David Macaulay
List Price: $13.95
By: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Farm Animals -> Fiction
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
Gets the Mind Going 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
The best thing about this book is that the author never explicitly explains what happened. I read it aloud to my 5th grade class as a prelude to a lesson on making inferences, and the students found it absorbing and challenging. Don't assume that it's for young children because it's a picture book: the story is really too dark and the themes too complex for most children under ten. Teachers could incorporate this book into language arts or social studies instruction for students from the 5th to the 12th grade. Don't miss out- read it!
Sheep evolve to a point of self destruction 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Borrowing from themes of George Orwell's Animal Farm in 1943 and the 1973 movie Soylent Green, David Macaulay's children's book Baaa draws parallels to these stories with demonstrations of matters of overpopulation, resource depletion, social hierarchies, and consumption by depicting sheep evolving to a point of self destruction. The post-apocalyptic storytelling evident in Baaa is reminiscent of Macaulay's earlier work titled "Motel of the Mysteries" in which twentieth century civilization as we know it has ceased to exist. The combination of intellectually savvy text with rich pen and ink drawings complement his analysis of societal ills while supporting a solid body of work.
Coincidentally, Baaa takes up where Motel of Mysteries left off as evident in the first passage of Mysteries. "In 1985 a cataclysmic coincidence of previously unknown proportion extinguished virtually all forms of life on the North American continent." The first line of Baaa reads "There is no record of when the last person disappeared." Perhaps as a continuation of his apocalypse, Macaulay populates his world with zealous sheep that end up emulating the horrors of human society. The conflicts and deterioration examined in Baaa, while not exactly uplifting, do impose a critical analysis of our social environment and collective behaviours. Macaulay is persistent with cautionary tales of potential futures in stories which should appeal to readers of all ages. The illustrations are smart yet playful and the text is very thought provoking. Baaa accomplishes Macaulay's social criticism with great ease proving that this book is a success.
Editorial Review:
After the last person has gone from the earth, sheep take over the world, make the same mistakes as humans, and eventually disappear as well.
