Oh, Look!

The old, circular story “Goin’ on a Lion Hunt” provides the impetus for a similar story about three goats who escape their pen for a day of high adventure in this humorous offering from a devoted goat owner. The patterned text reveals sequential obstacles (a gate, a bridge, a pond) that can’t be circumvented, and so the goats must go straight through each difficulty head-on, complete with evocative sound effects. The three goats boldly experience each challenge of life on the lam until they meet an insurmountable obstacle: an ogre in the fun house at a fair. The scary, green ogre (surely a cousin of a certain troll who lived under another bridge) causes the goats to run home in double-quick fashion, with all the locations and sound effects rolling by in reverse order. Though some of the text doesn’t flow as naturally as Polacco’s charming illustrations, the rollicking adventure begs to be read aloud and acted out with lots of accompanying movement and sound effects. A natural companion to “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”—and the kids (of the human variety) will delight in the obstreperous goats and their amusing antics. (Picture book. 3-7)

Much to the consternation of their young shepherdesses, the goats in their charge are on the loose and determined to let nothing stand in the way of their freedom. The pond certainly doesn't prove to be an obstacle. "Oh, look, we see water. A deep blue pond," writes Polacco (When Lightning Comes in a Jar), channeling the glee of her runaway protagonists in rhythmic, sound-rich sentences while she shows one goat splashing in the water with the vigor of a kindergartner. "Can't go over it, / can't go under it, / can't go around it.../ Let's swim it!/ Swish, swish, swish we go as we swim in it." The babushka-wearing owners give chase as fast as their voluminous clothing allows (their wardrobe brings to mind a Russian nesting doll), hitching up their skirts to scamper over the quaint, rolling landscape where there's nary an SUV or cellphone in sight. The goats finally stop in their tracks when the object of an "Oh, look!" is an ogre in a village carnival funhouse, "with great big eyes and sharp green claws." The chase then shifts into reverse, until the now-frantic goats race to get "right back home, safe and sound!" Younger readers especially will cheer on the goats because they're just like... well, kids-gawky, wide-eyed grinners, full of beans but wise enough to know there's no place like home. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1-In this colorful picture book, the veteran author transfers the rhythms and movement of the traditional bear-hunt chant to safer ground. The story is told from the point of view of three farm goats: "Oh, look, we see a fence. Can't go over it, /can't go under it, /can't go around it But there's the gate and it's unlocked. Let's go through it!" As two frustrated, barefooted girls in babushkas chase after them, the wayward animals run across a bridge, up a hill, through a pond and mud pile, and finally arrive at a country fair where the funhouse ogre frightens them back along the same path to home. As in her G Is for Goat (Philomel, 2003), Polacco's signature pencil-and-watercolor paintings cascade across the pages, creating festive scenes and bright hues. An appealing introduction for children not yet ready for the author's longer tales.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.