Review by Booklist Review
Ada, an accomplished young woman, dreams of living alone in a house in the country, where she will grow beautiful red apples and wear a soft, gray coat to keep warm. She works hard, repairing her home and making improvements, but she enjoys her simple, orderly life. When a goat gets caught in her wire fence, she helps to free it and heal its wounds. But the goat becomes a nuisance, eating Ada's apples, chewing on her warm, gray coat, and even climbing onto the roof of her home. Ada tells the goat to leave, but soon she misses her troublemaking companion, who returns with a surprise for Ada, readers, and children listening to her story. In the end, Ada's life is neither as simple nor as orderly as she had expected, but she is content. Curving lines define the hilly land where Ada lives as well as the pleasing drawings, created with graphite and watercolors, of Ada, her friendly goat, her apple trees, and her home. The narrative is well-suited to reading aloud, and children will be pleased to discover that the illustrations alone reveal the most unexpected twist in the story. A charming picture book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Ada wants a life that is "quiet and ordered, simple and good." Then she rescues a goat who is caught in a fence, and it follows her home. In short order, the goat destroys her nice coat, eats all her apples, and climbs up on her roof -- but Ada learns to appreciate the love and chaos the goat brings. The charming story is accompanied by graphite and watercolor illustrations with an old-fashioned feel. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Goaded by a goat, Ada decides against a solitary life. The hardworking, conscientious Ada channels the industrious, nature-loving protagonist of Barbara Cooney'sMiss Rumphius as she dreams of "a house where she would grow beautiful red apples and wear a soft, gray coat." Graphite and watercolor illustrations with gentle washes evoke the work of Amy Schwartz or Marla Frazee, with cozy details abounding in the idyllic rural setting. The light-skinned Ada envisions a home "where her life and everything in it would be just so." She starts renovating a dilapidated hillside cabin and encounters a goat caught in a fence. Compassion overrides her desire for a "quiet and ordered, simple and good" life, and she brings the injured goat home. Once it heals, however, it wreaks havoc on Ada's house, her "beautiful red apples," and even the "soft, gray coat," which the goat repeatedly snatches away to the rooftop. Finally, Ada sends the goat off and tries to restore order. Alas, order isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Ada, her soft, gray coat now covered with colorful patches representing her personal transformation, wishes the goat would return. When it does, a wonderfully satisfying twist shows the goat with five little kids cozied up on the rooftop, now transformed into a flowery, caprine oasis. To quote the last line, "so very, very good."(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
