Old Al Haji Amadu had three wives, seven children - and five extremely naughty goggle-eyed goats that munched and gobbled and chewed whatever they could find. One day, enough was enough, they had to go! But getting rid of these troublesome goats proved to be harder than Al Haji could ever have imagined...
The Times wrote:Joyful and dotty, how Old Al Haji Amadu tries to get rid of his five naughty goggle-eyed goats – and fails – is the ultimate triumph of pester power
The book’s rumbustious, rhythmical feel for language, packed with internal rhymes, makes it a pleasure to read aloud, and the colourful pictures of the Amadu family and their surroundings have the unselfconscious charm of primitive art. One of the best new picture books published this year
Illustrator's note (from Christopher Corr)
I’m a Capricorn and share a deep empathy with the goat world.
The Goats’ story is set in Mali, a country I would like to visit. It’s a place I have seen in films and books and old National Geographics. The astonishingly beautiful mud-made mosques! The colourful markets, all those people in zingy colours carrying goods on their heads!
I love colour. It has great power to excite and delight. Mali is a colourful place and I wanted to show this. The landscapes are hot and hilly. It’s arid and scrubby but never dull.
I wanted all the children to have personality and be individuals, just like the goats! Just like all of us!
I’m so glad everyone (and more) came back safely from Mopti market.