Shake It Off!

A winsome little white goat with a bright kerchief around her neck, this picture book’s protagonist loves to climb and sing nonstop—digitally colored drawings, rendered in bucolic sunny tones, show joyful notes cascading from her mouth. But the neighbors, portrayed with brown skin, are not charmed when the goat mounts their roof. “That goat is driving me nuts!” they complain, and when the animal falls down a well, they choose not to rescue her, instead filling the well with dirt while she’s still trapped inside. “CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?” bright typography asks as the goat looks straight at readers with incredulous eyes. With a refrain of “Shake it off. Pack it under!” the goat quickly begins to shift the accumulating shovelfuls of dirt beneath her feet, gradually lifting herself to safety. Brantley-Newton (Becoming Vanessa) prefaces this folktale-feeling story of adversity overcome with the assurance that it will end happily, but the casual cruelty and visceral sense of peril may nevertheless alarm some readers, even if the goat is ultimately triumphant and wins the humans’ respect. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (June)