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Ziegen bringen Glück: Eine warmherzige und berührende Geschichte, die glücklich macht!
Als die 11-jährige Kid mit ihren Eltern nach New York kommt, um auf den Hund eines Verwandten aufzupassen, bemerkt sie auf dem Dach des Hochhauses etwas, das aussieht wie eine kleine weiße Wolke. Die Leute sagen, dass dort oben eine Bergziege lebt. Aber kann das wirklich sein? Gemeinsam mit dem gleichaltrigen Will macht Kid sich auf die Suche und sammelt bei den faszinierenden wie schrulligen Hausbewohnern nach Hinweisen – denn demjenigen, der die Ziege sieht, winken sieben Jahre Glück!
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2017
32 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Anne Fleming
21 books48 followersAnne Fleming is the author of five books:
Pool-Hopping and Other Stories
, shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, the Danuta Gleed Award and the Governor General’s Award; the critically acclaimed novel,
Anomaly
;
Gay Dwarves of America
, also shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson;
poemw
, a book of poems shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes’ Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize; and
The Goat
, a novel for children. Her non-fiction has been published in a raft of anthologies, including Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, Great Expectations: Twenty-Four True Stories About Childbirth, and
You Be Me
.
Anne grew up in Toronto and lived in Kitchener, Ontario for a chunk of time before moving to Vancouver, where she received her MFA from UBC. Her fiction has won National Magazine Awards, been commissioned by CBC Radio, and widely published in magazines and anthologies.
A highly regarded teacher of creative writing, she has been on faculty at both UBC campuses, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She now divides her time between Vancouver (unceded Coast Salish territory) and Kelowna (unceded Syilx territory), where she teaches at UBC’s Okanagan Campus. She likes to cross-country ski and play the ukulele, although not necessarily at the same time.
Anne grew up in Toronto and lived in Kitchener, Ontario for a chunk of time before moving to Vancouver, where she received her MFA from UBC. Her fiction has won National Magazine Awards, been commissioned by CBC Radio, and widely published in magazines and anthologies.
A highly regarded teacher of creative writing, she has been on faculty at both UBC campuses, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She now divides her time between Vancouver (unceded Coast Salish territory) and Kelowna (unceded Syilx territory), where she teaches at UBC’s Okanagan Campus. She likes to cross-country ski and play the ukulele, although not necessarily at the same time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
March 20, 2017
My video review: https://youtu.be/inCf9n7Q2JY
I won The Goat in a Goodreads giveaway, and am quite happy I did. It took me about half-way into the book to realise I've heard of it before. One of my professors mentioned that her friend had written a book about a goat living on top of a building in New York city. Wow you think with how niche that is I would have picked up on it earlier.
The Goat was a quick entertaining children's book with a surprising amount of real life issues. Issues such as: dealing with extreme shyness/social anxiety (something I've struggled with for most of my life), health problems, age, the loss of parents who died in 9/11, and more. I wans't expecting a childrens book to touch on these topics, but it was nice that it did. For that I would say this book can be enjoyed by both adults and children.
The only minor negative I had was with the ending. It wasn't bad per say, but it wasn't great either. I felt like there could have been more of a conclusion for a certain city-living ruminant animal.
I won The Goat in a Goodreads giveaway, and am quite happy I did. It took me about half-way into the book to realise I've heard of it before. One of my professors mentioned that her friend had written a book about a goat living on top of a building in New York city. Wow you think with how niche that is I would have picked up on it earlier.
The Goat was a quick entertaining children's book with a surprising amount of real life issues. Issues such as: dealing with extreme shyness/social anxiety (something I've struggled with for most of my life), health problems, age, the loss of parents who died in 9/11, and more. I wans't expecting a childrens book to touch on these topics, but it was nice that it did. For that I would say this book can be enjoyed by both adults and children.
The only minor negative I had was with the ending. It wasn't bad per say, but it wasn't great either. I felt like there could have been more of a conclusion for a certain city-living ruminant animal.
March 23, 2025
A Wes Anderson movie in a novella, this can be read by any age
Read
April 28, 2017A "full-length work for young readers" featuring a mountain goat living on a swanky Manhattan building, a little girl and her family visiting that building from Toronto, and a cast of oddball characters from within and around it. Short, peculiar-in-a-good-way, cute, entertaining, while managing to say some age-appropriate serious things about life without being at all heavy-handed about it. Quite enjoyed it.
I do, however, have a grumpy leftist coda: I was jarred out of the book at one point by something that really isn't the book's fault, but the broader culture's. One of the characters the little girl meets is a little boy who lost his parents in 9/11 -- not an implausible person to encounter in Manhattan. It is handled thoughtfully and well. And yet it got me thinking about whose lives are grievable and whose are not (see Judith Butler) and about the many ways those of us who benefit from the violent state of the world cannot bear to see our complicity but instead make any move we can to maintain our own stance of innocence (see Sherene Razack). You could just as plausibly, in Manhattan, meet an Iraqi-American child whose parents had been among the million killed by US sanctions in the 1990s or the tens-to-hundreds of thousands killed during the US invasion and recolonization of that country in the early-to-mid 2000s, an Afghan-American child whose parents had been killed by the US invasion there, a Yemeni child whose parents had been lost to a US drone attack...I could, obviously, go on and on. But to meet any of those children, particularly in a book for young people, and to name with the same age-appropriate matter-of-fact compassion and sadness and horror the sources of *their* loss, would make it (in the eyes of those who have the power to decide such things) a very, very different book. And that is a very sad, enraging thing.
Anyway, my grumpy coda notwithstanding, this book was fun and clever and worth a read.
