Escape Goat

January 27, 2020
In this follow-up to Lambslide, Patchett and Glasser return to the Farmers’ busy farm. This time, the focus is a happy-go-lucky unnamed goat who’s a serial escapee. He never goes far, and he causes little harm—climbing over the fence of his pen, he visits the horses and cows, eats a cabbage from the garden, and “scratched an itch on a pig’s back because the pig couldn’t reach it himself.” But the humans soon realize that the animal makes a convenient fall goat for their screw-ups. The Farmer boys blame Escape Goat for trampling the flower bed (they did it), Mrs. Farmer blames him for kicking over a bucket of paint (she did it)—the blaming continues. It’s up to young Nicolette Farmer, who has been keeping track of the family’s fibs, to demand justice. “EXCUSE ME!” she shouts. “You’re punishing the goat for things he didn’t do.” (The goat looks on in winsome cluelessness, chewing on alfalfa.) Readers may yearn for the anthropomorphized characters of the previous book, but the lesson here, delivered with the lightest of touches, is serious and unmistakable: justice, and goat justice in particular, will prevail. Ages 4–8.

February 1, 2020
The members of the Farmer family keep blaming their problems on their goat. When the goat escapes from his pen, he gets into mischief--but is it he who tramples Mrs. Farmer's petunias? Did the goat eat Andrew's homework? Did he really knock over the paint can? Eat all the cupcakes for Archer's birthday party? And how about the gum on Mr. Farmer's seat? Mr. Farmer correctly observes that "Goats don't chew gum." Andrew retorts: "Escape Goat does." It takes honest Nicolette to finally get to the truth. She has to shout: "You're punishing the goat for things he didn't do." The other family members don't want to admit their own foibles, but in a slapstick scene Andrew throws a ball that hits the water pitcher carried by Mrs. Farmer; the water spills onto Uncle Nathan, who's carrying a basket of muffins; the muffins are hurled at Mr. Farmer who drops a huge salad. In the midst of this great ado, Nicolette sensibly points out the goat grazing nearby and says: "The goat didn't do anything." The story itself lacks real substance and the wordplay on "scapegoat" will almost certainly elude young readers, but they will get the visual jokes, made evident in Glasser's exuberant ink-and-watercolor cartoons. The humans (white-presenting save Archer, who has beige skin), the animals, and the farm itself are delightfully represented. Humorous, engaging illustrations support a slight but amusing tale. (Picture book. 4-7)

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September 1, 2020
Grades K-2 Patchett and Glasser follow up their first collaboration, Lambslide (2019), with another punny picture book. Mr. Farmer's farm is in chaos. He thinks it's because the goat keeps escaping from its pen, but could the goat be getting falsely blamed for others' misdeeds? That is what Nicolette, the farmer's daughter, is determined to find out. She knows that all the trouble can't be solely the goat's fault. Besides, whenever the goat is found out of its pen, it's enjoying the farm, not wrecking it. Nicolette quickly discovers that it's not the goat who ate all the cupcakes or knocked over the paint can or ruined the pie. It would seem that the escaped goat is also the scapegoat in every scenario. With Nicolette's help, the truth is revealed, and the goat is exonerated of the false accusations. Readers will enjoy the silliness and the endearing illustrations from beloved Fancy Nancy (2005) illustrator Glasser, who truly captures the story's chaotic energy. A fun book for kids of all species.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)