Trudy [Hardcover]

Henry Cole (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

When Esme meets Trudy at the county auction, she knows there's something really special about her.

"She's quite a goat!"

But she doesn't know how special, until she takes her home: Trudy can predict the weather. Esme's goat becomes a local superstar!

"Heard you've got quite a goat!"

But one day, Trudy disappears inside her barn and doesn't come back out.

What's wrong with Trudy?

Esme is very worried. But she soon discovers that Trudy has something even more special in store. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—Esme's grandfather promises that she can have an animal from the country auction, and she picks Trudy, a small goat that, unlike the other animals, isn't too big, too smelly, or too feathery. It isn't long before her talent for weather forecasting is discovered, and soon the whole town gathers around her barn to find out when snow will next fall. Only this time, Trudy's behavior predicts an event of a different nature—a baby goat. Cole's acrylic paintings are rounded and soft. They juxtapose muted, earth-toned colors of the environment with the bright, primary colors of man-made objects such as cars, clothing, and the red barn in which Trudy resides. The steady pace of the text combined with its loosely repetitive structure creates a calm, reassuring mood, making the book an excellent bedtime read. This warm story provides a subtle way for children to learn to appreciate animals as well as the cycle of seasons and life.—Kim T. Ha, Elkridge Branch Library, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

With soft-toned acrylic pictures and loving words, Cole tells a warm pet story with a surprising twist. Esme lives on her grandparents’ farm, and when Grandfather takes her to the county fair, she brings home a goat, Trudy. Multiple small pictures show Esme as she bonds with the brown-and-white goat, feeding her, talking to her, and reading to her in the little red barn that is just the right size. Then the goat reveals an extraordinary gift: she can sense when it is about to snow, and every time she moves back into the barn, the snowflakes come. The neighbors come to watch Trudy’s trick, and even the press wants to report on her, but then she moves inside and it doesn’t snow. Why? The climax is a fun surprise, but what will move young children most is the young child’s close connections with the animal under the big open sky Preschool-Grade 1. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061542679
• ISBN-13: 978-0061542671
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 11.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Henry Cole is the celebrated illustrator of many books for children, including the Bad Boys series by Margie Palatini, and is also the author and illustrator of the novel A Nest for Celeste.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That's Some Goat!, April 2, 2009

By 

Madigan McGillicuddy "Librarian" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trudy (Hardcover)

Oh, how I longed for a pet goat when I was a child! So many of my friends had goats and they gave them the dullest, most obvious names. Billy. Nanny. Cappy.

I swore if I were ever lucky enough to get a pet goat, surely I'd give it a name with a little more pizzazz than that. While "Trudy" had never crossed my mind as a potential name, it surely would have been if this book had been around when I was younger.

Prolific children's book illustrator Henry Cole has put together a captivating goat tale. Esme goes with her grandfather to the county auction to look for an animal to purchase. Nothing feels quite right. Holsteins are too big. Grandmother is allergic to feathers, so birds are out. Pigs are too stinky.

Wonder of wonders, here in a corner of the barn is a sign, "'Trudy' Free to Good Home" Trudy, of course, turns out to be a shy looking goat, with just a hint of sass behind her demure eyelashes. Grandpa chortles that the price is right, and Esme and Trudy quickly become fast friends. Esme takes care of Trudy, reads to her and even talks to her about her day. Astute readers will notice little details such as Esme reading "Jack's Garden" (also by Henry Cole) to Trudy.

Soon, Esme notices that whenever Trudy retreats to her barn, snow is certain to follow. A steady following for the prognostic goat emerges and the local townsfolk don't hesitate to make Trudy a media sensation. (One is reminded strongly of a particularly famous "Some Pig") One illustration shows a bumper sticker affixed to a neighbor's car, "I Get My Weather Reports from TRUDY" and shortly after, we see a two-page spread with late 50's model cars, pick-up trucks and news crews circled round Trudy's modest shed. An enterprising townsperson has even set up a hot cocoa stand.

This last time, it's not snow however, that keeps Trudy in, rather, it's a brand new "kid" for her to take care of.

Cole's gentle acrylic illustrations are almost reminiscent of watercolor, with a nice balance between vignettes of Esme and Trudy and full-spread illustrations of the farm. I loved this book... for anyone wanting to look at a charming old-fashioned story about an unusual pet, this would be a terrific read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice Book, January 6, 2011

By 

A. M. Thomas (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trudy (Hardcover)

We purchased this book after taking it out of the library. My 2.5-year-old was intrigued by this sweet story and we've read it over and over.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent book and has that extra little zip that will excite your little animal lover!, October 10, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Trudy (Hardcover)

Esme and her grandfather were going to the farm auction to get an animal for her. They looked at a black-and-white cow, a rooster ("cccrock-a-doodle-doo"), some stinky pigs, ducks and some other birds not even worth mentioning. All of a sudden Esme spotted a very interesting sign. "`TRUDY' FREE TO GOOD HOME." Perhaps that was just the kind of animal that she had been looking for. It was the right size, wasn't stinky like a pig, and wasn't a birdy. Yes, Trudy was going home with them.

Trudy would keep Esme busy and happy. There were chores to do, but she found time to read to her. Trudy's job was to go into the barnyard and keep an eye on the family, but one day she went back into the barn because she knew it was going to snow. She did this thing for twenty-seven days and then grandmother said, "That goat is a natural-born weather forecaster." Word started to get around of her amazing talents, but one day she was wrong. The snow didn't come as she predicted. What had happened to Trudy?

I loved this little story and was quite taken by the love Esme obviously had for her pet. Henry Cole wrote and illustrated this charmer and I think because he wrote it knew exactly how to bring Trudy and her human family to life. This is an excellent book and has that extra little zip that will excite your little animal lover!