I do, however, have a grumpy leftist coda: I was jarred out of the book at one point by something that really isn't the book's fault, but the broader culture's. One of the characters the little girl meets is a little boy who lost his parents in 9/11 -- not an implausible person to encounter in Manhattan. It is handled thoughtfully and well. And yet it got me thinking about whose lives are grievable and whose are not (see Judith Butler) and about the many ways those of us who benefit from the violent state of the world cannot bear to see our complicity but instead make any move we can to maintain our own stance of innocence (see Sherene Razack). You could just as plausibly, in Manhattan, meet an Iraqi-American child whose parents had been among the million killed by US sanctions in the 1990s or the tens-to-hundreds of thousands killed during the US invasion and recolonization of that country in the early-to-mid 2000s, an Afghan-American child whose parents had been killed by the US invasion there, a Yemeni child whose parents had been lost to a US drone attack...I could, obviously, go on and on. But to meet any of those children, particularly in a book for young people, and to name with the same age-appropriate matter-of-fact compassion and sadness and horror the sources of *their* loss, would make it (in the eyes of those who have the power to decide such things) a very, very different book. And that is a very sad, enraging thing.
Anyway, my grumpy coda notwithstanding, this book was fun and clever and worth a read.
dnf
April 27, 2017DNF. And that doesn't happen everyday.
I made it 1/4 the way through it and never got into it. It is a short book, but I don't think my middle school students will make it past page 5. Confusing, too many characters, and not much happening.
I bet I'll weed this book in three years with zero circulations. Boo. I put a lot of time and thought into ordering and hate when I have a bust. `
I made it 1/4 the way through it and never got into it. It is a short book, but I don't think my middle school students will make it past page 5. Confusing, too many characters, and not much happening.
I bet I'll weed this book in three years with zero circulations. Boo. I put a lot of time and thought into ordering and hate when I have a bust. `
April 11, 2017
Loved this fast-moving modern fairy tale. Kind of a mix between A Man Called Ove or My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, Harriet the Spy, and an old-fashioned children's bedtime story. Also, IMHO, it's adult fiction masquerading as a children's book.
August 22, 2017
I liked the premise of this story, but I felt the adult points of view diluted the story and will be uninteresting to the intended audience. If it had stuck with Kid telling the story it would have been stronger. Also, way too many issues going on for this short a book.
July 12, 2018
Sono sinceramente perplessa. Mai mi era capitato di impiegare così tanto tempo per leggere 160 pagine (tra l'altro scritte belle larghe) e probabilmente dopo le prime 80 avrei anche mollato.
Questo non è un romanzo ma un'accozzaglia di cose, stipate insieme senza un reale senso. L'idea poteva essere pure carina, ma a mio avviso è resa in modo sconclusionato.
Perché l'esigenza di avere così tanti personaggi? Non bastavano la piccola Kid e il suo amico Will? Va bene, il messaggio è che ognuno può superare le sue paure, e allora a che serve Joff che si innamora di una conosciuta giocando a scacchi? (Joff, che tra l'altro è il personaggio che ho preferito più di tutti).
I dialoghi li ho trovati di una banalità sconcertante. Va bene che il libro è rivolto a un pubblico giovane ma mica per questo dobbiamo trattare i più piccoli come dei cretini. I genitori di Kid a un certo punto le spiegano l'attentato delle Torri Gemelle: non so come lo spiegherei io a un bambino, ma se il risultato deve essere questo meglio non inserirlo. Tra l'altro, perché? Per farlo colpo sul pubblico americano che resterà per sempre ferito da questa tragedia? L'ho trovata solo una bassezza da parte dell'autore.
Insopportabile ogni limite la madre di Kid, un mezzo cretino il padre, per non parlare della storia di come la capra arriva sul tetto del palazzo.
Niente, mi dispiace. Una delusione da ogni punto di vista.
Questo non è un romanzo ma un'accozzaglia di cose, stipate insieme senza un reale senso. L'idea poteva essere pure carina, ma a mio avviso è resa in modo sconclusionato.
Perché l'esigenza di avere così tanti personaggi? Non bastavano la piccola Kid e il suo amico Will? Va bene, il messaggio è che ognuno può superare le sue paure, e allora a che serve Joff che si innamora di una conosciuta giocando a scacchi? (Joff, che tra l'altro è il personaggio che ho preferito più di tutti).
I dialoghi li ho trovati di una banalità sconcertante. Va bene che il libro è rivolto a un pubblico giovane ma mica per questo dobbiamo trattare i più piccoli come dei cretini. I genitori di Kid a un certo punto le spiegano l'attentato delle Torri Gemelle: non so come lo spiegherei io a un bambino, ma se il risultato deve essere questo meglio non inserirlo. Tra l'altro, perché? Per farlo colpo sul pubblico americano che resterà per sempre ferito da questa tragedia? L'ho trovata solo una bassezza da parte dell'autore.
Insopportabile ogni limite la madre di Kid, un mezzo cretino il padre, per non parlare della storia di come la capra arriva sul tetto del palazzo.
Niente, mi dispiace. Una delusione da ogni punto di vista.
July 13, 2017
Well... I got to page 81 and I was still not engaged. I liked the part about the goat in the beginning and the account of the twin towers, but the rest I was going back and rereading to try and get a sense of a story. This is for someone else to enjoy. No Newbery here.
July 30, 2018
This was an absolutely delightful gem I discovered on my library's Overdrive subscription. We listened to the audiobook in the car on a road trip, and me, my husband, and my five-year-old were all thoroughly engaged. The writing style reminded me quite a bit of Rebecca Stead! Highly recommended for fans of realistic MG. (Be aware, though, that it does have about two swear words and a few mildly suggestive phrases—a little more than is typical of mainstream US middle grade.)
October 3, 2018
https://www.labibliotecadieliza.com/2...
