Gilda the Giant Sheep

by Emilio Urberuaga, Emilio Urberuaga (Illustrator), Ben Dawlatly (Translator)

Overview

Humorous illustrations in bright colors showcase an ewe with a big personality and an even bigger heart. ~Foreword Reviews

You may have heard of King Kong, but you have yet to hear of Gilda, the giant sheep!

Accompany her as she escapes from the shepherds into the city. Gilda will try to find a new home for herself, but what place can a giant sheep call home?

A tale full of tenderness with an endearing message: no matter who you are, you can find a home in the world. Written and illustrated by Emilio Urberuaga, Spanish National Illustration Prize Winner.

También disponible en español. (Also available in Spanish.)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788417123246
Publisher:	NubeOcho
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Series:	Somos8 Series
Pages:	44
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 12.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Emilio Urberuaga: He is one of our most international artists. He has been awarded with the National Award of Illustration from Spain, CCEI Award of Illustration and Selected by the White Ravens Awards. He has a very personal style that has brought to life an endless amount of endearing characters, such as Manolito Four Eyes, Olivia, or Hilda the Giant Sheep.

Ben Dawlatly completed his masters in Hispanic Language, Culture and History with Translation Theory at UCL. He teaches Applied Translation at the University of Bristol (UK) and his technical translations focus on human rights and the environment, but his real calling is for fiction and poetry. He has translated several children’s books for Nube Ocho and for Neem Tree Press.

Rebecca Packard worked many years for a publisher in San Francisco, copyediting novels and short stories, science fiction, children's books, and manga. She now lives in Southern California and edits all sorts of things freelance, specializing in localizing translated works for an English-speaking audience.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/08/2018
A dirigible-size sheep supplies the comic premise for this fable by Spanish artist Urberuaga (Carlota Wouldn’t Say Boo), published in English with new art 25 years after its European release. Gilda is an industry of her own, requiring 20 shepherds to shear and milk her. When they tire of the work and her “giant sheep ears” overhear them scheming to kill her for her meat, she takes off for the nearest metropolis. After a King Kong–style skyscraper climb (“She looked like a huge woolly cloud”) and a failed attempt to join the circus, Gilda performs a heroic rescue and enters a career suited to her big heart and even bigger size. Illustrations are in the tradition of Steinberg and Sempé, the characters captured in economical, expressive ink lines, with washed skies in various shades of blue and rose. Gilda’s misfit status (“I’m completely useless”) makes her final triumph more satisfying; there’s a place for everyone, Urberuaga argues—one just needs to find it. A Spanish edition will publish simultaneously. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

An oversized presentation makes the fun drawings in Emiio Urberuaga's Gilda the Giant Sheep come alive as they embellish a simple tale of a giant sheep who requires twenty shepherds to help her. Good reading skills or parental read-aloud assistance will lend to this fun story of a sheep who makes the most of her size. ~Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

03/01/2019

K-Gr 2—When the farmers suddenly abandon their work in favor of an easier profit, Gilda the giant sheep leaves in fear for her life. On her journey for a new home and job, she becomes intimidated by the big city, and is left dejected by the circus' rejection. In the end, she finds a place where her size makes a difference, and attains the peaceful life and companionship she desires. Award-winning Spanish illustrator Urberuaga has a very loose style. Gilda's size varies across pages; sometimes she is as tall as a building, and in others, she is smaller than a circus tent. His narrative also embraces this more relaxed attitude, flowing from plot point to plot point with little to suggest where it is heading. The message about finding a place where one is appreciated for their qualities and their work does come through in the end though. Even though the theme of job loss may not be directly relatable to children, it is nevertheless worth discussing, as it can affect so many around them. This subject, and that of sending Gilda to the butcher, are treated in a matter-of-fact tone. VERDICT Well worth discussing among primary grade students because of its topics which are rarely seen in picture books.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2018-09-17

Gilda is a giant sheep who produces so much wool and milk that the 20 shepherds in charge of her are tired. When they decide to sell her for mutton, Gilda runs away. Where will Gilda find a new home?

As Gilda runs away she wonders about the ungrateful shepherds who would turn her into mutton stew: "Is it too much to ask for a sheep to grow old in peace?" Eventually, Gilda arrives in a city vaguely resembling New York City. A dramatic two-page spread shows a panicked Gilda almost as tall as the buildings, running down the street as the pedestrians snap photos on their smartphones. Clearly, the city is not home. A circus, with its caged and sad-looking animals, is not home either. When Gilda overcomes her fear of water to rescue a drowning (regular-sized) sheep, the grateful ovine takes her home. There she finds friendship, purpose (in scaring the wolves away), and, most importantly, a home. Spanish author/illustrator Urberuaga's pictures are as multilayered as his story, conveying many emotions with a few deceptively simple lines. First published in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands 25 years ago, the tale is now being published in the United States, in both English and Spanish, for the first time, with updated illustrations that depict multiracial if tiny humans in the backgrounds. The translated English edition is just as delightful as the Spanish version.

A book to be shared, savored, and discussed. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews