GOAT’S BOAT WON’T FLOAT: A Picture Book Young Readers Will Love and A Giveaway!

REVIEW

In Kim A. Larson’s debut early reader picture book, Goat’s Boat Won’t Float, young readers discover a fascinating STEM fact. Some goats faint when startled by loud noises! Kim took this little-known fact and brilliantly created a funny scenario. The internal rhyme of goat/float/boat/oats/coat will have kids asking for it over and over again. They will also quickly learn to chime in on “Clunk!” when the goat faints. 

Now, to the story with Goat’s conflict presented on the first page.

When he wakes up, he’s hungry. But, oh no!

Goat sets to work to solve his problem. He decides to enlist his friend, Turkey, to help get groceries—ie, his oats. BUT! Goat introduces a complication. In order to prevent him from hearing loud noises and fainting, he puts on ear muffs. But now he can’t hear when anyone tries to help him!

And, he ends up with so many oats that their boat won’t float!

After ditching a cookie, a pumpkin, and surplus boxes of oats, the two friends float home. Goat offers to share his oats with Turkey. But Turkey’s got his sights on his own tasty meal… a bug on a rug. When he knocks over a lamp with a Crash! the reader knows that poor Goat’s problems aren’t over.

Since I’m partial to books about goats (spoiler alert: my main character in Half-Truths has a pet goat!) I plan to get this book for my grandkids. I also enjoyed the color pallete of green, orange, brown, with red accents in the humorous illustrations by Gozde Eyce.

The word count for this recent release from The Little Press, comes to an astounding 300 words. That’s a lot of story punch in a short book children will quickly learn to read themselves. The lyrical language will make this a popular book during family or library story time.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I asked Kim to share her inspiration and path to publication.

My inspiration:

In May 2020, I watched an SCBWI webinar by Ann Ingalls on how to write early readers. I learned that most early readers use sight words, which are common words kids recognize without sounding them out. So, I bought the Children’s Writer’s WORD BOOK to know what words were acceptable. On the kindergarten list was the word “goat,” and I knew I had my main character. 

My grandchildren introduced me to fainting goats on their hobby farm several years ago, and I thought they were hilarious. So I had written a different picture book about a fainting goat who was a private investigator. I just recycled that character. Turkey is also on the kindergarten word list, and she appeared with Goat in my other story, so I recycled her too. The two make a good pair of opposites.  

This is a picture of Shadrach, the true inspiration.

My path to publication:

In 2010, I was laid off from my job as a mortgage loan officer. I had been writing as a hobby, knowing someday it would be my career. My husband agreed that I should pursue my dream to write full-time. I wrote two novels and a devotional-style Bible study first, then in 2018 I found a local SCBWI writing group. I fell in love with writing picture books. 

In March 2022, I was a finalist in Mindy Weiss’s #PBParty Showcase. This put my query letter and the first 70 words of my story in front of certain agents and editors. Those interested, asked to see the full manuscript. My entry was about a fainting goat who was a private detective. This is how I got my first agent. At the same time, I had submitted a pitch to an “above the slush-pile” opportunity through Children’s Book Insider. Astra Publishing requested the manuscript and a proposal. I had just signed with my agent May 1, so she submitted my story and proposal to Astra and other publishers. By August, The Little Press made an offer on this story.  

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Carol’s questions:

Since I’ve played around with writing early readers with internal rhyme, I asked Kim if the book was difficult to write. She said: “I like to write lyrically, so that probably affected my sentence structures and word placements. I didn’t find it hard at all. I really had fun writing with a limited vocabulary and keeping a beginning reader in mind.”  

What’s next?

Kim told me she has a second picture book coming out next year with Clavis Publishing called Doll Trouble. Clavis publishes in the Netherlands first (Dutch) and it’ll come out in the U.S. about 6 months later. Her contract with The Little Press gives them the option to publish two more early reader picture books in the Goat and Turkey stories. Stay tuned!

GIVEAWAY

The Little Press is providing a giveaway copy of Goat’s Boat Won’t Float to one of you. Leave a comment by October 17 and I’ll enter your name. Share this on social media or subscribe to my blog and I’ll enter your name twice.