Cosa ci fa una capra sul tetto? È il primo pensiero che mi è venuto in mente scovando questo libricino su Amazon. In realtà la storia di questa capretta di montagna finita su un tetto di New York per un errore letteralmente piovuto dall'alto è un pretesto per introdurre una storia fatta di paure e perdite ma anche di amicizia e di coraggio. Protagonista è Kid, una ragazzina così timida da non riuscire a parlare con un estraneo. Davanti a chi non conosce le guance le diventano di fuoco, la bocca una distesa di sabbia e neanche un piccolo suono esce dalla sua bocca. Quando però si trasferisce a New York con la madre e il padre per badare a Cat, che non è un gatto ma il cane di un cugino, scopre il mistero della capra che abiterebbe il tetto del suo palazzo e che se avvistata porterebbe ben sette anni di fortuna. Vuoi non indagare? A spingerla a fare conoscenza con il vicinato è un nuovo amico, Will, un ragazzino senza genitori ma con una nonna iperprotettiva che cerca di proteggerlo dalla paura delle finestre. Ci sarà veramente un capra su un tetto di New York?
Quella che vi ritroverete a leggere è una piccola grande leggenda metropolitana, ma anche una favola con protagonisti due ragazzini che in qualche modo strano e pittoresco il destino o chi per lui ha voluto fare incontrare, Kid e Will sono ragazzini qualunque ed è per questo che mi sono piaciuti. Sono semplici e innocenti e trovano nella loro amicizia uno sprone a superare quelle piccole e grandi paure che li hanno accompagnati finora. Kid è timida, se qualcuno le fa una domanda non riesce a rispondere, se non con strani suoni. Ma è grazie a Will che piano piano riesce a relazionarsi con gli estranei. Grazie a Will e alla mitica capra che abita sul tetto, fulcro della sua indagine investigativa. E Will? Will ha perso i genitori nelle Torri Gemelle, e se gli adulti davanti ad una notizia così grande ammutoliscono con facce di circostanza e un certo pietismo, Kid, che non sa bene che cosa significa ma che capisce che è una cosa brutta, gli sta semplicemente vicino aiutandolo nella sua paura più grande, le finestre. Non ci vuole certo Freud per capire da dove nasca questa paura, ma Anne Fleming, autrice di questa storia semplice e delicata, ha per me saputo raccontare anche un fatto così enorme nel modo giusto, attraverso gli occhi di due bambini, senza frasi di circostanza, se dire più del necessario, ma semplicemente raccontando come si sono conosciuti. La pietà e la compassione restano fuori da tutto ciò, c'è solo affetto e amicizia, solo voglia di conoscersi un po' di più e magari gironzolare per un museo a fissare la tomba di Perneb.
A contorno delle vicende di Kid, Will e della mitica capra ci sono gli inquilini del palazzo, vite strane o che hanno preso una piega particolare, come Jonathan che, nel momento in cui stava vivendo il sogno della sua vita, è stato fermato da un ictus e dalle premure della moglie; o Joff, scrittore cieco che in compagnia del cane Michigan sfreccia per i marciapiedi con lo skateboard. Tutti si ritroveranno a correre su e giù per scale del palazzo per scoprire se veramente c'è una capra su quel tetto, se veramente una piccola speranza bianca li sta guardando tutti dall'alto, ruminando le loro piante dei balconi, spingendoli a cercare di uscire dal proprio bozzolo, alla ricerca di qualcosa che esiste o forse no. Ma non è questo l'importante, lo è il mettersi in gioco, il superare le proprie paure, il cercare di entrare di nuovo in ascensore da solo dopo mesi di testarda immobilità, o magari riconoscere una voce tanto cercata tra mille. E brava la nostra capretta, che tra un saltello e l'altro passa dall'essere leggenda metropolita a paradigma della ricerca in se stessi, della fiducia negli altri e dell'amore per la vita. Mica poco per una capra di montagna!
Cosa ci fa una capra sul tetto? È il primo pensiero che mi è venuto in mente scovando questo libricino su Amazon. In realtà la storia di questa capretta di montagna finita su un tetto di New York per un errore letteralmente piovuto dall'alto è un pretesto per introdurre una storia fatta di paure e perdite ma anche di amicizia e di coraggio. Protagonista è Kid, una ragazzina così timida da non riuscire a parlare con un estraneo. Davanti a chi non conosce le guance le diventano di fuoco, la bocca una distesa di sabbia e neanche un piccolo suono esce dalla sua bocca. Quando però si trasferisce a New York con la madre e il padre per badare a Cat, che non è un gatto ma il cane di un cugino, scopre il mistero della capra che abiterebbe il tetto del suo palazzo e che se avvistata porterebbe ben sette anni di fortuna. Vuoi non indagare? A spingerla a fare conoscenza con il vicinato è un nuovo amico, Will, un ragazzino senza genitori ma con una nonna iperprotettiva che cerca di proteggerlo dalla paura delle finestre. Ci sarà veramente un capra su un tetto di New York?
Quella che vi ritroverete a leggere è una piccola grande leggenda metropolitana, ma anche una favola con protagonisti due ragazzini che in qualche modo strano e pittoresco il destino o chi per lui ha voluto fare incontrare, Kid e Will sono ragazzini qualunque ed è per questo che mi sono piaciuti. Sono semplici e innocenti e trovano nella loro amicizia uno sprone a superare quelle piccole e grandi paure che li hanno accompagnati finora. Kid è timida, se qualcuno le fa una domanda non riesce a rispondere, se non con strani suoni. Ma è grazie a Will che piano piano riesce a relazionarsi con gli estranei. Grazie a Will e alla mitica capra che abita sul tetto, fulcro della sua indagine investigativa. E Will? Will ha perso i genitori nelle Torri Gemelle, e se gli adulti davanti ad una notizia così grande ammutoliscono con facce di circostanza e un certo pietismo, Kid, che non sa bene che cosa significa ma che capisce che è una cosa brutta, gli sta semplicemente vicino aiutandolo nella sua paura più grande, le finestre. Non ci vuole certo Freud per capire da dove nasca questa paura, ma Anne Fleming, autrice di questa storia semplice e delicata, ha per me saputo raccontare anche un fatto così enorme nel modo giusto, attraverso gli occhi di due bambini, senza frasi di circostanza, se dire più del necessario, ma semplicemente raccontando come si sono conosciuti. La pietà e la compassione restano fuori da tutto ciò, c'è solo affetto e amicizia, solo voglia di conoscersi un po' di più e magari gironzolare per un museo a fissare la tomba di Perneb.
