Better With Butter

by Victoria Piontek

A girl with anxiety disorder finds an unlikely friend -- and emotional support animal -- in the form of an adorable fainting goat. Twelve-year-old Marvel is afraid of absolutely everything -- amusement park rides, food poisoning, earthquakes, and that big island of plastic floating through the ocean. She also obsesses about smaller worries like making friends, getting called on by the teacher, and walking home alone. Her parents and the school therapist call her worries an anxiety disorder, but Marvel calls them armor. If something can happen, it will. She needs to be prepared. But when Marvel stumbles on a group of older kids teasing a baby goat that has mysteriously shown up on the soccer field, she momentarily forgets to be afraid and rescues the frightened animal. Only Butter isn't any old goat. She's a fainting goat. When Butter feels panic, she freezes up and falls over. Marvel knows exactly how Butter feels and precisely what Butter needs--her. Soon, the two are inseparable, and Butter thrives under Marvel's support. But Butter also helps Marvel. Everything is better with Butter by her side, and Marvel starts to imagine a life in which she doesn’t have to be so afraid . . . until she’s told she might have to give up Butter forever. Will Marvel find a way to fight for her friend? Or will she revert back to the anxious, lonely person she used to be?

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Mental Health, Audiobook, Animals, Contemporary, Fiction

Audio CD

First published July 20, 2021

About the author

Victoria Piontek is the author of The Spirit of Cattail County, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year and a Sequoyah Children’s Masterlist selection. As a kid, she was lucky to have a menagerie of pets, including a goat that liked to follow her to the school bus each morning. When she's not writing, you can find her hiking with her gigantic fluffy dog.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many things we eat are "better with butter." When my husband saw this book in our kitchen he was hoping it was a cookbook -- with lots of butter. Actually this book is not about butter, but about a goat named Butter who becomes an Emotional Support Animal for a girl named Marvel with severe anxiety issues. There were some really great components to the story of Marvel and her goat. Top of the list is Butter herself. She is cuteness to the max -- a fainting goat! Since the book is written in first person, we get a ringside seat to the experiences of anxiety and how Butter helps tactilely and emotionally to calm Marvel. Her dad is deployed for the Navy and is able to have some shore leave as part of the narrative. Marvel's thoughts on what it is like when her dad is away and when he comes home are a wonderful window into that life. Finally, we see how Butter can help not just Marvel but other students in the school -- when she isn't trying to eat books and paper. This would make a delightful classroom read aloud for 3rd grade and up.

[Jena (lit_editions) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update reread 8/2023:

I will forever love this book! This is just one of those books that everyone needs to read. Marvel is a reflection of a lot of people they I’ve met and know. She’s relatable and makes it’s easy for us to become immersed with her story. You need to read it!


Yasss “Better with Butter” this book was everything I needed…a feel good and relatable novel. This book exposed me okay!!!

My Review:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cak3lTzri...

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading with WOW, grandchild 4.3. . . .

A great book! Marvel is full of anxiety, worry and over-abundant nerves. School poses nightmarish possibilities of failure and dread. Then one day she meets Butter, a fainting goat.

Together they work through their problems, one at a time.

A great read! Especially with someone you love.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the Bookends Reading Challenge
February - Read a feel-good book

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have anxiety about things? What about everything? Maybe a goat could help? Sure couldn't hurt. Marvel learns techniques and skills to help her manage those feelings and doesn't have to only rely on her goat. Plus, a goat!
"I turn and walk toward our car as Butter bounces along beside me."
ADORABLE! This book is easily the monster test. Does your heart swell three sizes when Butter's adorableness is brought up? No? Monster.

[Sharon Waltrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and engaging, this book explains anxiety from the inside out. English teachers in middle grades need to assign and discuss this in class. Excellent.

[Mitzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful story of a young girl, Marvel, who suffers from anxiety and the emotional support that the goat, Butter, provides. Butter is no ordinary goat, by the way, but is specifically a fainting goat. (Yes, that is another term for a myotonic goat which is an actual type of goat.) In addition to sharing insights regarding how to better support individuals with anxiety, it is a heartwarming book about personal growth. Very relatable for children of all ages.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful middle school book about a girl who has anxiety. She finds a goat who calms her down, so she crafts a plan to have Butter become her Emotional Support Animal. There are some twists and turns that will keep young readers engaged.

