Baa Baa Smart Sheep
About This Story
The book opens on a sheep standing in a field. The sheep is Little Baa Baa, and Little Baa Baa is bored. The text tells the reader that Little Baa Baa has been in this field all day, and the field is empty, and there is nothing to do. Little Baa Baa is looking for something interesting to happen.
Then Quirky Turkey shows up. Turkey is the kind of character kids recognize from a mile away — wide-eyed, trusting, ready to believe anything. Turkey points at a suspicious something on the ground and asks what it is. Little Baa Baa looks at the something and calls it smarty tablets. Turkey wants to know what smarty tablets are. Little Baa Baa says they are very, very tasty. Turkey eats one. The read aloud turns into a trickster tale, which is the kind of read aloud that lands for the kid who is hearing it — and only the kid who is hearing it.
This is a picture book read aloud built around a single joke, and the joke lands on the second-to-last spread. The text is short. The dialogue is snappy. The illustrations are hilarious — Rowan Sommerset has a way of drawing animals that look a little too real and a little too expressive. Turkey’s face across the smarty tablets sequence is the kind of face that earns a real laugh from a 5-year-old on every page turn. The book ends on Turkey saying “Ewww!” and Little Baa Baa walking away, very pleased with itself. That is the whole book. That is the whole read aloud. It earns its laugh.
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What Happens in the Story
The story is structured as a back-and-forth dialogue between two characters, with almost no narration. Little Baa Baa is bored. Quirky Turkey shows up. Turkey points at a suspicious something on the ground and asks what it is. Little Baa Baa says it’s smarty tablets. Turkey asks if they are tasty. Little Baa Baa says they are very, very tasty. Turkey eats one.
The middle of the book is the smarty tablets sequence. Turkey eats the first one. Turkey likes it. Turkey eats another. Turkey likes that one too. Turkey eats a few more. Little Baa Baa looks on, very pleased. The illustrations are doing the work here — Turkey’s face goes from curious, to pleased, to something the parent and kid will both register as very bad. The reveal happens on the next spread, when Little Baa Baa walks away and Turkey looks down at what he just ate.
The last spread is the payoff. “Ewww!” Turkey shouts. Little Baa Baa is already gone. The joke lands. The book ends.
Why It Works for Family Read Aloud
The first thing parents notice is that the read aloud lands a real joke. The joke is a little gross, which is the kind of joke that lands hardest for this age group. The kid who is hearing the read aloud gets the joke before the parent does. The parent can pretend to be surprised. The kid gets to feel like the smartest one in the room. That role reversal is what holds the attention of a wiggly preschooler who is normally done with a picture book after two pages.
The second thing parents notice is that the dialogue is fun to read out loud. There is no slow build. There is no narration voice. There is just two characters talking back and forth, and the parent reading the out loud can do Turkey’s gullible voice and Little Baa Baa’s clever voice and the kid can do the rest. That back-and-forth is the kind of read aloud that holds a kid’s attention and that parents can lean on for a quick laugh at the end of the day.
The third thing worth pointing out is the Baa Baa Smart Sheep series. The book is the first in a series by Mark and Rowan Sommerset, and the series is built around the same snappy dialogue and the same hilarious illustrations. If the read aloud lands once, it is the kind of read aloud a kid asks for again right away, which is the only reason a picture book earns a permanent spot on the bedtime shelf.
Who This Book Is For
This read aloud is built for the preschool through early elementary crowd — kids who are old enough to get a joke and who are starting to feel proud of being the smartest one in the room. It is also a good fit for any child who loves jokes, riddles, gross-out humor, or trickster tales. The Baa Baa Smart Sheep character is the kind of clever animal kid who lands for kids who like to feel a step ahead of the grown-ups.
It is also a good pick for families who have already enjoyed the Baa Baa Smart Sheep series and want to add another trickster tale to the rotation. The series includes several more titles by Mark and Rowan Sommerset, each built around the same snappy dialogue. If you have a child who can sit through a fast, snappy read aloud and who is starting to ask for joke books, this is a good first-or-fifth trickster pick.
Want to see what other funny and silly books we have on the shelf? Browse the full list at ourreadingcircle.com/category/funny-silly for more read aloud options, or ourreadingcircle.com/category/fun-imaginative-tales for more animal books.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Baa Baa Smart Sheep about?
It is a picture book read aloud about a bored sheep who meets a gullible turkey in a field. The sheep makes mischief by calling a suspicious something on the ground “smarty tablets.” The turkey eats the smarty tablets. The reveal at the end is the kind of groan-laugh that lands for the kid hearing the read aloud — and only the kid hearing the read aloud.
Who wrote Baa Baa Smart Sheep?
It was written and illustrated by Mark and Rowan Sommerset, the husband-and-wife team behind the Baa Baa Smart Sheep series. It was originally published by Dreamboat Books in New Zealand in 2010, and by Candlewick Press in the US in 2016.
What age is Baa Baa Smart Sheep for?
It works best for preschool through early elementary, which we read as 3 to 5 years. Candlewick catalogs the book for ages 5 to 8, but the joke lands hardest for kids who are old enough to get a trickster tale but young enough to find it genuinely hilarious.
Is Baa Baa Smart Sheep good for read aloud?
Yes — especially for kids who love jokes, riddles, and gross-out humor. The dialogue is snappy, the illustrations are hilarious, and the reveal at the end is the kind of joke that earns a real laugh on every page turn.
Is Baa Baa Smart Sheep part of a series?
Yes. It is the first book in the Baa Baa Smart Sheep series by Mark and Rowan Sommerset, which includes several more trickster-tale picture books built around the same snappy dialogue and the same hilarious illustrations.
Does Baa Baa Smart Sheep help with humor?
Yes — for kids who love joke books. The book does not lecture about being clever. It just shows Little Baa Baa being clever, and lets the kid who is hearing the read aloud feel the same kind of clever pride. That is the kind of read aloud that lands for kids who like to feel a step ahead of the grown-ups.
Where can I find more read alouds like this?
We keep a full category of funny and silly read alouds at ourreadingcircle.com — start with the funny & silly page for more read aloud ideas, or browse all categories for the full library.