A contorno delle vicende di Kid, Will e della mitica capra ci sono gli inquilini del palazzo, vite strane o che hanno preso una piega particolare, come Jonathan che, nel momento in cui stava vivendo il sogno della sua vita, è stato fermato da un ictus e dalle premure della moglie; o Joff, scrittore cieco che in compagnia del cane Michigan sfreccia per i marciapiedi con lo skateboard. Tutti si ritroveranno a correre su e giù per scale del palazzo per scoprire se veramente c'è una capra su quel tetto, se veramente una piccola speranza bianca li sta guardando tutti dall'alto, ruminando le loro piante dei balconi, spingendoli a cercare di uscire dal proprio bozzolo, alla ricerca di qualcosa che esiste o forse no. Ma non è questo l'importante, lo è il mettersi in gioco, il superare le proprie paure, il cercare di entrare di nuovo in ascensore da solo dopo mesi di testarda immobilità, o magari riconoscere una voce tanto cercata tra mille. E brava la nostra capretta, che tra un saltello e l'altro passa dall'essere leggenda metropolita a paradigma della ricerca in se stessi, della fiducia negli altri e dell'amore per la vita. Mica poco per una capra di montagna!
May 11, 2017
Last year, I was immediately taken in with two titles from independent Canadian publisher Groundwood Books: A Boy Named Queen and Kabungo. Both of those short novels were entirely their own being, unusual and great, stayed with me through the course of the year, and ended up my on best of 2016 lists. Now in 2017 and almost halfway through, the year I think I might be able to say that Groundwood Books has done it again with Anne Fleming's The Goat: one of the most wondrous, curious, heartbreaking and funny books I have had the pleasure of reading this year.
The book description provides an ample- and concise- outline of the story, so I won't get into that much here. I would like to stress though that if you think the plot sounds too peculiar, or with too many characters, or too much quirk, just let Fleming's leveled and focused writing take you along for this unforgettable journey. A multitude of singular characters- circling around young protagonist Kid and her newly-made friend Will- knit together in lucky and tremendous ways as their focus becomes one and the same: find the elusive goat supposedly hiding somewhere in a New York City twelve-story apartment building. Before the big build-up to Kid and Will's final search for the goat, readers gain insight to multiple storylines involving Kid's new apartment neighbours. Some of the storylines include: a senior couple struggling to re-connect and communicate after the husband's stroke; a young skateboarding bestselling-author who can't quite fathom why pigeons are making such bizarre hoofing noises on his apartment ledge; and a man fighting with a life-changing decision made while spreading his father's ashes on a hike in the woods. Covering a plethora of subject matters, from the darker, heartache-inducing to the joyful and wacky, The Goat packs such amazing depths of richness and surprise in its 155 pages.
Imagine, if you will, mixing the writing of Louise Fitzhugh, A.S. King, E.L. Konigsburg and Rebecca Stead, with generous dose of Norton Juster, and you might get something along the lines of The Goat. If that sounds like a dream to you, then I implore to track down this title and savour it. If you are looking to try something outside of your comfort zone with a children's fiction title that reads as eloquent and capable as any adult title I have read lately, then look no further than this title. Truly unique, gorgeous and unexpected, The Goat is an excellent read.
I received a copy of this title courtesy of Groundwood Books/House of Anansi in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.
June 20, 2017
Clearly I was not the target audience for this book. I just didn't get it at all. The main protagonists are all adults; their stories stand front and center. Kid and Will are kind of on the edges of their orbits, never fully developed. They both have a briefly mentioned and briefly exhibited personal issue with which they must deal, Will's being the more serious. They both have a coming-of-age experience, but we really don't know much about them, and so it felt very false to me. We do however, know a lot about Jonathan, Joff, Kenneth, the goat, and even Kid's parents. Why would kids care that much about a bunch of grownups? It felt to me like the whole thing got flipped somehow.
And what's the deal with the goat? Was it an amazing metaphor for something? Or just a quirky thing about Kenneth and his dad? I have no idea, and I don't think many kids will figure it out, too.
The end was not satisfying in the least, although Fleming tried to make it so.
And what's the deal with the goat? Was it an amazing metaphor for something? Or just a quirky thing about Kenneth and his dad? I have no idea, and I don't think many kids will figure it out, too.
The end was not satisfying in the least, although Fleming tried to make it so.
May 24, 2017
Great characters. I'm not sure what the target age range is for this book. I wouldn't recommend it to many young readers because the story seems a bit over their heads. But I would recommend it to any adult who loves to read MG fiction.
June 5, 2020
Great book, but it’s not really a middle grade read. It’s more for 7/8 year olds, but it’s still good!
May 31, 2025
Ha estat bé, però m'esperava alguna cosa més.
June 9, 2018
I LOVED this book. Highly original, whimsical and poignant, it tells the story of a group of characters connected by an apartment building in New York. Their lives converge courtesy of the titular goat, which happens to live on and around the roof of the apartment building.
But I kept thinking to myself, is this a children's book?
Yes. No. Perhaps. To be honest, I don't know. Yes the two main characters were children, struggling, and then overcoming their crippling anxiety and shyness. But large amounts of the book were written from adult perspectives. There's nothing unsuitable in it, it's just unusual to have adult voices in 'children's' texts. For me, that was one of the best things about it, whether its target audience would feel the same, I don't know. I hope so.
The writing style is one barrier children might find hard. It's literary writing for children. Again, I adored this aspect. It added to its originality, and gave the author a distinctive voice.
