Wolf in a bad rug knocks on the door...

Ayto provides great comic bravado, working in pen and ink, watercolor, "and a little bit of pencil crayon for the hats and socks." In many ways "One More Sheep" is an artist's tour de force. Ayto has sprinkled visual gags throughout the book, from the howling wolf up on tiptoe out in the "wet, windy moor" to the lousy toupé atop the wolf's head in his dime-store sheep's costume. Best of all are the varied expressions on the sheep, ranging from surprise to dismay to irritation, as they try to get Sam's attention, leading to peaceful sleep, of course, which comes at last to Sam and the whole fold safely snug in bed by book's end. Ayto's color palette is an interesting, slightly hip 1960s-ish saturated range of colors: violet, forest green, pale yellows. There's even a Mondrian hanging on a wall, to signal his homage to the era. It all plays against a background strongly engaged with shades of gray. There's the gray of the sheep, the gray stormy sky, and of course the gray wolf who comes to call.

There's something weird and artfully fresh about the whole book. It's rare to find such a happy marriage between author and illustrator, but the makers of "One More Sheep" got this one just right. Each member of the team compounds the comedy of the other. And as a nice bonus, the book provides not only a happy way to settle little ones down for the night, but also a counting book from one to 10.