Sheep, Sheep, Sheep, Help Me(next Rept)

Alda's breezy rhyming text and arresting photographs make this a most engaging bedtime read-aloud. The bottoms of two small feet lying in bed, surrounded by a bevy of cheerful stuffed animals, are all that is seen of the book's young narrator, who is unable to get to sleep. At mother's suggestion, the child closes his or her eyes in an attempt to find some sheep to count: ``I closed my eyes the way she said. / I didn't see the sheep; instead . . . / I saw a very itchy cow / A cat too busy to meow / A hairy gorilla who tickled her toes / And piglets in mud, which they liked, I suppose.'' Youngsters are treated to close-up looks at these and several other animals before the wakeful child finally begins to see--and count--sheep. From this point on, each successive page features a fetching photo containing one more sheep. Also increasing by one (and offering another chance to practice counting) is the number of small, gold stars that appear in the margins. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)