{"product_id":"the-goats-by-brock-cole-1336v","title":"The Goats by Brock Cole","description":"\u003cp\u003eStripped and marooned on a small island by their fellow campers, a boy and a girl form an uneasy bond that grows into a deep friendship when they decide to run away and disappear without a trace.  Editorial Reviews  From Publishers Weekly A boy and the girl have been chosen as the goats at summer camp. Stripped naked, they are marooned on Goat Island, as part of an annual prank played on campers who don't fit in. But the goats have much more spirit than their fellow campers expect, and they decide to disappear completelythey aren't going to go back to camp unless they absolutely have to. On the run, Howie and Laura meet many different peoplesome who help them, others who try to stop thembut they soon learn how very strong they are themselves, and they come to depend on their own resourcefulness and cunning to evade those who are trying to find them. But Howie and Laura know that they must, at some point, face the world they've left behind. Cole has written and illustrated many picture books (The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe), but this is his first work for older readers. Written with the mastery and sureness of a seasoned novelist, it is a gripping, startling and thought-provoking story about children who find inner strength when they are pushed to the edge. Ages 8-12.  Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.  From School Library Journal Grade 8-10 Wimp, nerd, social retard some kids just naturally become scapegoats. Luckily an inner strength and an ability to survive sometimes surface, and these same scapegoats can confound their parents and acquaintances. Cole portrays this when fellow campers leave wimpy Howie Mitchell and ``real dog'' Laura Golden naked and scared on an island. When counselors arrive looking for them, Howie misunderstands and fears the return of their tormenters. He forces non-swimmer Laura to hang onto a log and float to the mainland. Reaching the safety of a deserted cabin, and realizing that they can't face returning to camp, they plot their survival until Parent's Weekend, when Laura's mother will visit, offering hope of sanctuary. Cole manages to instill just the right amount of suspense in their adventures through a potentially dangerous street kid, a cleaning woman who wants to turn them in to the police, and a sheriff who eventually snags them. Neither Howie nor Laura are initially likable kids, each either worrying or whining too much, but as they grow so does one's regard for them. The final distillation is a strong, well-blended story of modern day survival. A comparable book for older readers would be Lloyd Kropp's Greencastle (Freundlich, 1987). Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County, Va. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41835180818506,"sku":"1336v","price":9.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/9101\/8826\/files\/1336v.jpg?v=1764472068","url":"https:\/\/www.bookexpress.nz\/products\/the-goats-by-brock-cole-1336v","provider":"Book Express","version":"1.0","type":"link"}