It is a beautiful Sunday morning here in Maine. The sun is out. The air is warm. The birds are singing...

My coffee is tasting so good.

Years ago, just at the brink of my kids being to old to be read to by their mum, I got one more book in.  It was seriously one of my very favorites.  

Like most stay at home mums, I read to our peeps all the time.  While they sat all cozy by the wood stove in the dead of a cold Maine winter.  Playing Lego's at the kitchen table.  We would get huge stacks of books from our local library each time we visited.  So much, that we had a hard time carrying them to the van.

I say all of that to say... last night when Blue Eyes and I were having dinner at the farm with friends we will be renting from, the conversation got to talking about the goat they use to have, and how much they all loved it, it's sweet personality, and the frequent trips it made into the house, alongside the dogs.  :)

Bonnie was telling me how a kind lady took the time to show her how to care for this goat.  How to milk it, and benefit from what it produced.  Being on a farm, having a full time job/business to run with her husband... she just didn't have time for one more thing to care for.  So they found another home for it.  Then everyone at the table said,  (almost in unison),

 "You could have a goat and take care of it if you wanted!!!"

I remembered this book.  The Goat Lady.  How I loved that book.  If you haven't read it too your peeps... if your not familiar with Jane Bregoli's work... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE... go to a book store, library, or look online.  But get this book into your hands.  I am certain it will be an instant favorite in your home library like it was with ours.

I'm getting another copy just to have out to read to those sweeties I know will be coming to the farm we will be blessed to live at.

Here is a summary and revue...

Children's Literature

A family moves into their new home. All the houses in the neighborhood except for one have new paint and well-kept lawns. One old farmhouse sticks out with peeling paint, rickety old fences, rusty barrels lying about, and lots of frisky farm animals. Neighbors living nearby in their modern houses do not approve. The goose chases a jogger, the rooster crows day and night, and the goats hop over the fence to eat newly planted trees. Something has to be done about this neighbor with all the goats and farm animals! One cold October morning, two young children brave the honking goose and meet the Goat Lady, Noelie Lemire Houle. Miss Houle welcomes them into her life teaching them about farm animals, friendship and a different way of living. The children introduce the Goat Lady to their mother, an artist. By painting Miss Houle's picture and her daily activities, the neighbors and community gradually come to learn about and appreciate the Goat Lady. They discover how she donates young goats, "kids," to the Heifer Project, an International nonprofit organization. The Heifer Project has helped over 5 million families in 125 countries escape hunger, become more self-sufficient and become environmental aware. Two children help the Goat Lady teach her neighbors and community about the giving, courage and kindness. 2004, Tilbury House Publishers, Ages 8 to 11. 

—Lisa P. Hill

School Library Journal

-An elderly French Canadian named Noelie often drew criticism from the Dartmouth, MA, townsfolk because she kept a herd of white goats in her yard. Neighbors complained that the animals were noisy and unruly and that the house was unkempt. The author and her children befriended the old woman and found that she was gentle and kind. When Bregoli's daughter asked her to paint a picture of the Goat Lady, the artist painted a series of portraits and eventually exhibited them in a local art museum. The paintings helped others in the community to look past Noelie's mismatched clothes and odd ways and recognize her humble goodness. This gentle, straightforward narrative is told from the point of view of one of the children and is ideal for reading aloud. The book is illustrated with sharp color reproductions of Bregoli's original portraits done in a soft painterly style. A true story about intergenerational relationships and tolerance that's perfect for sharing.-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Hugs From My Goat Lady filled Heart