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Corgiville
Corgiville Fair
A charming, classic animal tale with plenty of heart--and plenty of corgis!
In Corgiville, as in many small towns all over America, the biggest event of the year is the fair. And the most exciting thing at the Corgiville Fair is the goat race! Caleb Corgi has spent months training his goat, Josephine, for the big event. But Edgar Tomcat's goat is fast, too, and Caleb knows that Edgar is not above indulging in some dirty tricks in order to win.
The sights, smells, and all the fun and excitement of a typical small-town fair are captured with humor and affection in Tasha Tudor's text and marvelously detailed watercolor paintings.
In Corgiville, as in many small towns all over America, the biggest event of the year is the fair. And the most exciting thing at the Corgiville Fair is the goat race! Caleb Corgi has spent months training his goat, Josephine, for the big event. But Edgar Tomcat's goat is fast, too, and Caleb knows that Edgar is not above indulging in some dirty tricks in order to win.
The sights, smells, and all the fun and excitement of a typical small-town fair are captured with humor and affection in Tasha Tudor's text and marvelously detailed watercolor paintings.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
5 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Tasha Tudor
235 books255 followersTasha Tudor was an American illustrator and author of children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
November 2, 2020
I really expected to enjoy this series, the illustrations are lovely but the storyline wasn't enjoyable for me. Corgis racing on goats have a competition, a badger which is up to no good, feeds drugged sausages to the rival Corgi jockey and goat in order to win the race in which bets are placed. The little Corgi lying unconscious with his legs in the air did look very cute but a bit of an odd storyline for a children's story.
There were some lovely illustrations of the fair, full of details and so skilfully executed but then a character that was meant to be a bogart looked like a sort of cartoon wooden spoon which looked out of place with the rest of the illustration style. Having read that another book in this series has a character that has two wives I was left thinking that Corgiville is a bit of an odd place to read about with children!
Read on open library
There were some lovely illustrations of the fair, full of details and so skilfully executed but then a character that was meant to be a bogart looked like a sort of cartoon wooden spoon which looked out of place with the rest of the illustration style. Having read that another book in this series has a character that has two wives I was left thinking that Corgiville is a bit of an odd place to read about with children!
Read on open library
November 8, 2008
I'm not sure why I didn't like this more... I think it just seemed a bit odd to me with the up-right walking corgis tending goats (if dogs walk and go to fairs, why are goats pets?) and the ending seemed a bit disjointed and unexplained (and, the poor goat!!!). Still, some of the pictures were really cute--I liked the detail in the fair booths and the parade. I usually love Tasha Tudor, so maybe this one just didn't mesh with me. I see a lot of other people loved it!
July 17, 2017
The fair is coming, and all of Corgiville is a-buzz with excitement. Join in the fun with the midway, pie-eating contests, and a goat race. Tudor's precious illustrations are loaded with detail, and beg to be poured over again and again.
August 31, 2019
"West of New Hampshire and east of Vermont is a village.... It is inhabited by corgis, cats, rabbits, and boggarts."
With that beginning and illustrations by Tasha Tudor, so appealing that I grabbed it off the library display. Unfortunately, I didn't much like the story. The illustrations have a lot to look at it's true. But all those pipes and cigars. And the idea of dogs & cats wearing clothes & domesticating goats is just weird. And feeding cigars (and worse!) to a goat is just abuse. This is not a book that I would like to share with children.
And what's the point of the boggarts? They look like wooden clown marionettes to me, and quite jolly.
With that beginning and illustrations by Tasha Tudor, so appealing that I grabbed it off the library display. Unfortunately, I didn't much like the story. The illustrations have a lot to look at it's true. But all those pipes and cigars. And the idea of dogs & cats wearing clothes & domesticating goats is just weird. And feeding cigars (and worse!) to a goat is just abuse. This is not a book that I would like to share with children.
And what's the point of the boggarts? They look like wooden clown marionettes to me, and quite jolly.
April 30, 2019
I really liked the illustrations of small town America. The town seems like a charming place to live. However, the story is morally questionable. The protagonist of the story cheats to win a goat race, and the way in which he cheats is actually harmful to the goat, so I'm not really sure what kind of message the story is trying to get across to children. Also, since it is an older story, there are strict gender roles in the families portrayed here (girls in the kitchen and men doing manly things like cheating at goat races), which give it a dated feeling.
June 16, 2020
I get that the author was trying to make a certain time period come alive, but the book seems confused about which age(s) it is aiming for. I know kids learn big words by being exposed to them (I learned quite a few 'big words' from Disney's Robin Hood, for example), but this book is hard for both kids and adults get into.
