Baa Baa Smart Sheep

by Mark Sommerset, Rowan Sommerset (Illustrator)

Little Baa Baa is bored. When Quirky Turkey comes along, the opportunity to make some mischief proves too hard to resist.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Storytime, Juvenile, Young Adult

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book. A miracle.

[Jonathan Peto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually didn't read it. The author visited the school I work at and read it. The illustrations and format reminded me of Moe Williams a bit, and so did the simple text. Despite those similarities, it is its own creation. I love picture books that feature animals talking and interacting with each other, even if the story involves... poop.

The story could easily inspire conversations about bullying, responsibility, and the complex gray area that exists between lying and deceiving.

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are not that many universal taboos in human nature, and the few that seem to be hard-wired into our consciousness - as a species we abjure incest and cannibalism and avoid corpses and excrement - are there for extremely good health-related reasons.

So a book in which a character is tricked into eating poop is a baaaaaad idea.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the more "You've gotta read this" picture books of the year. I agree with everything Paula said in her 1 star review, but for her same reasons, I'm going with a 5.

[Lola · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a kids book. This is a baaad book. I'm certain that there are more intelligent ways to teach critical thinking for the 3-5 age range.

[Niki Mclaren]

0 stars. What an awful children's book. I am surprised this was even published.

[Tasha-Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can I rate this -1?

[Smschade · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the illustrations but hate the story.
It's about tricking someone (the turkey) into eating poo.
I would never read this to a child.
It's not the right kind of humor for me.

[Ashleigh Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sixth graders loved this today! So did I. We all had a good laugh and walked away with a little lesson in gullibility....

[Susan]

Ewwww, that's just not right.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a book with poo in it..if you don't like poo jokes don't read it..if you do...THIS BOOK IS HILARIOUS!

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does this book teach children good things? No. Is it still hilarious anyways? Yes.

[Aminata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe it's just my sense of humour, but I found this book hilarious

[Desi Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad this came with a warning!! But it didn't stop me from laughing loudly, stomping my feet and grabbing my fellow Librarians to read it!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended to me by a family member who is a 4th grade teacher. This book is hilarious! I can see it from others point of view on here that we wouldn't want a child talking anyone into eating their poo... but if you want to take this children's book to that depth, then consider another view. A lesson in gullibility. Not falling for things that you know in your heart and mind that are wrong and right in front of you! There are some great conversations to be had from this book. Bullying, lying, etc. I love this book so much.

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite a slew of bad reviews of this book, I found it hilarious, as did every child and preschool teacher's classroom that I visited. One teacher even took a picture of the book and wants to purchase it for her grandson. If you mention the words "underwear" or "poop" anywhere around a 4 yr old, they're going to giggle. Everyone just looked at the book as all in good fun, and in my opinion an opportunity to talk to kids about not eating anything if they don't know what it is/where it came from without consulting an adult.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Baa Baa the sheep is bored, and when Quirky Turkey asks what a pile of droppings is, Little Baa Baa tries to convince him that they are Smarty Tablets, which make you smarter if you eat them, but they’re only free to turkeys. Though suspicious, the turkey eats them anyway, but figures out what they are and spits them out. The next animal comes along, and the reader can assume that Little Baa Baa will repeat his trick. Most of the text is featured in speech bubbles above the animals. Simple pencil illustrations, rendered digitally, pair nicely with this short but humorous tale. Give this book to children in grades K-3 who enjoy humor or graphic novels.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sommerset, Mark. Baa Baa Smart Sheep, PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2010.

This book essentially consists of a sheep trying to get a turkey to eat his poo. The turkey is finally convinced that the poo is actually a pile of tablets that will make him smarter and so he eats it.

I did not like this book. What a stupid premise for a children’s book. There are already so many books with potty humor, do we really need more? Especially when done so poorly? Don’t buy this one. The gross factor just isn’t worth it.

EL- NO. Reviewed by Shay, High School Librarian
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a huge hit in my class. I'm sure a lot of people will look down their nose about this book since it involves poop and tricking. Perhaps a conversation about harmless tricks and not appropriate tricks would be a good follow up (or introduction). Or perhaps a lesson in gullibility?

All I know is they really loved it when I read it. Later in the week we had Family Literacy Day. They picked it to read with one of the dads. There was howls of laughter. Fun!

[elstaffe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great art, but the story wasn't funny to me. Maybe I shouldn't have read it right after the election. Right now, the "smart sheep" being bored and because of it convincing someone to eat poo, then afterwards being like 'now that you've realized I fooled you, you're better off. Thank me for harming you' hits a little too close to home.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious! This is a must buy.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! That was surprising. This book was recommended to me by my librarian friend. Baa Baa Smart Sheep is the twisted tale of a bad sheep and a Quirky Turkey.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaking hilarious. And nasty and taboo and icky. And hilarious.

Maybe I've spent too much time around kids and their sense of humor has rubbed off on me. But I laughed until I cried.

Sheep and Turkey. You can tell from the start that there's history. Told entirely in dialogue bubbles...this would be fun to perform as Reader's Theater.

There is a pile of poo on the very first page...we see it. Turkey sees it. Sheep is bored, and trouble is inevitable.

Turkey is curious...what's that? You can see Sheep's wheels turning, and from that moment, the book becomes an awful 'will he? won't he?'

And just like kids do, the book pushes all the limits until they have tumbled down the hill, and Sheep has subtly convinced Quirky Turkey that the pile of perfectly round...droppings...is a pile of Smarty tablets.

Adults are probably repelled by this book, but Sommerset doesn't care about us adults. He's after kids who will to to the limits with him.

The sequel is called, "I Love Lemonade." Guess what it's about.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute to a point. The illustrations were great. I loved how simple the story and pictures were and the kids will probably love it. One thing though, the baaaad sheep gets the turkey to eat poo pellets. There is a "warning" on the cover, "contains mischief". I think it is more than mischief to get someone to eat poo. I know some animals do that but I don't think turkeys do. I think the title should be "Baa Baa Smartass Sheep".

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disgusting.

This book is completely inappropriate for students.

I cannot believe that people think this is appropriate for children. Absolutely not. I would never share this with any of my students.

If this were a children's book that was for adults, I would have given this book a 5 Star, because for adults it is hilarious, but since it was written for young children. No.

[Penney Letbetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yes, this has bathroom humor BUT when you use it as symbolism to talk about what happens if you start making decisions based on what someone tells you without thinking for yourself, the books turns into a great tool for older elementary students. And for that reason I am ordering this book for my library. Think BEYOND a first impression. Think about the BIG IDEA of the book.

[Skyla Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this book is fun for students. It is hard to read to a class though. The whole book is mostly a sheep and turkey talking back and fourth. Its just text bubbles and it would be hard to tell who was saying what without someone also looking at the book reading along or adding "said the sheep" or "said the turkey" after each text bubble.

[Sharlene Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved contrasting my bored voice with my hyper excited voice as I read this one aloud but why oh why did that bored little sheep let it go that far?!? Please tell me Silly Billy is not as dense as Quirky Turkey and that the bored little sheep gets his comeuppance.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disgusting, yet delightfully funny read! I read this to a couple kids who came into the library (with their Mother's permission) and they giggled and shouted that "NO! They *wouldn't* eat smarty tablets!" if they were offered to them.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminds me of the sort of humor that a bully might try to pull. I could see where this was going from the start, but I wondered how far they would take it. The answer? They were in this game of chicken to win or die trying. Gross.