Kirkus calls X. Fang’s TOM NANCY a “delightful read-aloud” that “will elicit true gasps of surprise” in starred review
★ TOM NANCY: The Sheep Who Swapped Brains With a Boy by Mac Barnett, illus. by X. Fang
Review Issue Date: July 15, 2026
Online Publish Date: June 15, 2026
Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 22, 2026Devilish sheep antics prove no match for average kid smarts.
Pale-skinned, blond-haired young Felix lives on a farm with the titular sheep, a woolly no-goodnik with a perpetual sneer and a snide gleam in his beady little eyes. One day, Tom Nancy lures Felix to a remote barn, whereupon the two use the sheep’s brain swapping machine (“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to be a person”). A day later, when Felix asks if it’s time to switch back, Tom Nancy explains that that’s not going to happen, taunting poor Felix with dramatic explanations of his mundane plans (“I’m going to eat your dessert and kiss your mother”). It’s only when the villain discovers that he’s doomed to an utterly dull life (homework and chores prove his undoing) that he comes back to Felix, only to receive his comeuppance. Fang employs a graphite and Photoshopped illustration technique that allows the characters to pop against their backgrounds. The true star of the show, however, is Tom Nancy himself, gleeful in his evil schemes and miserable when they succeed. Barnett’s text begs to be read to large groups, thanks to Tom Nancy’s outsize personality; this delightful read-aloud will elicit true gasps of surprise at the climax.
Attend the tale of a nefarious woolly con artist, and prepare for laughs galore. (Picture book. 4-8)