The Surprise

Sylvia van Ommen (2007), 22 pages

Audience: All ages

Format: picture book

Van Ommen’s The Surprise is just that – a wonderful surprise! The author manages to tell a unique story in this wordless picture with her charming illustrated characters. So what exactly is Sheep up to? And what is the big surprise? Well there’s a clue in the title written out in red yarn … this story begins with Sheep weighing, inspecting, and measuring her wool. Hopping on her trusty red scooter, Sheep heads over to the dye shop. After selecting red as her color preference, readers are treated to a series of hilarious steps as Sheep dyes, washes, dries, and shaves off her newly dyed crimson coat. Now naked, Sheep slips on a colorful sweater and heads over to Poodle who spins her roving into yarn. Once the yarn is formed, Sheep begins the process of knitting – her project is soon finished and wrapped up for gift giving. So who gets a custom-made hand-knit? Well, none other than Giraffe, who is oh, so handsome and happy with his new sweater! This book is filled with delightful details and charismatic characters. Van Ommen’s images are simple yet engaging making the wordless storyline obvious enough for any young child to follow along. Wordless books are great tools for developing a child’s narrative ability (an important pre-literacy skill). Have your child tell you what’s happening in the pictures; engage their imagination. Or if they are too young for narration, have them identify colors, objects, and actions. This book is one that can be enjoyed at any age!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski, Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie dePaola or Knitting Nell by Julie Jersild Roth

Other books by this author: Jellybeans and Sheep and Goat