The Goat of Many Colors

At first glance, you may think this is another book about Joseph. But really it's a completely different story, one of a multi-colored, fancy-diving goat, as told by the comedic duo of Flamingo and Anteater.

Written and illustrated by Cuyler Black, The Goat of Many Colors begins with a wealthy landowner named Jacob who owns a lot of goats. Most of them do nothing but eat grass and bump heads, but one of them is special. Gus discovers by accident that he really likes diving. The other goats, however, think he's strange for repeatedly jumping off a cliff into water.

Meanwhile Jacob asks a servant to go get a coat of many colors for this favorite son. The servant misunderstands and thinks Jacob said GOAT instead of coat. Not finding a multi-colored goat, he decides to make one. As the servant attempts to slap paint all over him, Gus runs away into the wilderness where he wakes the next morning surrounded by a herd of wild goats.

Seeing his strange colors the wild goats believe Gus is a special goat sent by God to rule over them. Gus loves being king of the goats! They do everything he tells them to -- that is, until he tries to teach them to dive. The frightened goats huddle close to the water until a young goat accidentally falls in. He can't swim. Neither can any of the other goats! Gus has no choice but to dive into the water and save little Junior. When he does, though, all of his colors wash off.

At first the other goats are angry that Gus tricked them. Gus apologizes for trying to be someone he's not. "I thought you only liked me because of my special colors ... I wanted to be accepted." The goats forgive him and assure Gus that he can just be himself. "We love you just the way you are! And part of who you are is a fancy diving goat! That's a gift from God! And God gave you that talent for a reason." Soon the goats discover they all have special gifts from God. They just need to look for those talents and share them.

What I Like: Everything! This story is witty and funny. The kids love it! The illustrations are inviting, full of character and color. The text is clear and relatively simple, perfect for emerging readers. There's nothing not to like about this book.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 4-7

Publisher Info: Zonderkidz, 2010; ISBN: 9780310716341; Paperback; 32 pages; $4.99

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Special Info: See our reviews of other books by this author.