When Sheep Cannot Sleep

In one of the more subtle counting books around, Woolly, a sheep, can't sleep and so he goes for a walk. He chases a butterfly, sees two ladybugs, and ""some owls'' (three in the picture) call to him. Readers have to count the four bats, five apples, six squirrels and seven ladder rungs. Woolly finds a house where he starts drawing pictures, which he hangs on walls, has a dinner of peas, looks at the (20) stars, and goes to bed in striped pajamas. He starts thinking about his (21) relatives (all sheep, of course) and drifts off to sleep. An index at the back provides a complete list of the items to be counted. Kitamura takes full artistic license with the logistics of the plotWoolly beds down for the night in a conveniently empty mansionbut his counting is impeccable. An off-white sheep set against deep-toned watercolors, Woolly is an truly endearing insomniac. (3-6)