostly influenced by what John likes. It will be fun to follow his interests through school. I have a feeling I'm going to know more about superheroes and cartoon characters than any of the classics I learned in school. You have a wonderful week too! How is the editing going? Are you flipping back and forth between projects?

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    2. That's cool, Robyn.

      I've put Aborcity away, so I can revisit it with fresh eyes at a later time. That's why I'm working on The Road Taken on Critique Circle. It's been a helpful website so far. I've received great suggestions on how to improve the story. :)

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  4. This sounds like a fun book, Robyn! We were just talking last night at dinner about books the kids had loved when they were younger. Berkeley brought up Silly Sally, which was one of her favs. I remember getting it simply because Berk spent so much time dancing, rolling, somersaulting, etc., and Silly Sally goes to town dancing backwards, upside down. :) And Sky loved Where's Percy's Dinner. Jax loved Henry & Mudge.

    I'm really enjoying these reviews you're doing of children's books, Robyn. It's fun to reminisce. :) Thanks for sharing them. And I hope your week is fabulous!

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    1. Aw thanks, Brandee. I just added those books to my library account (not Where's Percy's Dinner because they didn't have it). I remember loving Little Critter, Cinderella, and Snow White when I was John's age. I just saw that they're remaking Romeo and Juliet again. I thought of Sky and how much she must be looking forward to it (hehe). Have you watched City of Bones? I can't remember if you were opposed or not. When the dust settles (literally) I'm going!

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  5. Sounds like a wonderful children's book! I love the thought of the hidden mouse on the pages, that's fantastic. Thank you for a great review! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. I can just see you having so much fun drawing hidden pictures. This one is a digital book, but I just set up my bookcase my mom has been storing for over a decade. What a mom. It's 80% filled with children's books. I should take a picture and post it.

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    2. Yes, post a picture pretty please! :D

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