Beatrice's Goat

Great life lessons about the power of giving and inspiring story. Used for a Sunday school class. Liked it so much I bought this copy for my grandkids.

I really liked the beautiful and richly colored paintings that illustrate the pages of "Beatrice's Goat." The artwork is full of realistic details about life in Uganda, ranging from the colorful fabric patterns to the shape of the green banana bunches hanging from the trees.However, I wouldn't give equally high praise to the text. The phrases are often awkward and overly complex; I found myself changing a lot of the words as I read this book to my pre-K daughter. It might be OK for a 7- or 8-year old, but even then, I don't think the story flows as well as it should.I bought this book because I was looking for a picture book set in Africa to give to my 2-year-old goddaughter in Malawi. But I will not be sending it to her. Although it may be a useful story to educate American kids about life in a rural Ugandan village, it unfortunately plays into too many stereotypes (especially the "benevolent Westerners coming to the aid of poor Africans" stereotype) for me to feel comfortable sharing it with a family who actually lives in that part of the world.Don't get me wrong, Heifer is a great organization, and I donate to them often - this just felt a little too much like promotional material for their mission, rather than being an excellent story on its own merits.

Beatrice’s Goat explains to kids that they can send gifts to poor places anywhere around the world. This is a heartwarming, beautiful story in which a poor family of seven receives a goat from people somewhere across the world. This goat provides milk, money, and has 2 children which are sold for a lot of money. This inspired my kid, Liz, to donate. She asked me after we read this book: “Mom, can we donate a goat?” And it just made me so proud. This book will most likely inspire your child to do the same.

I used this book in a Children’s Talk at church about giving to those who are not as blessed as are we. We raised enough money to donate a goat and a flock of chickens !

We love this his book! It’s a great story involving Heiffer Internatonal and an accurate explanation of their work.

I bought this for my grand kids, to accompany a "Heifer International" donation that I bought in their name. It is a wonderful story and one that is great for kids to learn at an early age. I highly recommend this book!

We have been a contributor to Heifer International for many years. My daughter found this book to use for a "Teach Children to Save" project through her work. I purchased a copy and two little stuffed goats for my granddaughters. We read it together and at the correct part of the story, the twin baby goats were revealed. A nice memory was created.

Did not like Hilary Clinton's comment or name on the book.

This is an inspiring true story which almost fits the adage "give a man a fish, you'll feed him for a day. teach a man to fish, you'll feed him for a week". The impact Beatrice's goat has on her family and community is a great story to share with children. Even better, the real life Beatrice (Beatrice Biira) went on to study in the States and now works as an advocate for the charity - Heifer International - that first gave her the goat, so there are tremendous possibilities to explore gratitude and giving back. There is a forward by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Wonderful book for children explaining clearly how enabling a family helps them to help themselves.

This is a really good book that explains how people in poorer countries benefit from a little financial support. My class of 6 and 7 year olds enjoyed the story but did not 'get' the message the first few times I read it to them.

A hit with parents looking to encourage social responsibility and community

Very sweet story.