Not your parent’s sheep meets wolf story

Baabwaa and Wooliam: A Tale of Literacy, Dental Hygiene, and Friendship written by David Elliott and illustrated  by Melissa Sweet is not your parent’s sheep meets wolf story.

Baabwaa loves to knit (a very practical hobby for a sheep) and Wooliam is a sheep who likes to read (which is not very common in the sheep world). They are content to do this day in and day out. Until one day they decide they need to go on an adventure. They go out, turn left (though maybe should have gone right), eat their lunch and enjoy themselves until a funny-looking sheep shows up. Due to the fact Wooliam recognizes this new sheep as a wolf in sheep’s clothing (because of all his reading) they realize Wolf is not a sheep but a wolf. When the secret is out, the shenanigans that follow is not the adventure they expected.

Baabwaa and Wooliam help Wolf with his reading, hygiene and give him new (although very unusual) friendship (as well as a new sweater). I am not sure this is something I would want to reread, but I know that kids will love the quirky antics. They will enjoy the fun illustrations. The fact Wolf has the habit of chasing Baabwaa and Wooliam is amusing. Though something about the fact Baabwaa and Wooliam lose weight because of this, rubbed me the wrong way. I cannot tell you why, except it seemed slightly out of place at first blush.

The older child is the audience for Elliott and Sweet’s collaboration, as some of the context is slightly more mature.