The Sleep Sheep

This winning bedtime book celebrates a child's imagination. When her frustrated mother suggests that she count sheep to fall asleep, Sylvie quickly imagines "hundreds and hundreds of sheep," but they are a wily flock. Shaw's (Evil Weasel) witty pen and ink drawings are chockablock with charismatic sheep "rumbaaa-ing," skateboarding, and otherwise milling about, none of which helps Sylvie count them ("Hey, sheep," she says, "you're really exasperating"). Sylvie follows the sheep to the beach where they play cards, read storybooks, arrange flowers, play board games, and finally fall asleep, at which point Sylvie is able to count them and fall asleep herself. The sheep—who, it turns out, clearly know what they're doing—tiptoe away and sail off aboard "The Dream Boat" ("I thought she'd never nod off!"). McQuinn's (Lola at the Library) clever conceit is expanded considerably by the comic details that fill every spread (the sheep's apparel is wonderfully diverse, especially at the beach, where they don "trunks and bikinis, suntan lotion and snorkeling goggles"). The gentle adventure blends seamlessly into the calming bedtime-ready ending. Ages 3–6. (May)