Russell the Sheep

Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton
Illustrated by Rob Scotton
2005

     It's the end of a long busy day and all the sheep are getting ready to go to bed.  Soon, everybody is asleep except for Russell.  "No matter how hard he tried, Russell could not fall asleep."  He tried covering his eyes with his hat to make it darker, but it was too dark and it made him afraid.  He thought he might be too hot so he took off his wool, but then he got too cold.  He tried going for a walk to find a new spot but everywhere he went was either too cramped or too creepy. What if he tried counting things? His legs? No. The stars? Nope. Sheep? Finally!  Russell fell asleep counting sheep...too bad it was already dawn and all the other sheep were waking up.
     Russell the Sheep is a very cute bedtime story.  The best part for me are the illustrations.  Every time I read this book I'm captivated by the beautiful illustrations.  The wool seems so soft you just want to touch it, and the blues of the night are dreamlike.  And they are also funny! There's a little frog companion that shows up unexpectedly in some of the pages and it just cracks my boy up.  Russell rocks!