The Greedy Goat

by Petr Horacek, Petr Horacek (Illustrator)

Overview

A very greedy goat wreaks havoc in the barnyard in an entertaining cautionary tale from Petr Horácek.

Goat is tired of always eating herbs and grass. She wants to try something new! So one day she embarks on a tasting spree, trying the dog’s food, the pig’s potato peels, and more, with the farmer’s underpants topping off a massive meal. Pretty soon, everyone else around the farm starts to notice that certain things have gone missing — including a now elusive Goat herself. It turns out that all that adventurous eating has left her feeling quite ill, prompting a recovery that plays out with a nod to another (very hungry) children’s favorite: “On Monday, her eyes stopped rolling. On Tuesday, her tummy stopped rumbling. . . .” After Goat is finally feeling like herself again, surely she’ll have learned her lesson. Won’t she?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763694975
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,109,889
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Petr Horácek grew up in Prague, where he trained at the Academy of Fine Arts before becoming a graphic designer, illustrator, and painter. Inspired by his two daughters, he has created numerous books for children, including The Fly, Silly Suzy Goose, Strawberries Are Red, and Blue Penguin. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

A distinctive and extremely funny cautionary tale about a goat who’s had enough of eating grass. Now in paperback, it also teaches colours and the days of the week.”
—The Bookseller

Horácek's richly textured art is large enough to share at a distance—and wonderful to pore over up close. The cautionary tale of overeating calls to mind The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But, unlike Carle's metamorphosed-into-beauty caterpillar, Horácek's stubborn goat stays just as she is: greedy and hilariously foolish. Delectable. A surefire hit with hungry goats and hungry readers alike.
—Kirkus Reviews

Done in bright hues and inviting textures, the folksy mixed-media illustrations work in harmony with the rhythmic, well-paced telling...This delightful cautionary tale has crowd-pleasing artwork, giggle-inducing humor, and plenty of opportunity for participation, either in storytime or small group sharing.
—School Library Journal

There’s an Eric Carle feel to the simple, carefully structured tale, and the rhythms are particularly effective in making this a humorous audience pleaser. There are Carle-esque touches in the mixed-media art as well...This is a natural for a toddler storytime or a spirited lapsit; just be prepared to bust out your very best impression of an ailing goat.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

In Mr. Horacek’s amusing pictures, we see the goat snacking her way through the barnyard, devouring the other animals’ food before tucking into a house plant and a shoe. The silly creature even eats the farmer’s boxer shorts, plucking them from the clothesline like a sybarite eating grapes.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Tired of her usual diet of herbs and grass, Goat spends Saturday wandering the farmyard in pursuit of some new fare. She eats the dog's food for breakfast (washed down with the cat's milk), gobbles the pig's scraps for lunch (along with a plant and a shoe snatched from the farmhouse), and downs the farmer's underpants for dinner (filched off the clothes line). Not surprisingly, Goat feels unwell that evening, and turns a variety of colorful (and fun-to-identify) shades, before settling on pea green. When the farm family notices the missing objects, there is some consternation, but their primary concern is for Goat. After spending Sunday convalescing (dramatically laid out over a spread), she makes a gradual, day-by-day recovery. By Saturday, she's pretty much herself again, but the story's open ending will leave young listeners wondering if Goat has learned her lesson. Done in bright hues and inviting textures, the folksy mixed-media illustrations work in harmony with the rhythmic, well-paced telling. Goat's body language and facial expressions underscore each moment—smug pleasure while greedily chomping everything in sight, the tongue-lolling agony of a tummy ache, the self-satisfied pose (with farmer's boot in mouth) at book's end. VERDICT This delightful cautionary tale has crowd-pleasing artwork, giggle-inducing humor, and plenty of opportunity for participation, either in storytime or small group sharing.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

School Library Journal

2018-02-19
Goat, tired of her usual feed, seeks out new forms of nourishment—and then some.One Saturday, Goat decides she's bored of her diet of herbs and grass. She begins a multiple-course meal, eating the dog's food, the cat's milk, the pig's potato scraps—even the farmer's pants! At first, the combination of foods and fabrics is delicious, but, after a few too many bites, Goat starts to feel queasy. She changes color from white to red to blue to yellow to green in successive vignettes, until she is down for the count. A week passes before she finally feels like herself again. Will she go back to grass, or has her greed altered her appetite forever? The minimal text is clear and straightforward. Its rhythm and repetition build, starting out with few sentences per page and then rising to a cacophony of voices as the all-white farming family and their animals wake up to find their meals (and Goat) missing. Horácek's richly textured art is large enough to share at a distance—and wonderful to pore over up close. The cautionary tale of overeating calls to mind The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But, unlike Carle's metamorphosed-into-beauty caterpillar, Horácek's stubborn goat stays just as she is: greedy and hilariously foolish.Delectable. A surefire hit with hungry goats and hungry readers alike. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews