Wild and Woolly

by Mary Jessie Parker, Shannon McNeill

Two very different sheep are in for a surprise-and a great friendship-when they meet by chance in the woods one hot afternoon. Wild is a bighorn ram who lives among the craggy rocks; Woolly is a pampered pasture dweller. Each agrees to try out the other's lifestyle, but they quickly find that there's no place like home! They finally agree to meet in the middle for more adventures. The slapstick antics of the two sheep unfold through a clever text and in irresistibly quirky and humorous paintings.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2005

Reviews

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this simple tale of two sheep who never knew that there were other sheep so different. I like how each sheep is completely surprised that the other sheep is different. They are both willing to learn about the other, willing to try what the other one likes, and willing to accept that they have different preferences and loves. And they can still be good friends and do things that they both enjoy. What a great lesson for, oh, just about everyone. We can learn from these sheep not only about accepting differences, but also not judging. Just because someone says, "wow, I didn't know there were sheep that looked like you" the first time they meet you doesn't necessarily mean they are judging you or dismissing you. It could mean that they are learning something new, and that is a good thing.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sheep is a sheep is a sheep. Except when one is a bighorn sheep who lives freely up in the mountains. And the other is a domesticated sheep who lives in a flat green pasture. So when these two sheep meet they of course have to sample each other's lifestyles with humorous results.

It's a Town Mouse / Country Mouse story, very cleverly done. I loved the drawings of the sheep especially and thought the subject matter was handled beautifully. And raises a lot of questions about how we are the same, and how we can be very different.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures and text work together beautifully in this picture book. Have you ever thought of the differences between a wolly sheep and a mountain sheep? What would they think of each other? This story could be used with "City Mouse Country Mouse" or other similar stories comparing characters. Great example for discussing character as the two sheep have distinct personalities shown through text and pictures.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather typical friendship story about a bighorn sheep (Wild) and a regular ol' farm sheep (Woolly) meeting and sharing their environments with one another. Kinda repetitive and saying Wild and Woolly over and over again when reading aloud is harder than I thought!

Pleasant illustrations.

[Kia Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little story to illustrate differences between two animals with the same 'classification'. Very much like the story of the Country Mouse and City Mouse. The illustrations were great. My 1st grader enjoyed it. She loved the sound effects of the animals. And she could read this one herself.

[Tricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

nothing against sheep/wild rams...but i did a rarely pulled out move when reading this to the critters---leaping ahead to the end. this book had too many words that bored me.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 different types of sheep; friends, differences

[Vanessa Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a favorite in our house- I love the humor and the sweet text. I never get tired of reading it to the kids.