An Oregon Battle of the Books pick for grades 3-5.

[Pine Reads Review]

“Not only does Butter need me specifically—the only person in the world who can truly understand what myotonia congenita must be like for her—but I need Butter. I already love her. She’s the puzzle piece I didn’t know I was missing, and now that I’ve found her, I can’t let her go.”

From earthquakes and amusement park rides to food poisoning and global warming, it’s no secret that the world is full of scary things. This is something twelve-year-old Marvel knows for a fact, since her anxiety disorder pretty much makes “impending doom” her default setting. On her way home from a particularly disastrous public speaking presentation, Marvel stumbles upon Butter, an adorable fainting goat in need of saving, and for once doesn’t hesitate to help the startled animal. It’s love at first sight because, just like Marvel has trouble with her anxiety, Butter also freezes up and topples over when she’s scared. The longer they spend together, the closer these two kindred spirits grow and the better Marvel starts to feel. But when her time with Butter may come to an end, will Marvel find strength in friendship and inner courage? Or lose her newfound friend forever?

From the author of The Spirit of Cattail County, Victoria Piontek’s sophomore middle-grade novel is a must-read for anyone who wants the ride-or-die friendship of Because of Winn-Dixie—but with fainting goats. (And I mean, who wouldn’t?) In all seriousness, I don’t think an ending has made me cry so much in a while. (They were happy tears, don’t worry.) I loved seeing Marvel struggle, grow, and find her courage with the help of the adorable fainting goat, Butter. Their friendship is truly one-of-kind and sure to pull at the heartstrings of anyone who picks up this tender story.

The anxiety representation is nuanced and honest—I love seeing therapy normalized in children’s books!—and in no way treats mental health as something that can/must be “fixed.” Rather, Better With Butter is about a young girl finding the right tools, support system, and confidence in herself to not only succeed in, but enjoy all the things life has to offer. All in all, I (somewhat) selfishly wish this book had existed when I was a kid, but am nevertheless happy that it’s coming to shelves today. With a great cast of characters, a delightfully witty voice, and plenty of pitch-perfect humor, Marvel and Butter will surely capture the hearts of young readers everywhere.

Content Warnings: main character with an anxiety disorder, bullying, mention of divorce, animal is temporarily sick

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank the publisher and author for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!

[Jamie Mirano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! One of my students recommended this book to me and she brought in her personal copy for me to read. I was a little hesitant because I didn’t want to have to fake a positive reaction. However, this was an AMAZING book- even if it’s written for middle schoolers!! I cried three times by the end of it 🥹

[Bell Of The Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the reasons I'm so glad I broadened my reading horizons to include YA and JF - books like this!

Better With Butter, what isn't!?
I'm not a fan of dairy, or rather its not a fan of me, but this kind of Butter is now my all-time-fave!

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She's 12, she's afraid, she's a loner, she's an over-thinker, she's always anxious.
This is our young MC, Marvel (cool name FYI).
We begin with seeing inside Marvel's life of high anxiety, all her fears, imaginations, possible "what-could-go-wrong" moments she envisions.
Then enter into her life one adorable mini goat and everything begins to change.

Butter (the goats name) creates a space for Marvel to begin relocating her hyper-fears/anxiety, as she now has somewhere to put her thoughts and time - into the care of Butter.

Marvel learns she is actually braver than she ever knew, that love can help us through the hardest challenges, that many others struggle with life and fears (even adults!), and that it isn't all about ridding oneself of fear/anxiety, but about seeing and enjoying the wonderful things around us all along.

If I was a crier, this book would have soaked up some serious tears.
The beautiful emotion that's packed into this well written JFic is what makes it a 5-star.
Its a heartwarming, soul searching, love-inducing, high-squeeze-factor of 100!

Please pick this one up for those moments you need a perfect feel-good book, you won't regret it. <3

[Charlotte Fairbanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! A really sweet book!
I would recommend this for ages 9+

[Mariah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler warning for most of the book, the broader story points are discussed, but a lot of the smaller connections are not. Read at your own risk.