I would love to know what a young reader makes of it. I'm going to nab a copy for the library from somewhere.
But I kept thinking to myself, is this a children's book?
Yes. No. Perhaps. To be honest, I don't know. Yes the two main characters were children, struggling, and then overcoming their crippling anxiety and shyness. But large amounts of the book were written from adult perspectives. There's nothing unsuitable in it, it's just unusual to have adult voices in 'children's' texts. For me, that was one of the best things about it, whether its target audience would feel the same, I don't know. I hope so.
The writing style is one barrier children might find hard. It's literary writing for children. Again, I adored this aspect. It added to its originality, and gave the author a distinctive voice.
I would love to know what a young reader makes of it. I'm going to nab a copy for the library from somewhere.
July 25, 2017
First sentence: Once there was a mountain goat who lived in New York City.
Premise/plot: A goat lives on the roof of a New York City apartment building. Only a few residents have spotted the goat--and its rumored that if you do see him, you'll have years of good luck. But most don't believe the rumors are true--about the goat being real or about the goat bringing luck. But one person definitely believes, a kid named KID. Kid teams up with her new friends to find out all she can about the goat.
My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. It sounded like it had a great premise. It seemed to promise a dozen or so super quirky characters. The potential for humor was definitely there. And it seemed to have potential for some heart as well: friends to be made, experiences to be gained. But. It remained an "almost" for me. I didn't dislike it. I just didn't love it. I thought it would be memorable and one-of-a-kind. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't awesome.
Premise/plot: A goat lives on the roof of a New York City apartment building. Only a few residents have spotted the goat--and its rumored that if you do see him, you'll have years of good luck. But most don't believe the rumors are true--about the goat being real or about the goat bringing luck. But one person definitely believes, a kid named KID. Kid teams up with her new friends to find out all she can about the goat.
My thoughts: I wanted to love this one. It sounded like it had a great premise. It seemed to promise a dozen or so super quirky characters. The potential for humor was definitely there. And it seemed to have potential for some heart as well: friends to be made, experiences to be gained. But. It remained an "almost" for me. I didn't dislike it. I just didn't love it. I thought it would be memorable and one-of-a-kind. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't awesome.
July 5, 2019
Cute read! This book is set in NYC in your not so typical apartment building where there may or may not be a mountain goat living on the roof.
Some say seeing the goat will bring you seven years of good luck and Kid could use some good luck right about now.
Some say seeing the goat will bring you seven years of good luck and Kid could use some good luck right about now.
July 11, 2020
New York’taki bir apartmanda bir dağ keçisi yaşıyordu. Ancak bunu apartmanda yaşayan kimse bilmiyordu. Ta ki apartmana Küçük ardında bir çocuk taşınana kadar...
Bu kitabı okurken her duyguyu hissettim: Bazen sevindim, bazen üzüldüm, bazen korktum… Ancak yazar hikayeyi çok karışık yazmış. Okumaya başladığımda anlamadım ancak sonra alıştım. Herkese tavsiye ediyorum.
Bu kitabı okurken her duyguyu hissettim: Bazen sevindim, bazen üzüldüm, bazen korktum… Ancak yazar hikayeyi çok karışık yazmış. Okumaya başladığımda anlamadım ancak sonra alıştım. Herkese tavsiye ediyorum.
July 20, 2017
A darling book about blossoming friendships and a gamboling kid traversing their hearts.
May 20, 2021
Una novela breu però molt entretinguda
May 28, 2021
I picked this up because I needed to break out of theology student books for a bit. This book was quick and very enjoyable. I enjoyed the cast of characters, but I felt like it was too short to wrap up all the issues and plot points that were introduced.
June 26, 2022
It’s shockingly rare to find a book for kids that doesn’t shy away from the reality of growing up in a world where people have fears, disabilities, anxieties, death. This is a book that treats children like humans and doesn’t talk down to the reader. It deals with heavier topics but it also isn’t a sad book. It’s a hopeful book.
May 26, 2017
In The Goat a girl named Kid moves into an apartment building near Central Park. She hears a rumor that a goat lives on top of the building, though very few have seen it. Legend says if you see the goat, you will have seven years' good luck. Kid thinks her family needs good luck, so she sets out to see if the goat is real.
"Who is this book for?" I asked myself multiple times while reading The Goat. It's not for me, I knew that much early on, despite the beautiful cover and the perfect size of this little book. I want to own it based on aesthetics alone. But the inside, the actual words, they give me a lot of problems. The book is marketed toward 9- to 11-year-olds, but the book's third-person omniscient POV often focuses on adult characters with adult problems.
The first character we meet, besides the goat, are Jonathan and Doris Fenniford-Lysinski. Jonathan had a stroke, he's depressed, and he's not going to hide his depression. His wife is also depressed, but she tries to hide it behind a sunny demeanor. We also meet blind, skateboarding fantasy novelist Joff Vanderlinden, who has writers block and, one day playing chess in the park, meets a woman who says "buckaroo" and falls in love with her at first non-sight.
Finally, after moving into the building, Kid meets Will, a boy who fell out of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and into this book. His parents died in 9/11 and he now lives with his grandmother. Will likes Spoonerisms which means he switches the lirst fetter of some words. Did I mention that Kid's family is in this apartment building because they're dog-sitting a dog named Cat? That's what passes for comedy in this book.
Now I'm not saying young reads can't or won't appreciate adult themes. It's just that this story isn't told with a young person's voice. The voice is like Jonathan Safran Foer trying to remember what it was like to be a child, yet his memory is fuzzy. As a result, the book falls into this void between young readers and adult fiction.
Void isn't the right word, though, because void implies infinite blackness. No. This book is shallow, which makes it a difficult book to recommend for a reader of any age.
