Beatrice's Goat

This book was all the rage with elementary teachers when it first came out. In the story, an aid organization donates a goat to a poor African family, which leads to prosperity and a better life for all. It would be wonderful if development were really as simple as a few inexpensive gifts from donors and a willingness on the part of the poor to work hard and be thrifty. But this book oversimplifies people's real problems and suffering to the point of inanity. Beautiful illustrations though. Maybe cover up the text?

Based on the true story of a young Ugandan girl named Beatrice, whose family are too poor to send her to school, Beatrice's Goat highlights the transformation that a seemingly simple change - in this case, the addition of a goat to a poor rural household - can effect in the lives of those involved. After her family is given a goat by Heifer International (not named in the narrative, but described by Beatrice's mother as "some kindhearted people from far away"), Beatrice finds that she must work even harder, taking care of Mugisa (meaning "lucky") and selling her milk. But the extra effort pays off when Beatrice's mother tells her what the family intends to do with the extra income...

I don't think I would have heard of Beatrice's Goat, show more were it not for the review of an online friend, so my thanks to Krista! The story itself is fairly straightforward, engaging (although not especially brilliant) with a good message about small changes making a big difference. That message is further reinforced by Hilary Rodham Clinton's brief afterword, in which she discusses Heifer International. The accompanying acrylic artwork by Lori Lohstoeter are similarly engaging. All in all, this is an appealing book that will gently expose young readers to some un-gentle realities about poverty in our world, and some steps that are being taken to try to address those realities on the ground. show less

I was not sure if I’d like this but I did. While a thinly veiled commercial for Heifer International this book is still an enjoyable account of a little girls life.

The setting is a small African village named Kisinga located in the hills of western Uganda. This family is poor, but rich in courage, love and dedication to life. Beatrice is one of six children. She longs to attend school, but day-day existence does not allow the money for such an endeavor.

Beatrice is a beautiful person who helps her family by digging in the filed, helping with her siblings, and she grinds cassava flour to take to the market to sell. One day the family receives word that kind people have deeded a goat to the family. This goat in turn provides enough milk to sell.

Unknown to them, the lovely goat was pregnant when she arrived. She had twin babies. The family used the milk Beatrice the goat produced. After a lot of hard show more work, dedicated Beatrice accumulated enough money to go to school.

This is a story of success as a result of the dedicated work of the Heifer Project, a nonprofit organization that cars and puts their energy into helping poor people help themselves. The description in the book regarding the Heifer project notes the mission is empowerment, in giving and teaching so that people can make it on their own with the help of a wonderful group started over 60 years ago, and to date helped 4.5 million people to help them learn self reliance. show less

I really enjoyed this story and once I found out that it was based on a real person's experience, I loved it even more. It's amazing to see what Beatrice was able to achieve from selling goat's milk. This is an important story for children because it reveals how much of a luxury going to school is for some of us. Beatrice's desire to go to school made me realize how some of us may take our education for granted. With beautiful illustrations displaying a small, African village, this is an eye-opening story about the lack of opportunity for an education that one may encounter.

Beatrice’s Goat
By Page McBrier, Illustrations by Lori Lahstoeter
Afterword by Hillary Rodham Clinton
2004, Aladdin Paperbacks (Simon and Schuster)
Review by Debra L Scott, 12/14/2011

Commissioned by the charity Heifer International (www.heifer.org/ ), Beatrice’s Goat is based on a true story. In a small African village, young Beatrice wants to go to school with her friends but her family can’t afford the books and uniforms necessary for her to attend. One day, her mother receives a goat, courtesy of the Heifer program. Beatrice is given the task of taking care of it, and selling the milk at market. She earns enough money to go to school and her family is able to afford other things they need, like, a blanket for her bed and a shirt show more for her brother.

The story is well written and beautifully illustrated, and children who enjoy stories about children from other countries will certainly enjoy this one. However, it is quite blatantly a plug for the work done by Heifer International, showing how one farm animal can make a huge difference in the life of families in undeveloped countries. Their point of view is not to relieve poverty for the whole world, but to improve the life of one family at a time. At the end of the story, Beatrice’s friend expresses the wish that he too could receive an animal to help his family. Beatrice tells him that she heard he is next on the list. I would have enjoyed it more without the obvious charity commercial format.

Note that “2% of the publisher’s proceeds” are donated to Heifer. Personal disclosure: Reviewer donates to Heifer International. show less

A beautiful story of a young African girl who wants to go to school, a goat, and how her determination and gifts from the goat help her reach her goal.