Bedtime Just Got a Whole Lot Woolier

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May 19, 2026

On May 19, 2026

United States, 19th May 2026 – Meet the Alphabet Sheep: Quiet now? Not quite. Bath taken, meal finished, tiny clothes changed, lamps turned low. Yet the little ones – still alert. Eyes open wide, fixed on the ceiling, needing another drink, circling back through today’s classroom moments, asking questions about everything and nothing. Ring a bell?

Gloria Dance has walked through this moment more than once. Life handed it to her first as a mom, then again later as a grandma, until she chose words as her way through it. What came next arrived after decades of teaching – twenty-five years full of chalk and small chairs – when one quiet thought appeared: could counting sheep turn into something kids actually enjoy? That idea grew legs. It became Counting Alphabet Sheep. Not planned. Just honest.

Here is the setup. Two children lie in bed, wide awake, brains buzzing. Beyond their window, a green pasture stretches out, dotted with sheep. Not your usual kind though. Every animal wears a letter stitched into its fleece. Each has a name beginning with that same letter. And each is caught doing something silly – adopting ants, flying kites, splashing through streams.

Ace feels something tiny creeping across his nose. Out beyond the fence, Gina struts through tall grass wearing oversized sunglasses, acting like the whole field belongs to her. A hat sits perfectly tilted on Hakeem’s head – strange thing for a sheep to pull off so well. Up above, a wild purple creature dances on the wind, held tight by Katie’s steady grip. Meanwhile, Quentin stands frozen beside a skunk who wandered a little too close for comfort.

Twenty-six sheep in total. Every single one gets a moment in the spotlight.

Here is the clever part. Hidden beneath all the goofy scenes, each sentence sticks to one letter sound. Darius dines on delicious dandelions. Poppy picks purple pansies. William watches wiggly worms. Kids laugh at sheep splashing through puddles and munching flowers, but their ears are catching every repeated sound along the way. They are sorting consonants, storing new words, practicing phonics without a worksheet in sight. A classroom trick dressed up as nonsense. Learning happens and they never notice. Exactly as it should be.

The illustrations pull serious weight too. These are not simple backgrounds. Every page is packed with detail. A winding blue stream cuts through rolling green hills. Butterflies drift past wildflowers. A city skyline and a bridge sit far off in the distance. No two sheep look alike. Benji has a dark black face. Carli bounces along in rainbow curls of every color. Gina peers out from behind those big sunglasses with total confidence. On the two big spread pages where all twenty-six sheep appear together, hidden details sit tucked into corners and behind bushes – perfect for sharp young eyes that love to search and find.

Now, about that ending. Someone in the flock was not who they seemed, right from the very first page. Turns out, not even close to being a sheep. The reveal lands fast and warm, catching you off guard in the best way. It is the kind of twist that sends children scrambling back to page one, hunting for clues they missed the first time. That is all you get. Go find the book yourself.

Teachers should take note. This story slides right into early literacy work. Letter recognition, initial sound practice, vocabulary building, observation skills through the hidden sheep hunt on the group pages. A full week of kindergarten lessons could grow from this without much effort. But it works just as well at home, whispered in a dim bedroom at eight p.m. with a child curled up close.

Dance wrote this book because she could not sleep. Too many ideas racing through her head at night, too many bedtime stories she had told her twin granddaughters that never made it onto paper. So she finally sat down and wrote them. What came out reads like something shaped by years of watching children learn, because that is exactly what it is. She knows what grabs their attention, what makes them laugh, and what sticks with them after the lights go out.

Counting Alphabet Sheep is warm without being sugary, educational without being preachy, and funny in the way that only works when the person writing it genuinely cares about kids. Most children’s books miss that balance. This one nails it.

About the Author

Gloria Dance began her working life in technology, computers, and mathematics before discovering her real calling in education. She returned to college, earned a degree in education, and spent twenty-five years as a classroom teacher working with elementary and middle school students. Her school focused on telecommunications and writing, and her education work reached local, state, national, and international levels. Now retired, Gloria fills her days with painting, pastels, and pine needle sculpture – arts she once set aside during her teaching years. The idea for Counting Alphabet Sheep came from bedtime stories she told her twin granddaughters. When too many ideas kept her awake at night, she turned them into her first children’s book.

Click here to get your copy now.

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www.authorgloriadance.com

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