As a chronic worrywart myself, Marvel was a bit much even for me. And by that I mean while my particular brand of neurodivergence would never have allowed me to freeze up in front of everyone - I needed a perfect score far too much to be taken out by that - I have definitely had my fair share of inexplicable, anxiety ridden decisions. By the time I was Marvel's age my anxiety was largely internal outside of a few select people (read: like 2 people) I'd allow to be aware. Outwardly, though shy and quiet, I masked until I was an adult - the true depths of my anxiety was firmly hidden. I passed it off as the average everyday nerves most people feel. 

All of this is to say while Marvel is great representation I found her exhausting. Anxiety makes you annoying and selfish. I say this as someone whose anxiety has historically made them annoying and selfish. Everyone has been and will be annoying and selfish at some point, so it's not like this is a major revelation. However, anxiety disorders tend to make you controlling. It's a fact of life that you can't have it your way all day every day. Anxious people who try to force life to conform rather than learning healthy ways to cope end up excessively annoying and selfish - this is putting it mildly. Marvel absolutely falls into this paradigm.

She has a very humiliating moment in front of the whole school at the beginning of the book. She's super lucky that her mother believes her about her anxiety and, as such, is willing to come pick her up. Her mother ends up not being able to come because traffic is so bad in the middle of the day. But, she gives Marvel permission to walk. Rather than be grateful she still gets to go home, Marvel is now upset that her mother is making her walk because Marvel hates walking home due to her anxiety about the giant field on the way there. 

Little moments like these are littered throughout even continuing for some time after she gets Butter since she uses Butter as a crutch. It makes sense narratively, still irritating either way.

The emotional weight of Marvel's distance with her father - he's in the Navy and has been on long-term leave the last few years not able to visit often - is snuffed out weirdly early. Marvel has an issue at school, they call her father and apropos of nothing she just immediately tells him about this deep-seated issue she has in regards to him. This occurs right about the 50% mark, which, again, was weird because of how abruptly it was concluded. She has this massive fear of her father knowing the 'real' her because she doesn't want to ruin the short amount of time he has on leave with her drama. 

I thought for sure that in the end, he'd reveal he was going to have permanent leave or something which would have her whole crusade to be 'normal' in front of him crumbling down. Or even if he doesn't have shore leave permanently, when he left she'd get upset at losing Butter and him enough to actually tell him how she felt and then he'd tell her something akin to 'Butter and I live in your heart. We're always with you even when your anxiety makes you feel alone'.

It kind of felt like Victoria Piontek just didn't want to write the storyline anymore as the supposed distance between the two was similarly underdeveloped. 

There was a moment when Marvel was surprised her Dad knew something about her, and she had this minor revelation like 'oh, mom must have told him', and I wanted more moments like that. More indications that her father wanted to know Marvel and Marvel's anxiety was getting in the way of seeing that. More growing pains between the two; it's hard for a parent to be in the military both for the family and for the parent who is away. I wanted to see more of how that affected the dynamics of the household.

Like when he shows up, he undermines the moms' authority by pushing to let Marvel keep Butter. It's an objectively awful idea as there is no way of telling if Butter has an owner, Marvel is already ridiculously attached, and the mom simply has a right to not want a pet in the household. Let us see some of that power struggle, the mom relearning how to let him have a say, the dad relearning how to function as a pair, Marvel relearning how a two parent decision making team works. How is her older brother affected by this upheaval as the kid who actually remembers their dad being around vs Marvel whose memories are hazier?

Instead, like I said before, an engrossing plot line just stops right smack dab in the middle of the book. 

Piontek tries to say that Dad being there even on leave is real life too, not a vacation from it as the reason for why Marvel should tell him about her struggles except a passing visit not worth expressing genuine emotions on is exactly how it feels because the family lacks any kind of realistic conflict. And there is absolutely no way that there is no conflict - whether that be an adjustment to schedules, the inclusion of another person in private rituals or no longer being able to do something special as a result of the addition - when a person who has been gone for over a year returns to a household. 

The pacing isn't good. Halfway through, it feels like the book is only getting started. The whole thing in the synopsis about Marvel taking Butter everywhere doesn't occur until 60% in making her reliance on her feel super unhealthy and rushed. It would have made more sense to start earlier to give more time to better establish Butter as a fixture in Marvel's life. The play that counts for so much of Marvel's grade, and is set up basically as the final challenge for her doesn't even get a theme until over 60% in. There were only 5 weeks of school left at that point: why wait until then to choose a theme for something that apparently has been the focal point of the entire semester? Wouldn't that be something chosen at the very latest in January? Especially since they do a play every year as part of the 6th grade curriculum. 

