"Welcome to the flock. In the flock, everything is good. In the flock, everything is warm. In the flock, everything is safe. .. Do not question the flock. The flock is all you need. The flock is all you know. You are the flock and the flock is you. You are happy in the flock."
There’s sure to be a correct literary term for this plot but I call it a “grass is greener story” and I have read lots of them. Daisy by Brian Wildsmith; Wendy by Gus Gordon; Once upon a Small Rhinoceros by Meg McKinlay; and the famous Iranian allegory The Little Black Fish by Samad Behrangi.
The point of difference here is the tone of indoctrination which is a theme you could explore with older students. The flock do not question their lot in life and everyone is expected to conform. The page where all the sheep are smiling is especially chilling. Is the head sheep a dictator?
The pages set under the sea and in the busy city street offer a stark contrast to the ‘sameness’ of the flock in the field.
The final pages ask the reader to ‘fill in the gaps’. We see that the young sheep has survived and indeed thrived in the outside world so perhaps after reading the post card, others in the flock might take a step out into the wider world? The expression “pulling the wool over our eyes” comes to mind when I look at the woolly end papers. I think this is more than a story about bravery and stepping out of your comfort zone and it is interesting that the youngest community member is the one who is curious about the world and it is the youngest sheep who is willing to take a risk and defy convention.
You could also view this as an allegory about group think. It plays on the notion that people are like sheep - who follow one another around without thinking. If you look at the labels I have added to this post I think you can see there are terrific possibilities for using this book with a group of older students to explore "bigger" themes such as propaganda; conformity; independence; misuse of power; risk taking; and adventures. This is a book that repays rereading and older children will love being able to predict where the story is going and even what happens next.
The character of the little sheep himself is especially appealing. We see his personality and interests start to develop – with the sideways glances away from the flock and towards the little red flower. You can see more books illustrated by Andrew Joyner here.
Companion books:
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