Trudy

By: Henry Cole

Summary:

Esme and her grandfather go out on a trip to pick an animal to bring home. She decides on a goat and calls her Trudy. She takes care of the animal by feeding it and spending time with it. One day when the weather gets cold, Trudy won’t come out of her barn. That night is snows. Every time Trudy stays in, it seems to snow. Soon the whole town begins counting on Trudy’s snow predictions. One night Trudy does not come out but it doesn’t snow. Esme is upset and the next morning she runs out to see Trudy. She is pleasantly surprised to find a baby goat lying next to Trudy in the straw.

Reader Enjoyment Factors:

Great illustrations and an easy-to-read format will engage kids in discovering animals.

Content Awareness Factors:

The part where the town thinks the goat is predicting snow is a cute twist, but it isn't really believable.

Little Kid Reaction

My daughter loved looking at the pictures and enjoyed the ending. She also liked imagining all of the different kinds of animals she would want, just like the girl in the book. Reading the story helped us talk about raising different animals and how they breed. She didn't believe the goat could predict the weather, and she lost interest at that point.

Parent Reaction

I enjoyed the story and the illustrations. This is a good book to spark a child’s interest in animals. I thought she would like it more than she did. She just couldn't believe a goat would predict when it snows.

Type of Book:
This is a picture book story about a child and her pet.

Educational Themes:

You can talk about different animals and their babies.

Reading Level:
3.0

Recommended Age To Read By Yourself:
8 and Up

Recommended Age To Read Together:
3 to 8

Age of child:
Read with a 5-year-old girl.

Purchase Recommendation:
Borrow. This is a cute story and worth reading.