Preschool - 3

This book is about a goat, named Grumpy, who is grumpy by nature (hence the name) and he is reluctant to make friends. A rooster tries to become his friend, and he pushes the rooster away, but eventually comes around.

Genre
Picture books for children
Tone
Feel-good
Illustration
Detailed
Theme
Handling bad moods
Making new friends
Subject
Domestic animals
Farm life
Friendship
Goats
Gratitude
Grouches
Moods and moodiness

Sunny Acres was one of the friendliest farms in the area until Grumpy Goat arrived and single-handedly changed all that. Uninterested in making friends with the other animals, whom he chased away, our caprine hero (anti-hero?) kept his head down and ate everything in sight. Until the day, that is, that he encountered a beautiful yellow flower and took the time to admire its beauty, thereby setting in motion a chain of events that led to his reform. But when the flower is blown away, what will happen...?

A prolific and much-celebrated illustrator, one who is probably best known for his work on Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events novels, Brett Helquist takes on the additional role of author for Grumpy Goat, producing a fairly engaging tale about the transformation that stopping to appreciate the beauty around us can produce. As always with Helquist, I enjoyed the artwork here, finding it colorful and expressive, with lots of humorous details. The animals' expressions are particularly appealing. Recommended to fans of the artist, and to anyone looking for picture-books about farm animals and/or stories in which the emotions of the main character are impacted by his perceptions of the world around him. ( )

Yet another one by an illustrator I love, but the text leaves me feeling "meh". Grumpy goat is horrible to the other farm critters. And then starts to nurture a flower, and as he does, he nurtures his relationships. And then the flower goes to seed, and disperses, and he becomes horrible again. But then the field is full of flowers, and they all live happily ever after.

I prefer my picture books to be a little funny, or surprising, or subversive.

Library copy. ( )