The Sheep That Stole The Farmer’s Hat
Tim Saunders and Carla Martell
Allen & Unwin

The animals that live on the farm are up to mischief appropriating items from the farmer’s washing line and using them for various purposes of their own, starting with the titular sheep.

The hens use his socks (not on their feet) for sneaking up on a fox, the goat utilises the coat to make a sail for his new boat, the dog wears the farmer’s trousers, the goose uses a boot to store root vegetables and as for the horse, she eats his shorts which make her sick so she has to miss a special event at school,

and so on. As a result, the poor farmer is so upset that he’s unable to work and remains inside for the entire day.

Then for some reason known only to herself, the sheep that started all this stealing decides to give back the farmer’s hat and with the other animals in agreement, the farmer has all his clothes returned, all that is apart from one item and we know its fate.

With Carla Martell’s hilarious illustrations of the farmer’s clothes being put to unconventional uses and Tim Saunders’ playful rhyming tale with repetition and silliness aplenty that reads well aloud, I suspect this will be requested over and over. Great fun.