Bill Grogan's Goat

Bill Grogan's Goat

From School Library Journalreschool-Grade 2--In a jaunty and humorous version of the familiar song, a goat ends up tied to the railroad tracks after he eats three of Bill Grogan's red shirts. Fortunately, he coughs them up and uses them to flag down the train. Welcomed aboard by the engineer, the goat proceeds to upset the other animals on the train and gives each of them a shirt to make amends. The engineer serves up a terrific meal, but the goat never gets a bite because the sheep, the pig, and the cow are so bad-mannered and finish the meal wearing as much of the food as they ate. The shirts are washed and hung on the line and the goat finds them irresistible once again. The rhyme moves merrily along, succinctly describing the comic scenes that unfold. The zany cartoon illustrations capture the spirit of the story and draw readers into the action. The characters are expressive whether licking their lips or showing their indignation. Children may be inspired to create their own verse about this frisky billy goat's next adventure. A good choice for reading aloud or singing along.Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.Bill Grogan's pesky goat has been eating clothes and getting into lots of trouble. When Bill gets rid of him he ends up on a train with an engineer and a group of raucous barnyard animals and sets off on a great adventure. This hilarious story is written in verse.From Publishers WeeklyMary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott team up for another rousing rendition of a popular children's chant, Bill Grogan's Goat. "Bill Grogan's Goat Was feeling fine Ate three red shirts Right off the line." Westcott's watercolor-and-ink illustrations show the fashion hungry farm animal hopping a freight train and offering the shirts to his barnyard brethren.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistAges 4-8. The poet-illustrator team who adapted Eensy-Weensy Spider (2000) retell another farmyard disaster nonsense rhyme. "Bill Grogan's goat / was feeling fine / Ate three red shirts / Right off the line." Furious Bill ties the goat to the railroad track, but the goat saves himself by coughing up those red shirts just in time to flag the train and get on board. Then the goat gets in trouble with a big pig, a sheep, and a cow on the train, but each time he placates them by giving them one of his red shirts to wear. In the end, there's a food fight, the shirts have to be washed and hung out to dry--and the hungry goat ends up eating "three red shirts / Right off the line." Kids will love the fights, especially since the bumbling hero wins in the end, and Westcott's chaotically detailed watercolor-and-ink double-page spreads show everything from the small goat's viewpoint: stopping the train, mistaking a sheep for a couch, begging forgiveness--and, eventually, getting his own back. Hazel RochmanCopyright ? American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the AuthorMary Ann Hoberman is the author of many books for children, including the critically acclaimed A House Is a House for Me, which won a National Book Award. Ms. Hoberman lives with her husband in Greenwich, CT.