This retelling of the nativity story from the point of view of the sheep is laugh-out-loud funny and full of the warmth of Christmas—a cheeky illustrated chapter book by a bestselling author/illustrator pair.
Tonight, the sheep can’t sleep. The pasture is floodlit by a strange new star and their shepherds have disappeared. They must have been kidnapped by a UFO—or perhaps they’ve gone to meet the child rumoured to have been born in a stable. The sheep set off to find their shepherds. They’d like to see this child too, and they heard there’ll be a party!
The sheep hike across country two by two, so none are lost. During this extraordinary night in Bethlehem, the quarrelsome sheep gradually become a real flock that pulls together.
This comic retelling of the Christmas story through the eyes of the sheep reinforces the season’s theme—be a little nicer to each other, forgive your quarrels, and listen to everybody, especially the children.
Creators
Ulrich Hub trained as an actor and now works as a director for stage and writes plays, screenplays and children’s books, which have won numerous awards.
Jörg Mühle was born 1973 in Frankfurt am Main and studied at the Offenbach School of Design and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He has been a freelance illustrator since 2000, and held a temporary professorship at the Fachhochschule in Mainz. Today, he lives in Frankfurt where he works as a freelance illustrator for book publishers, magazines and newspapers.
Reviews
Originally published in German and spawning an animated film in that language, this tale begs to be read aloud, provided the listeners already know the traditional version of the Nativity story.A Christmas tale to hold the whole family spellbound.
starred, Kirkus Reviews
Helena Kirkby has produced an excellent translation that captures the humour and nuances so well. Mühle’s artwork has a cartoon-like quality in pen and ink and colour wash which results in giving the sheep and other animals, real characters full of expression enhanced by lovely humorous touches which complement Hub’s text. This is a book you don’t want to miss. Young readers are going to love it, (and a lot of adults too!)
www.outsideinworld.org.uk
This short chapter book packs lots of laughs. In addition to the sheep, there’s a road-weary donkey, some camels, and a host of other familiar faces from the traditional Christmas story as told in the Biblical gospels. The story pokes fun without entering into satire, and the short chapters make for a great read for kids and adults, as a family read or tucked away by oneself.
YA Books Central
This book is really funny, and the sheep are hilariously stupid! They really have no clue what is going on most the time.
Luminous Libro
