ALA Booklist (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

Here's the blue sheep. / And here is the red sheep. / Here is the bath sheep. / And here is the bed sheep. / But where is the green sheep? Little ones will bounce with anticipation as the simple yet clever text takes them to visit one sheep and then another. The green sheep, however, is nowhere to be seen until the final spread, where he is found under a very green bush, fast asleep. Until the lost sheep turns up, children will have fun with the other sheep that make an appearance and perhaps, unbeknownst to them, also get lessons in colors and comparisons (the near sheep, the far sheep). In this neat and satisfying wedding of text and art, the squat, square format uses wool-white backgrounds to display much of the amusing pen-and-watercolor pictures. As for the sheep themselves, Horacek has concocted simply lined happy animals, whose wool is indicated by dozens of curlicues. Laughs and interactive play will ensue among readers and listeners, alone or in groups.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1993)

In pop-up format, a bear, hippo, and other animals brush their teeth, and a shark flosses his. Designed to encourage brushing, the book includes in the illustrations toothbrushes and dental floss, which children may enjoy manipulating. Beyond that there is little to hold their attention.

Kirkus Reviews

Fox's latest is a participation story filled with a variety of sheep. There are thin sheep and wide sheep, swing sheep and slide sheep, blue sheep and red sheep, sheep that are paired, complementing each other in some way. Only one kind seems to be missing and without a mate as the repetitious question asks, "Where is the green sheep?" Fox, a literacy consultant and reading professor, has once again produced a perfectly simple text with a patterned language and rhythm just right for toddlers experiencing the basics of life and budding readers learning to complete their sentences by looking at words and pictures together. Horacek's clear, matching watercolor-and-pen cartoon-style drawings flawlessly render each ewe's role, providing little ones a successful reading experience and ultimately finding the green sheep's hiding place. Ideally easy and well-designed. (Picture book. 2-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The hunt is on for a sheep that's green all over. But before its undisclosed location is revealed, Fox and first-time picture book illustrator Horacek (previously teamed with Fox for the resource book <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Reading Magic) introduce children to a host of other whimsical woolly ones, all of which are described in pithy, vocabulary-building terms. "Here is the near sheep./ And here is the far sheep," writes Fox, as Horacek goes in for an extreme close-up on the former and takes a panoramic view of the latter. "Here is the moon sheep./ And here is the star sheep," explains the spread that follows, which finds two sheep staking claim on heavenly bodies. Turning the page, the audience will find all manner of sheep out for a day in the park—save one. "But where is the green sheep?" asks the text (the question serves as the book's refrain). The answer finally appears on the last page, where the distinctly lime-green sheep is found snoozing in a meadow. Youngsters won't mind taking a circuitous route to the payoff, however: Horacek's wryly stylized non-green sheep, whose coats look like a hive of curlicues, are utterly endearing in their happy-go-lucky ways—whether they're splashing in a bubble bath or schussing down a slide. Parents intrigued by Fox's ideas about early literacy (as expounded in <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Reading Magic, for example) will find this book a useful vehicle for putting her suggestions into practice. Ages 6 mos.-5 yrs. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

PreS-Gr 1 Basic beginning vocabulary is repeated in this easy-to-read rhyme about different kinds of sheep. Children will quickly catch on to the repetitive phrase, "But where is the green sheep?" until they reach the conclusion, where the green sheep is found asleep. Font size is "schoolbook" large and black. White space is prevalent, giving a clear, crisp look to the pages. Horacek's simple, ink-and-watercolor illustrations feature the frolicking sheep basking in the sun, skiing down a slide, playing in a band, etc.; their facial features show their antics as they sing joyously in the rain or shake at the base of the swimming pool's high dive. A welcome addition to the year's flock of easy-readers. Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA