Goats for Christmas (Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet #6)

Gr 2-4—This sixth title of the Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet series follows Calpurnia and her brother Travis as they attempt to train baby goats to participate in the local Christmas pageant. As often happens with animals, things go awry, and Calpurnia and her brother find themselves in a scramble to prevent disaster at the pageant. Fans of prior books in the series will likely enjoy this holiday-focused installment with a spotlight on goats; however, readers not familiar with the series could easily pick this title up and be entertained. As is typical for Calpurnia Tate books, lots of interesting facts (here about goats and the natural world) are peppered throughout the fictional tale. Sometimes the vocabulary can be challenging, but context clues and illustrations will support readers just venturing into more complex language in literature. Calpurnia and her family are wholesome and likable, and her strained relationship with one of her six brothers, Lamar, will be familiar to many readers with siblings. VERDICT Whether readers are familiar with Calpurnia's previous adventures or not, this holiday story entertains and engages.—Ellen Conlin