Review: Three Little Sheep
The Three Little Sheep: A Tale for Sukkot
written and illustrated by Ann Diament Koffsky
Green Bean Books, 2025
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Jodie Sadowsky
Jakey, Joey, and Jennie are three not-so-little sheep who’ve outgrown their family’s sukkah. This Sukkot, it’s time for them to build their own. Like the characters in the well-known fairy tale The Three Little Pigs, each brings their own personality to the celebration. Jakey builds his sukkah with straw for a solo silo, Joey uses sticks for a hut big enough to share with a friend, and Jennie goes all out with elaborate columns and bricks to welcome a crowd. As readers may expect, a wolf shows up and ruins the more delicate sukkahs with his huffing and puffing. Readers will be surprised by what comes next — Wolfie doesn’t want to eat the three little sheep, he only wants to be included in their Sukkot festivities! The sheep welcome him in, and a funny and adorable dialogue and friendship ensues.
With a perfect baaaa-lance of recognizable plot from the original fairy-tale and clever riffs and plenty of sheep puns, The Three Little Sheep will likely become a beloved Sukkot read-aloud. Koffsky’s illustrations are bright and energetic, with cute cottony squiggles framing the sheep and expressive emotions and movement throughout. In a nod to the high holiday season, Wolfie apologizes for blowing down the huts and the sheep apologize for making Wolfie feel left out.
Details about Sukkot are woven throughout, with a page spread that lets readers know the sheep (and any Sukkot observers) build and sit in sukkahs because it reminds us of “the ancient Israelites, who also built sukkahs and lived inside them as they journeyed through the desert.” This is not a how-to, but readers will recognize some holiday hallmarks, like paper chains, the sch-ach roof, and harvest fruits. As mentioned above, in a nod to the high holiday season, Wolfie and the sheep apologize to each other. As Wolfie turns out to be a sweet soul, neither big nor baaaaa-d, readers will see a lovely example of inviting in guests and welcoming the stranger, even if these are not explicitly named as Jewish values.
With a perfect baaaa-lance of recognizable plot from the original fairy-tale and clever riffs and plenty of sheep puns, The Three Little Sheep will likely become a beloved Sukkot read-aloud. Koffsky’s illustrations are bright and energetic, with cute cottony squiggles framing the sheep and expressive emotions and movement throughout. In a nod to the high holiday season, Wolfie apologizes for blowing down the huts and the sheep apologize for making Wolfie feel left out.
Details about Sukkot are woven throughout, with a page spread that lets readers know the sheep (and any Sukkot observers) build and sit in sukkahs because it reminds us of “the ancient Israelites, who also built sukkahs and lived inside them as they journeyed through the desert.” This is not a how-to, but readers will recognize some holiday hallmarks, like paper chains, the sch-ach roof, and harvest fruits. As mentioned above, in a nod to the high holiday season, Wolfie and the sheep apologize to each other. As Wolfie turns out to be a sweet soul, neither big nor baaaaa-d, readers will see a lovely example of inviting in guests and welcoming the stranger, even if these are not explicitly named as Jewish values.
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Reviewer Jodie Sadowsky is the author of the newly-released children’s book, A SUKKAH FOR BELLA, published by early childhood development company, Lovevery, as well as essays appearing in Kveller, The Huffington Post, CNN, and more. Jodie serves on the selection committee for the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature and on her local library foundation board.
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