Ulrich Hub is a very funny man with a big warm heart—this books speaks directly from the seven-year-old inside.
One Wise Sheep: An Untraditional Christmas Story
Tonight, the sheep can’t sleep. The pasture is floodlit by a strange new star and their shepherds have disappeared.
They must have been kidnapped by a UFO—or perhaps they’ve gone to meet the child rumored to have been born in a stable. The sheep set off to find their shepherds. They’d like to see this child too, and they heard there’ll be a party!
The sheep hike across country two by two, so none are lost. During this extraordinary night in Bethlehem, the quarrelsome sheep gradually become a real flock that pulls together.
This amusing retelling of the Christmas story through the eyes of the sheep reinforces the season’s theme—be a little nicer to each other, forgive your quarrels, and listen to everybody, especially the children.
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Book Details
Country of Origin Germany Reader Age 6-8 year, 8-12 year Book Size ISBN
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Reviews
Available worldwide from your local bookstore or online.
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LoveReading4Kids –
This hugely enjoyable and highly entertaining version of the nativity story is told by the sheep—a set of witnesses not often called upon to give an account. Sadly, for various reason, they don’t get to see the baby in the manager, and completely misunderstand the tidings, but their story is nonetheless full of incident and very funny too.
As a group, they bicker constantly and are often quite rude to each other, but somehow after an eventful night, there’s a joyful reunion with their shepherds, and the true Christmas spirit wins out. As gloriously silly as its stars, the story is still an accurate reflection of the Christmas story and quite moving too. Droll colour illustrations add to the fun.
– Andrea Reece
Outside In World –
One Wise Sheep is an untraditional Christmas Story. The sheep are unable to sleep. The pasture is floodlit by a strange new star and their shepherds have disappeared. Afraid they have been abandoned, or worse still, their shepherds have been abducted by a UFO, the sheep begin to panic. A goat nearby tells them everyone’s talking about a child rumoured to have been born in a stable and that’s where the shepherds have most probably gone. “Today is a great feast day. And tomorrow will be a feast day too.” says the goat in an important voice. The sheep decide to go too but many pitfalls befall this unruly flock as they set off on their first ever night hike! This is German author and illustrator Ulrich Hub and Jörg Mühle’s second collaboration after the successful Duck’s Backyard and it’s a delightful tongue-in-cheek take on the Christmas story. Told from the sheep’s point of view, each sheep character is clearly defined, from the sheep with the bobble hat, who tells the others he saw a glowing apparition floating down with a host of angels singing praises, to the sheep with the snuffly nose, the sheep with the retainer, the sheep with the side part, the sheep with the cast, the sheep with the eye patch and finally the last sheep. The droll humour is deftly done and at times hilarious. The sheep make assumptions believing the baby to be a girl “Girls are much smarter than boys!.” lisps the sheep with the snuffle. After the last sheep climbs a high boulder, he finds himself encircled by two big black wolves wearing mirrored glasses. When the rest of the flock comes to his rescue, they tell him “The baby is a sensation! It’s said to perform miracles. It can read thoughts, turn water into raspberry juice, and even bend a fork—just by looking at it.” Along the way, the sheep meet other animals who can tell them something about this miraculous event. The sheep with the eye patch meets an Ox who is eating something strange. When asked what it is he tells the sheep it’s some sort of packing material “What choice do I have? I can’t get anywhere near my manager. There’s a baby asleep on the hay.” Or the donkey who tells the sheep that “a couple of guys on camels just turned up in strangely shaped hats, bringing all kinds of gifts from the East. Gold, frankincense and marjoram.” By the time the sheep finally arrive at the stable, they find the ticket booth closed and everyone has gone—the sheep are too late. When the sheep despair that they have missed everything two camels tell them there was a “ghastly brass brand and inferior red wine—warm as well.” Helena Kirkby has produced an excellent translation that captures the humour and nuances so well. Mühle’s artwork has a cartoon-like quality in pen and ink and colour wash which results in giving the sheep and other animals, real characters full of expression enhanced by lovely humorous touches which complement Hub’s text. This is a book you don’t want to miss. Young readers are going to love it, (and a lot of adults too!)
Red Reading Hub –
Originally published in German, this is a hilarious retelling of the nativity story unlike any other. It’s a chapter book with occasional illustrations that are perfectly appropriate for Ulrich Hub’s wryly humorous text.
Meet seven sheep, a small flock if ever there was one; it includes one that has a plaster cast on its leg, another that wears a bobble hat, one has its wool parted on the side, there’s one that wore braces but now has a retainer (in a case), one with a snuffly nose that means it needs to sleep away from the rest, one with an eye-patch, plus one more.
One night the sheep, unable to sleep see a bright star and the one with a bobble hat tells the others how it was woken up by a voice singing ” ‘I bring you good tidings’ … ‘And suddenly a host of angels appeared in our field singing praises. I think I even heard trumpets.” Where though are the shepherds? Certainly not kidnapped by UFOs, a goat (with attitude) assures snuffly nosed sheep, going on to say, “For unto us a child is born and you shall find it wrapped in swaddling clothes—” This sheep reports back to the others, they all assume that the newborn is a girl and set off to find the town where this special baby is said to be.
All kinds of misadventures ensue and eventually they arrive at their destination only to be told that the baby—a boy—and its parents have departed. The sheep are of course disappointed, especially after creating their own present: a song that begins, “Si-i-lent niiiight”—a song that they speculate is sure to be a hit. `’People will still be singing it in a thousand years.” However, they return to their fields (stopping on the way to pick up litter) and there a special treat awaits.
With a plethora of anachronisms (the shepherds have backpacks containing such items as spare socks and toothbrushes, UFOs, gift cards, wolves wearing mirrored sunglasses to name a few), this is a terrific read aloud (so long as audiences know the traditional Nativity story) to share in the classroom or with a family.
Youth Libraries Group –
3 book awards, a stage play and animated film in Germany, available in 10+ languages worldwide
This retelling of the nativity story from the point of view of the sheep is laugh-out-loud funny and full of the warmth of Christmas—a cheeky illustrated chapter book by a bestselling author/illustrator pair.
Ulrich Hub trained as an actor and now works as a director for stage and writes plays, screenplays and children’s books, which have won numerous awards.
JörgMühle has written and illustrated many bestselling children’s books for all ages including the Tickle My Ears series of bestselling baby books, picture books and junior fiction.
The Bookseller –
A group of sheep wander off to find their shepherds in this comic retelling of the Nativity. This picture book has been adapted into a play and a film in Germany and is published in 10 languages around the world, says Gecko.