Marvel doesn't want to go to group therapy because she doesn't want to discuss her anxieties. It gets thrown in at the 88% mark when it was much too late to matter. I like the idea of Marvel going, but I don't think the act of her going should have been the major turning point.

I think her mother should have made keeping Butter conditional upon her going to group therapy for a few weeks. This would have acted as a counterbalance to her dependence on Butter. Learning how to process her anxiety in healthier ways would have set the stage for after Butter is taken away. Butter was helping but she was actually improving all on her own by using the methods and didn't realize it.

This is intended to be the message in the end either way, however, it fell flat for me because of how reliant Marvel was on Butter. Once she didn't have her it did not ring true that she was able to continue on like she had beforehand when she was literally eating, sleeping, breathing Butter before. If I had evidence that Marvel was learning skills and implementing them without her knowledge, the message would have clicked better. 

Marvel has a bully named Jamie that I knew was going to be redeemed from the get-go, yet it doesn't happen until 90% into the book. It's another reason the group should have been a bigger deal. We would have had insight along the way as to why he was acting like a bully, showcased how anxiety manifests differently for everyone, and it would have been an authentic means of developing the relationship between the two characters. It was really dismissive of the very real pain bullies inflict to tack on a sad backstory on the end for Jamie with the intention of emotionally manipulating the readership to feel bad for not liking him before or for wishing him ill will because 'See? You never know what people are going through'. 

Like, I really don't care if Jamie's parents are divorcing. He's a jerk. I appreciate that he's getting therapy and I'm not passing permanent judgment on him as a person, but I did not bear witness to any kind of internal journey in regards to him so I have no reason to be overly sympathetic. I also resent the subtle implication that being the bigger person means ignoring how awful the person is. You can refuse to take the bait and still absolutely despise a person. You can feel bad for their situation and hate them all the same. It's not one or the other: them having an understandable reason for acting out doesn't inherently deserve kindness, particularly if it's negative enough behavior to adversely affect another person long-term. Politeness outwardly, loathing inwardly, is an exceedingly common decision. 

It'd be one thing if Jamie was a real character or at least apologized. As it stands, he's merely a prop. 

The book might have received 3 stars if Butter had stayed with her owner at the end, and Marvel just visited her, but nope. She gets to keep Butter, AND she gets to continue bringing her to school despite not expressly needing her any longer. I would have even settled for her, keeping Butter if she at least left her home during the day. 

Kids will certainly enjoy it because kids love animal books. The anxiety is very well done - Marvel's reasoning for why she can't take the public bus anywhere is my EXACT reasoning for avoiding it even to this day  - and I think it's got a good point about debilitating anxiety largely being about perspective. As an adult I say nay, as a person who's acutely aware that I'm reading a book far outside my demographic I say: go ahead and read it, it's not like it's hurting anybody. 

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: It's not easy being a coward. In fact, it takes a lot of work to be afraid of everything.

Premise/plot: Marvel, our heroine, is afraid of EVERYTHING. Which is a problem considering that if she doesn't get over at least some of her fears by the time of the sixth grade play, well, she won't be passing sixth grade. The book opens with a terrifying panic attack--on stage in front of EVERYONE. But soon after her totally humiliating experience--an experience which earns her the nickname Frosty, by a few bullies--she stumbles across a miniature fainting goat named BUTTER. Forgetting about herself, temporarily at least, she steps in to "save" Butter from some bullies and ends up taking the goat home with her! With Butter by her side (mostly by her side) as an emotional support animal, Marvel's anxiety lessens and her world expands....but what if finders keepers doesn't apply? What if Butter's real owner shows up? Can Marvel succeed without Butter?

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one. I could relate to Marvel. I thought Butter was adorable. There were so many things that felt oh-so-right about this middle grade novel. I even liked that the sixth graders decided to put on a stage play production of HEIDI so that Butter could be near Marvel.

Quotes:

Worrying is my brain's background music. Sometimes the volume is high, sometimes it's low, but it's never off. I can literally worry about anything, but right now it feels like the current playlist is the same five songs--"Stage Fright," "Everyone Laughed," "Caught on Video," "They Called Her Frosty," "Sixth Grade Failure"--on a constant loop.

