Review Title: A Good Shepherd Cares For His Lost Sheep (review of Little Ewe by Laura Sassi, Author, and Tommy Doyle, Illustrator)

Reviewer: Janice S. Garey

***** 5 Stars

With one glance at the front cover, this delightfully illustrated book draws in hearts and minds to adventure into its pages. A happy lamb skips in a meadow between butterflies setting a ‘Let’s Have Some Fun’ tone. Who could resist finding out what Little Ewe is up to in a story?

The title is a play on words so the youngest children being read to will at first think is a story about themselves, the ‘Little You’ they have heard themselves called. That is the first surprise for them. The next surprise unfolds as they discover this is not just a story book, but it is also a fun counting book. That is a great activity to engage an active young audience, one or a group, who sometimes has trouble with quiet story times.

The words are purposefully sparse for brevity considering the young listeners’ attention spans. Clever rhymes move the story seamlessly along as Little Ewe encounters many pleasant diversions after being called to mealtime. Procrastination and distractions eventually place Little Ewe in what seems to be a dangerous predicament as dark approaches.

Little Ewe finally realizes it’s not so fun to be away from the flock and shepherd after dark. This is an Aha! moment for little ones to discover through a book why they need to obey their parents sooner rather than later. The good shepherd rescues Little Ewe just as good parents take care of their little ones.

For those who desire to use books as illustrations for Bible stories, this book aligns with the story Jesus told about the one lost sheep. The story does not overtly refer to the Bible, but the point of the story is the same. It is a universal story about the value of one person to those who love them and how they will be searched for if lost.

I received this hardback book as a prize at a writer’s seminar where the author spoke. I am under no obligation to do a positive review. I offer my honest opinion to help those who are in search of good books to read to children. I highly recommend this one.