SHEEP COUNT FLOWERS

This Argentine import invites readers to wonder: If humans count sheep at night, what do sheep count?

Sheep, who sleep on the grass in the absence of things like pajamas or pillows, have numerous ways to get themselves to sleep: They count flowers, and they tell stories about other animals (and “airplanes and rainbows”). Readers also learn they fly when they sleep, circling the sun; that some “sparkle in the dark”; and that they can always flee, just in time, from the wolves in their nightmares. Illustrations are trippy, dreamlike, and utterly beguiling, with intentionally off-centered compositions; occasional moments of exaggerated scale; unexpected perspectives; repeated moon motifs; and velvety, hazy washes of rich colors with intriguing textures and floating, fine-lined drawings of flowers, fish, birds, children (all pale-faced with dark hair) dressed as sheep; and more. Deep sapphire blues dominate, but they are balanced by pops of golden yellows, greens, and oranges. At one point, the text speaks directly to readers, urging them not to fret about flying sheep crashing into things: “Don’t worry!” Look closely at the spreads about nightmares to see that one child has befriended the very wolf once snarling. The final spread depicts one child falling asleep with an adult caregiver nearby. Final endpapers show children sleeping on various cloudlike shapes, with starbursts around them. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Shared at bedtime, this richly imaginative story may launch children into vivid dreamscapes of their own.