"You know, I might not ever get over my anxiety completely."
"You might not," Mom agrees.
"It might always be a part of me, but I think now I understand it doesn't have to be the biggest part." As soon as I say it, I know it's true.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel has severe anxiety. She completely freezes when she’s forced to present a project on stage at school. On her way home, she finds a fainting goat being teased by some kids. She rescues the goat and brings her home, feeling a kinship with the animal who faints when she’s scared. Though Marvel’s mom nixes the goat, her dad lets her take in Butter until her owner can be found.

I found Marvel to be a really unlikable character. She manipulates her parents and teachers to get what she wants and never gets called out for being untruthful. Instead, through a series of completely unrealistic events, she is able to bring the goat to school as an “emotional support animal”.
She is also gifted Butter from her original owner, Gloria. Gloria sees how much they have bonded, and no one bothers to mention that this is mostly because Marvel purposely took blurry pictures and hid signs so that Gloria wouldn't find Butter.
Not to mention, Marvel becomes completely dependent on Butter, This is an unhealthy coping mechanism, and not actual progress in overcoming her anxiety.

I found the Butter subplot frustrating and not as interesting as Marvel’s family dynamic. Her father has just returned home on leave from the Navy, which disrupts their routine, but this is underdeveloped and resolves quickly.

Marvel also does no research on goat care or training and never takes Butter to a vet. She seems to constantly put Butter in situations that could cause fainting, like class visits, the pet store, and the play, and doesn’t think twice about it. This portrayal of irresponsible treatment of animals was disappointing.

Overall kids will probably like reading about a cute goat, but this is not a title I will recommend.

[Hannah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel has a lot of anxiety and it's affecting her friendships, grades, and ability to make it through a school day. One day, while walking home from school, she stumbles upon a group of kids bullying a fainting goat. Summoning courage that she doesn't think she has, Marvel intervenes and rescues the goat, who has a name tag that reads, Butter. Butter and Marvel are instant friends and protectors of each other.

Marvel learns that Butter can be an emotional support animal and begins taking her to school. With Butter at her side, Marvel is finally able to relax and make friends. Her anxiety still hums along in the background, but it's manageable.

Will her principal allow her to keep bringing Butter to school and will Butter's previous owner show up? I'm not telling!

I think Piontek does a great job illustrating what it's like to have anxiety. I have struggled with anxiety my entire life, but I found myself occasionally frustrated with Marvel's inability to take action and get out of her own mind. I think this demonstrates how beautifully complex Marvel’s character is. I saw a lot of myself in Marvel (oh how I wish I had an emotional support fainting goat to get me through the tough years!), but I also felt a lot of empathy for her family and classmates who were trying to befriend, love, and support her. Anxiety is hard, and connecting with those who have anxiety is hard. Bravo, Piontek for demonstrating both sides so well!

Though I think goats are stinky and a little obnoxious (I’ve spent some time on a goat farm), I couldn’t resist Butter’s charm. I was really impressed with how many tricks Marvel taught Butter and how deeply they loved one another.

After reading this I surrendered to the almighty Google and happily disappeared into the world of fainting goats and their contribution to the world of emotional support animals. I urge you to do the same. Especially if you are having a tough day and need the kind of love only a fainting goat can give.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butter is an emotional support goat to sixth grade girl -Marvel- who has serious anxiety. Marvel came across Butter when some older kids were enjoying causing the fainting goat to faint. So Marvel stood up to these kids and took the goat home. The principal at her school is terrible, but somehow ends up giving permission for Butter to be there, which helps Marvel cope with school. The first year teacher is pretty clueless. I particularly like the Dad in the story. Will Butter’s actual owner turn up and take Butter back? The story is somewhat predictable, but sweet.

[Librariann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took the whole summer to read this aloud to Will, because I kept getting too sleepy and I didn't want to do the voices BUT! I didn't read ahead and we finished it together.

I remain so impressed by the number of books currently available to kids which depict main characters who are grappling with anxiety, IF ONLY, thinks 10 to 12 year old Ann, MAYBE I would have learned some effective coping techniques at a young age!

Will: "Marvel's like me but with way more anxiety and you are exactly like the mom because you love plants."

Yep, here I am, overidentifying with the mom of a challenging and anxious kid.

