Baaad Hair Day

Sheep Dog, Sheep Sheep, and their one-of-a-kind friendship return! Sheep “loves her naturally curly wool” . . . that is, until it starts to grow out of control and she can no longer see! After tripping over a stone and landing in the pond (“Holy begonia! Water chickens!”) she is rescued by Sheep Dog, but turns down his suggestion of a haircut, opting instead for wearing a cowboy hat as tall as she is and staying one step ahead of Sheep Dog. It’s not until Sheep learns from a passing “water chicken” that her wool will in fact grow back that she’s willing to take the plunge and discovers a shearing is exactly what she needed. While perhaps not quite on par with the original series title, Baaad Hair Day is completely enjoyable—silly, fun and with plenty of clever humor that will appeal to young and old audiences alike (even without the two instances of potty humor). Though dating the story to the present, the references to popular culture (e.g., a selfie stick, Kondo’s joy philosophy) will elicit a knowing smile from many readers. By pulling out the idea that sometimes fear stems from missing crucial information (such as wool grows back), Barclay has create a book that allows for discussion about a host of childhood fears in an approachable way.