Black Sheep the

by Jean Merrill

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394908872
• ISBN13: 9780394908878
• Release Date: October 1969
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 73 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Age Range: 8 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 5

Customer Reviews

Fantastic book

I loved this book when I picked it up as a kid of about 13 or 14 and I don't remember where I got it. I have always remembered it long after I lost it and a conversation with a friend inspired me to come looking for a copy here. The black sheep decides to do what he wants to do (garden) and he does it. Even when the sheep society tries to bully him into shearing his wool to make a sweater for himself, he stands firm. It looks like more of a children's book than it is, but it is still appropriate for children. I guess the point is that no matter your age, the book is an enjoyable read that just happens to address a couple of broader issues.

Dare to Be Different!

The Black Sheep is a book that everyone should read for its themes of resisting peer/social pressures and finding success and happiness through being oneself. It looks like a children's book, but I think it's actually more applicable to teenagers. The Black Sheep is born on an island of white sheep who do nothing but make sweaters, an industry that requires the cooperation of every sheep. The Black Sheep, however, wants to wear his own coat and plant gardens instead of making sweaters. His desire to be different causes great social upheaval in the sheep society, to the eventual betterment of all. This sounds stuffy, but it's not a stuffy book at all. It addresses some very large issues in a simple, satisfactory manner.