Anyway. This was cute but extremely unrealistic. Adding an extra star because this was a chapter book that my chapter book hating, goatsyaygoats loving kid was enthusiastic to read (or at least listen to).

The begging for an emotional support cat continues. Mostly at bedtime.

[Paddy Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better with butter is a story with a 12 year old girl that has a disorder that makes her faint, and when she does a presentation she faints and discovers that she needs a pet. When she finds a goat eating trash she takes it home and asks her parents to keep her. When the kids decide what play to put on they choose one with a goat. A few weeks later she sees an unfamiliar car parked on their driveway and realizes that it is the goats owner. Will she make it through the play or will she faint?

[Emily Haage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Marvel to be such a relatable character—hello, anxiety-ridden 6th grade me! I also now want a pet goat.

Middle-grade for kids who like realistic fiction, all the feels, animals, and a good dose of middle school drama (friends, bullies, extreme embarrassment, etc).

Iowa Children’s Choice Award nominee 2023-24

[Mandie Nault · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful story of anxiety, courage, and love. My 4th grader struggles with anxiety and this is her new favorite book!
I wasn’t expecting to have this book make me tear up the way it did. Highly recommend

[Amanda Tyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional support goat named Butter? How could I resist. I fell in love with that little fainting goat, and I believe anyone who reads this book will fall in love too. Cutest little feel good story.

[Beth Reynolds Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book that is very well written.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding, great for Middle Aged students!

[Fia Rapson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better with butter is so good I should read it again!

[Grace Minter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Better with butter a great story of Marvel needing butter and butter needing her 🩷I love how they work out all there challenges together Amazing story and book!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this book!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anxiety ridden 6th grader finds a fainting goat that becomes her emotional support animal making everything “better with Butter.”

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle grade contemporary realistic fiction. I have a confession: I had no idea what this book was about but every time I saw that little goat I just had to smile-- the cover completely hooked me. What I found was an achingly real book about a girl with severe anxiety. Marvel is in 6th grade and taking the required public speaking class. The two main projects for the class are an individual speech about a famous person from their state and a class play at the end of the year. Marvel worked hard on her speech, choosing a lesser known person with a simple outfit. But when it was her turn to speak, she got paralyzing stage fright. It wasn't just that she couldn't talk, but she couldn't move and two staff members had to physically carry her off the stage! Poor Marvel wants nothing more to start homeschool and forget it ever happened. But her military dad comes home and helps her look at things in a new perspective.

Soon after Marvel walks home and sees a group of kids tormenting a small goat. The goat falls over sideways and the kids laugh. Marvel immediately identifies with the goat and manages to scare the other kids off. She takes the goat home-- it is in rough shape, dirty and smelly with only a small name tag that says Butter. Some research shows that the goat is a fainting goat and that the falling over is completely normal for it. Marvel is surprised at how much strength she feels on the goat's behalf and gets the idea to use the goat as an emotional support animal. She works on training it, registers it online, and repurposes her brother's soccer pinnie as a vest. Then she sets off to school.

School is where things get interesting. Marvel enjoys telling people about Butter and what they can do to make sure she doesn't faint. She is able to advocate for the goat in a way that she could never do for herself. She is also able to help others, which has not usually been possible since she's so wrapped up in her own thoughts. The act of taking a live animal to school, especially a found one that still has another owner somewhere, is not without risks. But this story is so warm and encouraging that it makes the risks seem worth taking. Highly recommend for upper elementary and middle grade readers and classrooms.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy book birthday to this lovely #mglit book about anxiety!
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Thanks to @scholasticinc for the free book to review. This is book 20 for #30booksummer
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Marvel worries about everything. When she finds a small abandoned goat (Butter!) on her way home from school and discovers it is a *fainting* goat, she forgets her fears and rescues the animal. Soon Butter and Marvel are a bonded pair and Marvel even finds a way to bring Butter to school as an emotional support animal. They help each other face their fears and everything truly is better with Butter around. Butter helps bring her out of her shell and Marvel even begins to make friends and help others conquer their fears. But when Butter’s real owner appears, Marvel fears she will have to give up the only thing that helps her face her anxiety.
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Charming, cute, and heartwarming!! Loved seeing the first person account of what anxiety looks and feels like…and the transformation that can come with interventions.
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