The writing is sometimes inconsistent, like when Kid gets mad at Will and says something like, "Can't you talk normal SOMETIMES so people can understand you?" His Spoonerisms are sporadic, and at least half the time he speaks in perfectly normal English, so that outburst seemed contrived. Also, it's difficult to tell how long the goat has even been there. A week? Years? And if literally only one person in the building has seen the goat, how did Will know about it? Who says you get seven years' good luck? Did he make that up? Did I miss something?
Plus, all the characters are paper-thin with "conflicts," you can call it that, that all resolve on the turn of a dime during the book's zany madcap climax.
Which brings me back to "Who is this book for?" The book's one Amazon review from "margaret m black" says, "This is the BEST chapter book in years. A true hidden gem. My 9 y/o granddaughter was begging for more chapters every night. The real life issues are handled brilliantly. I highly recommend this to all my friends," and little-m margaret gives the book five stars. But margaret can't capitalize her own name, only two people have ever found her reviews helpful, and she gives everything five stars except a pitcher which arrived broken (1 star) and a broken 6" Rotating Ballerina, Nutcracker and Mouse King around Christmas Tree Figurine with Music Box (also 1 star). I don't trust margaret's judgement.
While reading, I concluded the book must appeal to the type of child depicted in the book. One who, insulated by their privilege, has the luxury to wallow in their anxieties. It also would be a book best read aloud by an adult, as the omniscient narrator is written in an adult voice. I guess I agree with margaret on one thing.
Considering all my issues with the book, I do like the way it ends. And for a book that I've criticized as shallow, the ending has a surprising amount of depth to it. All the characters have had anxieties foisted upon them, either by their parents (Kid's parents are their own bundles of privileged anxiety), tragedy, disease, or simply being a goat trapped atop an urban building. Will and Kid attempt to help each other break the anxieties that affect their lives, and by doing so they inadvertently help others do the same. Their quest for the goat gives everyone a sense of stability and peace in the end.
"Who is this book for?" I asked myself multiple times while reading The Goat. It's not for me, I knew that much early on, despite the beautiful cover and the perfect size of this little book. I want to own it based on aesthetics alone. But the inside, the actual words, they give me a lot of problems. The book is marketed toward 9- to 11-year-olds, but the book's third-person omniscient POV often focuses on adult characters with adult problems.
The first character we meet, besides the goat, are Jonathan and Doris Fenniford-Lysinski. Jonathan had a stroke, he's depressed, and he's not going to hide his depression. His wife is also depressed, but she tries to hide it behind a sunny demeanor. We also meet blind, skateboarding fantasy novelist Joff Vanderlinden, who has writers block and, one day playing chess in the park, meets a woman who says "buckaroo" and falls in love with her at first non-sight.
Finally, after moving into the building, Kid meets Will, a boy who fell out of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and into this book. His parents died in 9/11 and he now lives with his grandmother. Will likes Spoonerisms which means he switches the lirst fetter of some words. Did I mention that Kid's family is in this apartment building because they're dog-sitting a dog named Cat? That's what passes for comedy in this book.
Now I'm not saying young reads can't or won't appreciate adult themes. It's just that this story isn't told with a young person's voice. The voice is like Jonathan Safran Foer trying to remember what it was like to be a child, yet his memory is fuzzy. As a result, the book falls into this void between young readers and adult fiction.
Void isn't the right word, though, because void implies infinite blackness. No. This book is shallow, which makes it a difficult book to recommend for a reader of any age.
The writing is sometimes inconsistent, like when Kid gets mad at Will and says something like, "Can't you talk normal SOMETIMES so people can understand you?" His Spoonerisms are sporadic, and at least half the time he speaks in perfectly normal English, so that outburst seemed contrived. Also, it's difficult to tell how long the goat has even been there. A week? Years? And if literally only one person in the building has seen the goat, how did Will know about it? Who says you get seven years' good luck? Did he make that up? Did I miss something?
Plus, all the characters are paper-thin with "conflicts," you can call it that, that all resolve on the turn of a dime during the book's zany madcap climax.
Which brings me back to "Who is this book for?" The book's one Amazon review from "margaret m black" says, "This is the BEST chapter book in years. A true hidden gem. My 9 y/o granddaughter was begging for more chapters every night. The real life issues are handled brilliantly. I highly recommend this to all my friends," and little-m margaret gives the book five stars. But margaret can't capitalize her own name, only two people have ever found her reviews helpful, and she gives everything five stars except a pitcher which arrived broken (1 star) and a broken 6" Rotating Ballerina, Nutcracker and Mouse King around Christmas Tree Figurine with Music Box (also 1 star). I don't trust margaret's judgement.
While reading, I concluded the book must appeal to the type of child depicted in the book. One who, insulated by their privilege, has the luxury to wallow in their anxieties. It also would be a book best read aloud by an adult, as the omniscient narrator is written in an adult voice. I guess I agree with margaret on one thing.
Considering all my issues with the book, I do like the way it ends. And for a book that I've criticized as shallow, the ending has a surprising amount of depth to it. All the characters have had anxieties foisted upon them, either by their parents (Kid's parents are their own bundles of privileged anxiety), tragedy, disease, or simply being a goat trapped atop an urban building. Will and Kid attempt to help each other break the anxieties that affect their lives, and by doing so they inadvertently help others do the same. Their quest for the goat gives everyone a sense of stability and peace in the end.
October 26, 2018
A lovely, fun, quirky story about a mysterious mountain goat living on the top of an apartment building in Manhattan, and a motley crew of tenants, whose lives, in the course of the story, wind together, in hilarious detail. Chess-playing opera singers, lucky Gumby figurines, ventriloquist mosquitos, and the small personal triumphs that make life great, make this book great.
March 3, 2017
A rumoured goat on the roof of a New York apartment and girl named Kid determined to find it lead a cast of characters, residents of the apartment building, atypical to those I usually find in juvenile novels.
