Jan West Schrock, illustrated by Aileen Darragh,
Give a Goat
Tilbury House, 2008.

Ages 4-8

Based on a true story, Give a Goat is the account of how one 5^th grade classroom in the US raised money to help poor families overseas. Inspired by a picture-book read on a rainy day, about a family in Uganda whose lives improve after they receive a goat from Heifer International (a charity that donates livestock to poor communities around the world), a group of students decide they, too, want to “give a goat” and help families on their road to self-sufficiency.

Incorporating their fundraising plans into a math unit, their teacher, Mrs. Rowell, is all help. With the $15 she loans them - “a loan, not a gift,” the kids set up a stand to sell healthy snacks at school. They figure out the prices that will allow for a profit; they keep track of sales; they learn about inventory, investment and more. “Imagine a whole bunch of kids could go to school because of our math project!”, says one of the children, in a moment of profound realization.

Soon they have earned enough for “a goat, a flock of chickens and some ducks,” and suddenly the entire school community is committed to making a difference too, by collecting canned food for the town’s Food Bank and raising money to donate to the Red Cross.

Darragh’s simple line drawings and soft watercolor dyes work well with the reduced-to-essentials content of this true story. Jan West Schrock, the daughter of Heifer’s founder and now serving as a senior advisor for the organization, succeeds in making Give a Goat a lot more than a message book or a publicity piece for Heifer’s outstanding work. More than anything, the book works as a window into active, global citizenship - a window many youth have yet to peer into.

Aline Pereira
February 2009