Pistes d'exploration

Before reading, examine the covers and ask questions: What is the woman knitting? Why is the sheep blue and covered with bandages? What is he tugging on?

Use drawn or photocopied pictures of the three characters to help you act out the story with two friends. Don’t worry about using the exact words. Use the book as a reference for sequencing the events in your skit.

Amos is frustrated that he cannot communicate. As a class, make him some thought bubbles. (Use sticky-notes so they can be left in the book.) What would he be thinking? What would he want to say, if he could?

Design a colourful sweater to give to Amos or his sheep friends. Gather all the designs into a Sweaters for Retired Sheep book and add it to the class library.

Before reading, discuss the cover illustrations. What is the person knitting? Why is the sheep blue and covered with bandages? Record your ideas and go back to them after reading the story. Bring in a handmade sweater, scarf or hat. Bring in the pattern, if available.

When you get to the moment where Amos is all tangled in the wool, discuss why he seems to be so angry and frustrated.

After reading, use pictures of the three characters to sequence and retell the story in your words.

In the text, find and sort words related to sheep shearing and knitting. Look online to learn how these two jobs are done. Add new words to your chart as you come across them.

Lester's Dreadful Sweaters, The Hueys in the New Jumper, Sheep

Mots-clés

Picture book , clothing , empathy , farms , knitting , sheep , wool

Commentaire descriptif

Children will appreciate this look at wool-gathering from the point of view of the sheep. Amos is an old sheep who wants his wool to keep himself warm—not someone else. The tale begins with sheep-shearing, Amos resisting the whole way: “Uncle Henry had to help catch him and hold him down. Then Aunt Hattie clipped his wool.” The language incorporates the stages of wool processing, from sheep to sweater, while the story focuses on Amos’ pursuit of justice, and the return of his wool. Humorous illustrations vibrate with flecked background washes and squiggly lines. Amos’ shorn condition is pitiful; his blue-tinted skin seems to tremble. Nicks and scratches from the shearing are taped with Band-Aids. In one image, he attempts to rip the sweater off Uncle Henry; it stretches across two pages, Amos gripping it in his teeth. Another shows Amos’ fluffy tail peeking from a tangle of sweater. The story ends happily for all, when Aunt Hattie and Uncle Henry realize their mistake, and return the sweater to its rightful owner: “‘Maybe,’ they said, both at the same time, ‘Amos is tired of giving away all his wool.’”