Bill Grogan's Goat [Hardcover]

Mary Ann Hoberman (Author), Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mary 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 School Library Journal

reschool-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, MA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1st ed edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316362328
• ISBN-13: 978-0316362320
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Ann Hoberman is a poet and the critically acclaimed author of many books for children, including the beloved A House Is a House for Me, which won a National Book Award. She was also the editor of the poetry anthology My Song Is Beautiful: Poems and Pictures in Many Voices. Ms. Hoberman gives readings in libraries and schools, and her poems are included in countless anthologies. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the music classroom, September 15, 2002

By 

"renovia" (Portland, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill Grogan's Goat (Hardcover)

Bill Grogan's goat is another great read/sing book. This is also one of the MENC recommended American folk songs that all children should know. It comes with the music in the front of the book. My students' ask me for this book often and I find it hard to resist them. It is an especially good classroom book, because the hardcover version is very big so all your students can see the pictures. You and your class can sing it in echo format or as written. It's hilarious from beginning to finish. Wonderful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really funny and charming story, April 2, 2005

By 

B. Blando "lovesgoodbooks" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bill Grogan's Goat: (with branded cover) (Sing-Along Stories) (Board book)

My 3 year old absolutely loves this story and thinks it is very funny. However, she surprised me one night when we got to the page with the food on it, she started pretending to take the food and feed it to the goat. It really showed me she had sympathy for the goat. Now its a game - she can't wait for me to get to that page to "feed the goat" again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ate the Shirts Right Off the Line !, April 19, 2011

By 

Shirley A. Renaud "Shirley Renaud" (Reinholds. PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bill Grogan's Goat (Hardcover)

This book has wonderful rhyming text, terrific illustrations and a story that's fun to read.
Bill Grogan begins by hanging wash on the clothesline while the goat reclines in the grass watching and munching a long piece of grass. He's reading a magazine with empty tin cans all around him;great details that can lead to lots of conversation with young children. The goat gets in trouble for eating the clean shirts and has a wonderful adventure on a train where he gives the shirts away to animals in need. The shirts get dirty, the animals wash them and hang them on the line, and there goes Bill Grogan's goat again!

Children love the story but it may not serve a large group well because of the small illustrations. They will love listening to what happens to Bill Grogan's goat!