Deftly balanced between touching scenes, like a mourning son fulfilling his father's wishes and others clever and charming and even slapstick comedy involving the goat, a dog named Cat (Catherine the Great) and a fire escape.
A mystery yes, but more than that, a story about facing fears and accepting change.
Deftly balanced between touching scenes, like a mourning son fulfilling his father's wishes and others clever and charming and even slapstick comedy involving the goat, a dog named Cat (Catherine the Great) and a fire escape.
A mystery yes, but more than that, a story about facing fears and accepting change.
September 6, 2018
Recensione a cura del blog Il salotto del gatto libraio
http://ilsalottodelgattolibraio.blogs...
Grazie ad un buono Mondadori aggirandomi per la libreria, mi sono imbattuta in un libro dal titolo molto curioso e dalla copertina veramente carina, Una capra sul tetto.
Solitamente non leggo mai la trama, mi faccio sempre guidare dall'istinto o al massimo dai consigli delle altre blogger...mi è sempre andata bene... fino a questo momento...
Apparentemente Una capra sul tetto sembra una storia carina, fatta di incontri, nuove amicizie e di persone che riescono, grazie all'aiuto di altre, a superare le proprie difficoltà e paure ma tolto questo, il libro è veramente sconclusionato e poco interessante.
Andiamo con ordine...una capra sul tetto nella città più confusionaria del mondo, New York? Questo mi ha fatto subito presagire che il libro non sarebbe sicuramente nella top ten dei miei libri preferiti.
I protagonisti di questa storia sono due giovani ragazzi, Kid una ragazza timida e introversa che trasferitasi a New York con la famiglia, per badare al cane dello zio, Cat, troverà una simpatica compagnia in Will, un ragazzo che avendo perso i genitori nell'attentato dell'11 settembre, è diventato acrofobico.
Nel palazzo in cui si è momentaneamente trasferita Kid, si mormorà che sul tetto viva una capra e che porti sette anni di fortuna (e non sfortuna) a chiunque la veda! Secondo voi cosa faranno i due ragazzi?
Ovviamente si metteranno alla ricerca di questa fantomatica capra.
Alla storia dei due ragazzi e della ricerca alla capra, si intrecceranno anche le storie e le vite degli altri inquilini di questo pittoresco palazzo... faremo così la conoscenza di Joff lo scrittore cieco amante dello skateboard, di Johnathan, che a causa di un ictus si è visto portare via il sogno di una vita o di Kenneth convinto che il padre si sia reincarnato proprio in quella capra.
Verrano quindi toccate molteplici situazioni che, nell'arco della vita, potrebbero presentarsi a ad ognuno di noi, come la paura della perdita e la convivenza di questa, la difficoltà ad esprimersi a causa della timidezza, l'acrofobia o semplicemente l'ostinazione a non voler accettare l'aiuto di altri.
Il simbolo della capretta che trotterella felice e spensierata nel tetto del palazzo e che porta Fortuna a a chiunque ha la possibilità di vederla, diventa in realtà, un messaggio di speranza, una metafora per quelle persone che hanno smesso di lottare e che non credono più nelle proprie possibilità. .
Il flusso della vita. Che miracolo assurdo. O forse no, non era affatto assurdo. E, forse, nemmeno un miracolo.
Detto ciò questo libro mi ha dato l'impressione di trovarvi dentro alla classica commedia napoletana...caciaronam confusionario e piena di personaggi imperfetti.
Nonostante l'autrice voglia trasmettere un messaggio di speranza e coraggio, questo libro non mi ha colpito tantossimo e se devo dirla tutta, il finale mi ha lasciato veramente perplessa.
Chissà magari mi sbaglio e sicuramente voi riuscirete a vedere più di quello che ho visto io, però per quanto mi riguarda, Una capra sul tetto è stato bocciato!
http://ilsalottodelgattolibraio.blogs...
Grazie ad un buono Mondadori aggirandomi per la libreria, mi sono imbattuta in un libro dal titolo molto curioso e dalla copertina veramente carina, Una capra sul tetto.
Solitamente non leggo mai la trama, mi faccio sempre guidare dall'istinto o al massimo dai consigli delle altre blogger...mi è sempre andata bene... fino a questo momento...
Apparentemente Una capra sul tetto sembra una storia carina, fatta di incontri, nuove amicizie e di persone che riescono, grazie all'aiuto di altre, a superare le proprie difficoltà e paure ma tolto questo, il libro è veramente sconclusionato e poco interessante.
Andiamo con ordine...una capra sul tetto nella città più confusionaria del mondo, New York? Questo mi ha fatto subito presagire che il libro non sarebbe sicuramente nella top ten dei miei libri preferiti.
I protagonisti di questa storia sono due giovani ragazzi, Kid una ragazza timida e introversa che trasferitasi a New York con la famiglia, per badare al cane dello zio, Cat, troverà una simpatica compagnia in Will, un ragazzo che avendo perso i genitori nell'attentato dell'11 settembre, è diventato acrofobico.
Nel palazzo in cui si è momentaneamente trasferita Kid, si mormorà che sul tetto viva una capra e che porti sette anni di fortuna (e non sfortuna) a chiunque la veda! Secondo voi cosa faranno i due ragazzi?
Ovviamente si metteranno alla ricerca di questa fantomatica capra.
Alla storia dei due ragazzi e della ricerca alla capra, si intrecceranno anche le storie e le vite degli altri inquilini di questo pittoresco palazzo... faremo così la conoscenza di Joff lo scrittore cieco amante dello skateboard, di Johnathan, che a causa di un ictus si è visto portare via il sogno di una vita o di Kenneth convinto che il padre si sia reincarnato proprio in quella capra.
Verrano quindi toccate molteplici situazioni che, nell'arco della vita, potrebbero presentarsi a ad ognuno di noi, come la paura della perdita e la convivenza di questa, la difficoltà ad esprimersi a causa della timidezza, l'acrofobia o semplicemente l'ostinazione a non voler accettare l'aiuto di altri.
