The Flock - (Somos8) by Margarita del Mazo (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Being a sheep is easy. All they have to do is graze, snooze and help people fall asleep now and again. Every person is assigned their own personal flock... The drill is always the same, first Sheep one jumps over the fence, then Sheep two followed by Sheep three and so forth. When a little boy called Mike can't sleep one night, he stars to count his personal flock.. Sheep One, Sheep Two, Sheep Three... but then something strange happens... Sheep four doesn't want to jump! How will Mike be able to get to sleep now?"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Being part of a flock
is easy, you just have to do what the others do. But when Sheep Four decides
not to follow the others, how will Mike, the boy counting sheep, get to sleep?

Being a sheep is easy. All they have to do is graze, snooze and help people fall asleep now and again. Every person is assigned their own personal flock... The drill is always the same, first Sheep one jumps over the fence, then Sheep two followed by Sheep three and so forth.

When a little boy called Mike can't sleep one night, he starts to count his personal flock.. Sheep One, Sheep Two, Sheep Three... but then something strange happens... Sheep four doesn't want to jump!

How will Mike be able to get to sleep now?

También disponible en español. (Also available in Spanish.)

Review Quotes

The Flock, by Margarita del Mazo, beautifully
dramatizes this quandary: that numbers are at once alike and wildly
different. The numbers One through Nine enter as sheep who usually jump
single-file over a hurdle while a sleepy boy named Mike counts. One
night, Four refuses to jump. It is a numeric and a narrative crisis,
which the illustrator Guridi animates with humor and urgency. - Counting on Conversation. The New York Times.

Both the English and Spanish version read smoothly with a sly sense of humor. Great for kids who feel a bit different and an excellent bedtime story. - Youth Services Book Review.

Cartoon art outlined in black depicts green-dominated pasture scenes against white space offset by blue and dark gray tones for Mike's sleepless setting, enhancing the amusing premise of this offbeat but heartening narrative. A humorous take on a long-standing tactic for combating insomnia. (Picture book. 5-8) - Kirkus.

Throughout, plain backdrops provide human characters' skin tones, and scribbly sketches by Guridi depict the rule-following animals with simple features and stick legs. - Publishers Weekly.

A nice story about standing out from the crowd. The illustrations are cute and expressive. - Kiss the Book Jr.

"A singular picture book for curious kids who appreciate layers of meaning and reflection in their stories--and just the right amount of silliness" - Starred review in School Library Journal.

About the Author

Margarita del Mazo is a writer and storyteller who is greatly admired in Spain. She has almost
twenty books to her name, many of which have been translated into other
languages. Among them are the bestsellers Camuñas and The Flock, winning the Madrid Booksellers Guild Award and the Miami
Cuatrogatos Foundation Award for best illustrated children's book.

Guridi is an artist from Sevilla (Spain). Since 1995, he's worked and experimented
professionally almost every aspect of design, image and advertisement.

He's published over seventy books.
His work is highly valued in Spain,
while also being recognized abroad. His books have been published in
USA, France, Germany, Italy, Libano...
 He currently combines his work as
teacher with his career as a children's book illustrator.