A goat is the farm animal that refuses to behave like one. Sheep flock, cows plod, hens fuss — and the goat gets on the roof. It will taste your sleeve, your shopping list, and the paint off a fence post, not because it eats everything, which is a libel it has never managed to shake, but because its lips are how it finds out what a thing is. Its pupils are rectangular, so it can watch most of the horizon without turning its head. Its instinct in any field is to locate the highest available object and stand on it. And it is the one barn animal whose baby shares a name with the person you are reading to: a young goat is a kid. Children’s books have been making use of all of this for a very long time. The goat is who crosses the bridge, who gets blamed for the trampled flowers, and who asks for eggs at breakfast while the rest of the family is eating shoelaces.
Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 115 goat books, our editors picked thirteen that cover the whole hillside: the folktale every child already half knows and the retelling worth actually owning, picture books about picky eating, envy, blame, and the need to be left alone, true stories about a goat who was smuggled to the Western Front and a goat whose milk sent a girl in Uganda to school, and — for older readers — a Newbery Honor collection set in a three-day blizzard and a novel about a fainting goat and a twelve-year-old with an anxiety disorder. Start with the shortlist below, then browse the age shelves: board books for the first delighted “maa,” picture books for the bridge-and-troll years, and chapter books for readers old enough to be trusted with a kid of their own.
A young goat asks for eggs and orange juice at breakfast, and his parents are horrified.
Three goats want the grass on the far hill. The troll under the bridge wants the goats.
A goat must choose between his prized coat and helping those in need.
A petting zoo goat seeks solitude in the big zoo. Will he find it?
A goat’s perfectly good life starts to look shabby the day a show-off moves in next door.
A mischievous goat is blamed for chaos. Is he truly guilty?
A blind horse and a gruff goat forge an unlikely friendship tested by life's storms.
A goat is clipped, and her hair is washed, spun, dyed with plants, and woven into a rug on a Navajo loom.
A prairie town’s pet goat is smuggled overseas with a battalion and comes home wearing medals.
A goat's gift could change a girl's future in Uganda.
A family decides to sell its old goat before Hanukkah, and then a three-day blizzard changes everyone’s mind.
A young girl secretly buys a baby goat at a fair and must find a way to keep it hidden from her parents.
A girl must fight to keep her fainting goat, her only solace from overwhelming fears.
First bleats, a first troll under a first bridge, and nursery rhymes acted out by very small goats. Ages 0–3.
A girl orders a unicorn, but what arrives isn't what she expected.
Three goats must outsmart a fearsome troll to reach greener pastures.
A missing cap in a museum leads to a playful detective hunt.
A toy hammer is missing. Can young detectives solve the mystery?
Join Jack and Jill, now mountain goats, on a playful water-fetching adventure up a steep hill.
Goat's bedtime routine turns chaos into calm.
Bridge trolls and their many parodies, picky eaters, escape artists, and the goat blamed for everything that goes wrong on the farm. Ages 3–8.
Five goats set sail to avoid a troll. Will they reach Granny's birthday in time?
A goat must outsmart a Chupacabra with a taste for goats in Puerto Rico.
A blind goat finds love and confidence in a duck costume.
A goat bookstore owner must find a book his fellow goat won't eat.
A royal wish for a child leads to unexpected family chaos with a baby goat.
A tiny goat finds belonging and friendship with the help of a pig and colorful coats.
Three goats must outsmart a hungry troll to reach their meadow paradise.
A goat race at the Corgiville Fair pits Caleb against Edgar's cunning tricks.
Three goats must outwit a fearsome troll to cross the bridge.
A playful game tests the limits of Goat and Frog's friendship.
Three goats face a fearsome troll to cross a bridge. Will they succeed?
Three goats question a grumpy troll's mood, changing their plan entirely.
Orphaned kids raised in secret, barnyard mysteries with a goat for a suspect, and a fainting goat who turns out to be the best possible friend. Ages 6–12.
A detective must solve a series of mysteries to clear his assistant's name and catch a master thief
A detective solves mysteries with the help of his trusty sidekick, a goat.
Three goats face a fearsome troll to cross a bridge. Will they succeed?
Discover a boy's life caring for goats on a farm.
A young girl faces danger and family secrets to prove her courage and keep her family together.
Escaped goats turn a ranch into a chaotic rodeo.
Three sisters face two mysteries: a missing goat and a cryptic note.
A goat yoga class turns chaotic. Can Nancy solve the mystery?
Two kids borrow goats for a Christmas pageant, chaos ensues.
A young girl uses detective skills to solve a goat mystery on vacation.
Two friends swap lives, facing unexpected challenges in city chaos and farm life.