March 25, 2022
Best picture book ever? Yep
May 6, 2022
Tasha Tudor is a beautiful illustrator, but the story here is disappointingly lacking.
The backdrop of this book is a town populated by corgis, rabbits, cats, and ... weirdly hideous little polka-dot troll "boggarts." The story is fairly disjointed, jumping between a broad overview of the town preparing for a fair and a specific boy and his racing goat. It introduces his sisters and their fair entries as well, but they only get an afterthought mention at the end of "oh, they won ribbons too."
There's just a lot of weird stuff here. Mentions of a peep show at the fair. An adult character drugging a little boy so that he can sabotage his goat and win the race?? Feeding goats cigars and fireworks??
The illustrations are so cute and detailed it is almost worth getting the book just to look at them... except that those ugly little Boggarts ruin so many of the illustrations. I don't understand why they were included. Why couldn't the boggart character who sells fireworks been a rabbit or another corgi?
The backdrop of this book is a town populated by corgis, rabbits, cats, and ... weirdly hideous little polka-dot troll "boggarts." The story is fairly disjointed, jumping between a broad overview of the town preparing for a fair and a specific boy and his racing goat. It introduces his sisters and their fair entries as well, but they only get an afterthought mention at the end of "oh, they won ribbons too."
There's just a lot of weird stuff here. Mentions of a peep show at the fair. An adult character drugging a little boy so that he can sabotage his goat and win the race?? Feeding goats cigars and fireworks??
The illustrations are so cute and detailed it is almost worth getting the book just to look at them... except that those ugly little Boggarts ruin so many of the illustrations. I don't understand why they were included. Why couldn't the boggart character who sells fireworks been a rabbit or another corgi?
July 27, 2018
The illustrations are intricate and humorous, and both my 5 and 2 year old pored over this book because of this. The story is a little odd (not as in delightfully quirky odd, but as in a bit uncomfortably strange odd), as a problem was solved by feeding a goat fireworks. (??) Not really something I want my boys to consider doing or thinking is funny.
November 3, 2019
I read this to the kid I babysit and I was uncomfortable the entire time. There are three corgi sisters, two girls and a boy, and the girls book and embroider while the boy does the cool adventure thing, racing a goat, gets speaking lines, has a 3D personality. Super gross and makes total sense it was first published in 1971
July 27, 2007
Pet goats will eat anything, including fireworks.
Tasha Tudor is a great artist and this is one of my all-time favorite books. I think it is probably the reason I love county fairs so much. She catches the color and bustle; on some pages you could spend hours looking at details of all the different things the animals are doing at the fair.
Cara - if Skye doesn't have this one, tell me and I'll bring it over next time I babysit.
Tasha Tudor is a great artist and this is one of my all-time favorite books. I think it is probably the reason I love county fairs so much. She catches the color and bustle; on some pages you could spend hours looking at details of all the different things the animals are doing at the fair.
Cara - if Skye doesn't have this one, tell me and I'll bring it over next time I babysit.
November 6, 2010
This is a nice story centered around the annual goat races at Corgiville fair. It's a little long and complicated for my four-year-old; I think it would be great for ages 6–10. The illustrations are beautiful, of course, and there's a great villain.
February 26, 2011
It's funny to see ones last name in a book! Especially when tied to funny creatures made up of yarn and polkadots. Oh dear...
October 14, 2015
This book is just phenomenal for a children's book. The illustrations are beautiful, the storyline is amazing and the vocabulary is great!
May 26, 2020
As insane as to be expected from a woman who owns eight corgis.
March 21, 2025
I borrowed this book from the library for my little brother. I'm gonna be honest, I chose it for the cover. I loved the illustrations, they reminded me of a childhood movie I watched when I was around my brother's age. Similar to Peter Rabbit too. The writing style wasn't my favorite, which sunk the rating. I liked some of the descriptive adjectives used, but other than that I wasn't a fan. The illustrations made me want to visit this quaint village.
Takeaway: lovely illustrations!
Takeaway: lovely illustrations!
August 23, 2019
The pictures are delightful. The story leads you through so as to get the most out of the pictures. From the first page we were lead and we asked 'What is a boggart?' That question is delightfully answered.
Being a goat owner with little boys around I am a bit concerned as to the methods for getting a goat to motivate. I may to keep a closer eye on my own charges.
Being a goat owner with little boys around I am a bit concerned as to the methods for getting a goat to motivate. I may to keep a closer eye on my own charges.
December 2, 2025
Beautiful, intricate illustrations that make the town of Corgiville come to life.
Everyone in Corgiville is preparing for the town fair. Caleb brown, a young corgi is getting ready to ride in the goat race for the prize of 100 silver dollar. But Edgar Tomcat also wants to win, and he might go to terrible lengths to do so.
Everyone in Corgiville is preparing for the town fair. Caleb brown, a young corgi is getting ready to ride in the goat race for the prize of 100 silver dollar. But Edgar Tomcat also wants to win, and he might go to terrible lengths to do so.
December 18, 2019
I adore Tasha Tudor and Corgiville is magical. The illustrations are delightful, but this is not the best example of the sharming Corgiville stories that Tasha Tudor writes.
May 27, 2023
5/26/23 Read with Naomi, Julia, & Skylar
June 8, 2023
Very cute story, not as short as you’d think! Beautiful illustrations.
May 8, 2024
Delightful read, the entire family enjoyed this fun book! Especially since we just got a corgi puppy.🥰
October 6, 2022
A cute and old-fashioned story about a small town of corgis and other animals. This story is beautifully illustrated by one of my favorite artists. Even though this story wasn’t my favorite, it was worth reading for the lovely pictures.
July 10, 2022
A goat is force fed tobacco and fire crackers? Very confusing story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2012
I had fallen in love Tasha Tudor's Caldecott Honor Book "1 is One" and wanted to check out her other books, so I picked up this one. The author herself liked to live in a circa 1830s house and do the kind of crafts one associates with that era (candlemaking, quilting, canning, etc). She dedicates the book to her eight Corgis, which makes sense since the book is about a Corgi family named the Bigby Browns. The book is set in a bygone era, looks to be the turn of the 20th century, in a town in Vermont called Corgiville. It is home to rabbits, cats, Corgis and boggarts (Swedish trolls who like to make fireworks). Their biggest event of the year is the Corgiville Fair, and Mr Brown's son Caleb is racing his prize goat Josephine. Edgar Tomcat also likes to race and will stop at nothing to win, including sabotaging Caleb and Josephine. Will Caleb and Josephine be able to win the race? Read this delightful book to find out.
The only reason it gets four instead of five stars was because of the length. I thought the story was never going to end. I loved the attention to detail in it though, from the clothes the animals were wearing to the fair itself and all its tents and activities. The book reminded me a lot of Beatrix Potter. Because of the length of the book, I would recommend it for ages 5-8, 4 stars.
The only reason it gets four instead of five stars was because of the length. I thought the story was never going to end. I loved the attention to detail in it though, from the clothes the animals were wearing to the fair itself and all its tents and activities. The book reminded me a lot of Beatrix Potter. Because of the length of the book, I would recommend it for ages 5-8, 4 stars.
May 14, 2013
*5+ Stars*
The Gush*
This was a gift from my grandparents and oh, how I loved this! My greatest wish is for a corgi and it comes partially from reading this book.
To be fair, this is a rather odd book. Not only is it anthropomorphic but it is set in a by-gone era of America as well. This makes it a very simple nostalgic tale as well. This would be a wonderful way to introduce talks of how people lived years ago with young children as well as just a delightful tale of family, friends, and meeting goals. There is conflict, but it is little and quickly resolved. The story might be found wanting were it not for the illustrations. They are exquisite, full of detail, humor, and a variety of creatures. The boggarts, quite different from the ones in Harry Potter, are sure to delight children of all ages.
*The Rant*
I can't say anything personally, but I do realize this book is not for everyone. Not every child will appreciate this book, as not every adult will either. But I urge you to give it a try, this is a treasure, and one of the best illustrated children's books I have ever seen.
*Conclusion*
This is one of my favorite books from childhood and I consider it a wonderful story that blends anthropomorphic creatures with a 'simpler' time period in Americana.
The Gush*
This was a gift from my grandparents and oh, how I loved this! My greatest wish is for a corgi and it comes partially from reading this book.
To be fair, this is a rather odd book. Not only is it anthropomorphic but it is set in a by-gone era of America as well. This makes it a very simple nostalgic tale as well. This would be a wonderful way to introduce talks of how people lived years ago with young children as well as just a delightful tale of family, friends, and meeting goals. There is conflict, but it is little and quickly resolved. The story might be found wanting were it not for the illustrations. They are exquisite, full of detail, humor, and a variety of creatures. The boggarts, quite different from the ones in Harry Potter, are sure to delight children of all ages.
*The Rant*
I can't say anything personally, but I do realize this book is not for everyone. Not every child will appreciate this book, as not every adult will either. But I urge you to give it a try, this is a treasure, and one of the best illustrated children's books I have ever seen.
*Conclusion*
This is one of my favorite books from childhood and I consider it a wonderful story that blends anthropomorphic creatures with a 'simpler' time period in Americana.
Read
March 24, 2015From "Essential Reading: Seasons" by Literary Mama staff:
When I think of seasons, I think instantly of Tasha Tudor, who rendered them so beautifully in her books—and who, during my sodden Northwest childhood, gave me an idea of what summer and winter could be like for people who didn't live on the edge of a temperate rain forest. Now that I live in New England, it has been a special pleasure to revisit Tudor's oeuvre with my boys as we go Around the Year. For our family, it's not summer without Corgiville Fair, and it's not Halloween without Pumpkin Moonshine. Then there's A Tale for Easter and The Christmas Cat. My favorite, however, has always been A Time to Keep, a brief yet magical journey through the months of a long-ago child's year. Tudor's characteristic illustrations are soft but rich with detail, and there's an irresistible charm about the somewhat fanciful old world that she depicts, where everything is homemade and every celebration is a work of art.
Literary Mama's full Essential Reading post can be found here: http://www.literarymama.com/litreflec...
When I think of seasons, I think instantly of Tasha Tudor, who rendered them so beautifully in her books—and who, during my sodden Northwest childhood, gave me an idea of what summer and winter could be like for people who didn't live on the edge of a temperate rain forest. Now that I live in New England, it has been a special pleasure to revisit Tudor's oeuvre with my boys as we go Around the Year. For our family, it's not summer without Corgiville Fair, and it's not Halloween without Pumpkin Moonshine. Then there's A Tale for Easter and The Christmas Cat. My favorite, however, has always been A Time to Keep, a brief yet magical journey through the months of a long-ago child's year. Tudor's characteristic illustrations are soft but rich with detail, and there's an irresistible charm about the somewhat fanciful old world that she depicts, where everything is homemade and every celebration is a work of art.
Literary Mama's full Essential Reading post can be found here: http://www.literarymama.com/litreflec...
February 17, 2016
The biggest event of the year in Corgiville is the grand and glorious fair, eagerly anticipated by the town's cat/bunny/corgi/boggart citizens. A big goat race is on the horizon, but rivalries and underhanded feline dealings might threaten a promising young corgi's chances.
We found this book at a consignment sale and bought it just because it looked cute and interesting. Well, it is both of those things, but it's also kind of odd. The random sampling of the town's population puzzled me (why only corgis? And where in the world did those boggarts come from?), like it was clearly whimsical but didn't come across for some reason. Anyway, it was way too long for our 2.5-year-old (it literally took two days to get through), but there was plenty to look at anyway, and if the story meanders, the illustrations really are very appealing.
We found this book at a consignment sale and bought it just because it looked cute and interesting. Well, it is both of those things, but it's also kind of odd. The random sampling of the town's population puzzled me (why only corgis? And where in the world did those boggarts come from?), like it was clearly whimsical but didn't come across for some reason. Anyway, it was way too long for our 2.5-year-old (it literally took two days to get through), but there was plenty to look at anyway, and if the story meanders, the illustrations really are very appealing.
November 18, 2008
Sadly, I wasn't thrilled with this book. It's a cute enough premise about a fair in a world where dogs and cats walk upright and take on human-esque jobs. But, the story felt disjointed to me, and I wasn't really sure what the point or message was. I found it a little disturbing that many of the characters smoked cigars, that one of the goats was put on a strict diet so that it would be fit for the race at the fair, and that because of a series of events the goat ends up with dietary problems for the rest of it's life. To me, that seems like it would upset sensitive young readers.
The pictures, however, are very colorful and delightful. I would look for the illustrator again.
The pictures, however, are very colorful and delightful. I would look for the illustrator again.
August 1, 2012
One of my all time favorites as a child. I don't know exactly why- probably the ambigiuity of the Boggarts and the excitement of the fair. Judging from the repeat read-aloud requests, it is becoming one of my daughter's favorites. She anticipates Edgar Tomcat feeding the pies and cigars to Josephine with a loud "Oh NO!" as I turn the page and she has lots and lots of questions about the pictures...why is the fair held behind the civil war statue? What is a grandstand? Why are the boggarts jumping a car through fire? and then she picks which characters she wants to be (not Edgar Tomcat, yes to Miss Corgiville in her fancy cart.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews