The Quest of the Warrior Sheep
The Quest of the Warrior Sheepby Christine & Christopher Russell
This is a super-funny, super-crazy crime caper with five rare-breed sheep! A silver object falls mysteriously from the sky and lands on Sal, a matronly Southdown ewe who lives happily with her sheep friends on Eppingham Farm. The sheep are convinced that an ancient ovine prophecy is being fulfilled. They must go North (so to Scotland, perhaps?), on a mission to aid Lord Aries, Sheep of all Sheepdom, Ram of Rams, in his battle against the powers of darkness in the shape of Lambad the Bad. Thus the Eppingham Posse of Rare Breed Warriors is born. In fact, the silver object is a mobile phone, dropped from a hot air balloon by Luke and Neil, who have been stealing bank money over the internet. They need that phone back to hide the evidence. And a couple of woolbags aren't going to stand in their way! The chase is on... (bookdepository.co.uk)
I can't recall if I noticed this book on a blog or just while I was searching through children's books at The Book Depository. All I remember is that when I saw it I knew I had to get it.The story is less than 200 pages long and it made me laugh time and time again. All 5 of the rare-breed sheep are hilarious. I especially loved Links (the curly black-wooled sheep) and his penchant for rapping everything that was going on. This is one of those stories that I would love to see animated.For some reason sheepy things amuse me. I loved the sheep in How to Train Your Dragon and I find the idea of sheep anything entertaining. Sheep are innately funny. It's just the way it is.This is the type of book I would have pulled off the shelves in the library in my elementary school. It's simple to read and fun and has a mystery to keep you reading and it's just plain funny. I think both boys and girls would enjoy this book if they are young readers. And parents would like it as well. It's got something for everyone.Humans, sheep, a llama and a dog all have roles to play in this book and to my delight at the end there was a teaser for a sequel! The Warrior Sheep Go West (on which I can't seem to fine any information other than the back of the book, so I guess it's not close to being published?).If you're in the UK and you happen across this book and you like funny, fast reads (middle grade) I would highly suggest picking it up. If you're in North America and shopping at The Book Depository and you have a little extra cash to spend, pick this up!I personally have left this book with a permanent image of 5 rare-breed sheep travling by Tube. Heh. Sheep are funny.