Il simbolo della capretta che trotterella felice e spensierata nel tetto del palazzo e che porta Fortuna a a chiunque ha la possibilità di vederla, diventa in realtà, un messaggio di speranza, una metafora per quelle persone che hanno smesso di lottare e che non credono più nelle proprie possibilità. .
Il flusso della vita. Che miracolo assurdo. O forse no, non era affatto assurdo. E, forse, nemmeno un miracolo.
Detto ciò questo libro mi ha dato l'impressione di trovarvi dentro alla classica commedia napoletana...caciaronam confusionario e piena di personaggi imperfetti.
Nonostante l'autrice voglia trasmettere un messaggio di speranza e coraggio, questo libro non mi ha colpito tantossimo e se devo dirla tutta, il finale mi ha lasciato veramente perplessa.
Chissà magari mi sbaglio e sicuramente voi riuscirete a vedere più di quello che ho visto io, però per quanto mi riguarda, Una capra sul tetto è stato bocciato!
June 9, 2017
What did I think? Eh.
I only read it because someone in a group had recommended it, and I guess we have different tastes in books. I only kept reading because I thought it would get better, then I was so close to the end that I just finished it.
The third-person omniscient perspective is confusing, I felt it should've been first-person through Kid's eyes. And (to agree with a previous reviewer) this book deals with too many adult feelings about adulting to be relatable to the middle grade students who are supposedly the target audience. It was also, in my opinion, anticlimactic and lacking in character development. The long chapters also made the pace of the book very slow - this was the longest 155p book I've ever read. I also strongly disagree with the author's portrayal of homeschoolers.
Questions I would ask the author:
1) Who names their kid Kid? Why does every other character have a regular name except for (arguably) the main character?
2) Was there supposed to be a parallel between Kid and the kid (young goat)?
3) Why so many adult problems and feelings in a children's book?
Potential Spoiler Alert: quoting a line from the book and expounding on it - "It was not a tall building. By Manhattan standards it was short." After I read this line, the book was spoiled for me. If there was a goat on the roof of a short building in Manhattan, thousands of people are likely to see it from one of the taller buildings near by. The entire premise of the book relies on thousands of people not reporting seeing a goat on a building, which seems highly unlikely. Sure, New Yorkers see crazy things all the time, but still... C'mon.
I will not be recommending this book.
I only read it because someone in a group had recommended it, and I guess we have different tastes in books. I only kept reading because I thought it would get better, then I was so close to the end that I just finished it.
The third-person omniscient perspective is confusing, I felt it should've been first-person through Kid's eyes. And (to agree with a previous reviewer) this book deals with too many adult feelings about adulting to be relatable to the middle grade students who are supposedly the target audience. It was also, in my opinion, anticlimactic and lacking in character development. The long chapters also made the pace of the book very slow - this was the longest 155p book I've ever read. I also strongly disagree with the author's portrayal of homeschoolers.
Questions I would ask the author:
1) Who names their kid Kid? Why does every other character have a regular name except for (arguably) the main character?
2) Was there supposed to be a parallel between Kid and the kid (young goat)?
3) Why so many adult problems and feelings in a children's book?
Potential Spoiler Alert: quoting a line from the book and expounding on it - "It was not a tall building. By Manhattan standards it was short." After I read this line, the book was spoiled for me. If there was a goat on the roof of a short building in Manhattan, thousands of people are likely to see it from one of the taller buildings near by. The entire premise of the book relies on thousands of people not reporting seeing a goat on a building, which seems highly unlikely. Sure, New Yorkers see crazy things all the time, but still... C'mon.
I will not be recommending this book.
October 7, 2021
Un cop més assisteixo amb estupor a l'última moda del mercat editorial juvenil. Publicar com a literatura juvenil i inclús infantil, histories que surten nens i que tenen alguna cosa de realisme màgic. Si ja a la ressenya de La casa de Mango Street compartia aquesta preocupació, ara s'accentua.
Aquest cop es repeteixen algunes de les mateixes problemàtiques que a la Casa de Mango Street. Microhistòries vertebrades en un eix central però complicades per a molts adolescents de connectar. Això de per si ja provocarà desmotivació i abandonament a molts d'aquestes lectors. Un altre errada és que de vegades la visió o el relat és massa infantil (cosa que per suposat disgustarà a un adolescent que intenta apartar-se del món infantil), batalletes llunyanes (aquest cop d'un supervivents dels atemptats del 11-S), salt cap a protagonistes adults (del qual els adolescents també es volen distanciar), perspectiva del narrador en terecera persona omniscient massa confusa, masses personatges i massa confusos, etc.
L'única cosa positiva que he trobat des d'un punt de vista adolescent, és que és curta. I tot i així, se m'ha fet molt llarga.
És una novel·la que poden gaudir els adolescents? Sí. Tot i que molt pocs. És una novel·la per adolescents? Definitivament no.
Aquest cop es repeteixen algunes de les mateixes problemàtiques que a la Casa de Mango Street. Microhistòries vertebrades en un eix central però complicades per a molts adolescents de connectar. Això de per si ja provocarà desmotivació i abandonament a molts d'aquestes lectors. Un altre errada és que de vegades la visió o el relat és massa infantil (cosa que per suposat disgustarà a un adolescent que intenta apartar-se del món infantil), batalletes llunyanes (aquest cop d'un supervivents dels atemptats del 11-S), salt cap a protagonistes adults (del qual els adolescents també es volen distanciar), perspectiva del narrador en terecera persona omniscient massa confusa, masses personatges i massa confusos, etc.
L'única cosa positiva que he trobat des d'un punt de vista adolescent, és que és curta. I tot i així, se m'ha fet molt llarga.
És una novel·la que poden gaudir els adolescents? Sí. Tot i que molt pocs. És una novel·la per adolescents? Definitivament no.
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