My obsession with goats is no secret. The truth is, I blame Georgiana, author of one of the best Little Golden Books ever published — Dr. Goat.
By Georgiana, Illustrations by Charles Clement - Published 1950 Golden Books
There is almost a twelve year age spread between me and my brother, who somehow gained access (by nefarious means, I’m sure) to all of my beloved childhood tomes. He wasn’t careful. Crayons and rending asunder decimated the formerly pristine literary collection of a fastidious child. Angry and bitter, I became withdrawn, eschewing the company of my peers and loved ones till one day, I found myself imprisoned in a foreign country.
Not really, but I was bitter about it. Several years ago, my mother and brother, weary of hearing me lament about the ruinous end of my beloved Dr. Goat book, found one on EBay and presented it to me for Christmas. I wept. Now what was I going to complain about?
Perhaps this.
Dinosaur Comes to Town - Written by Gene Darby, Illustrated by Art Seiden. 1963
The entire and extremely delightful pictorial spread for Dinosaur Comes to Town can be found here.
Books matter,
Mrs. Knightly
Tags: Art Seiden, charles clement, dinosaur comes to town, doctor goat, dr. goat, foreign prison, Gene Darby, Georgiana, Golden Books, vintage childhood books
Being the mother of these two errant children, I can attest to the bitterness felt by one of them. I got tired of hearing about it and found the beloved book on EBay. Her brother and I gave it to her for her birthday, not Christmas, and she did cry. Now, I suppose I am supposed to find this other one too, in order to make her truly happy! Dear Lord, what’s next???
This is not a Little Golden Book.
It was made to rival them, nut it is in fact a tell-a-tale book.
Joey! You are right. I was trying to find the edit button to fix it, but I was not able to do so. In fact, it says “tell-a-tale” right on the front. Thanks to my parental unit, I now have my very own copy of Dinosaur comes to town as well.
Are you a fan of these books like I am?
Genita — I’m glad you have finally made amends.
Mrs. Knightly — a fine racket you have going!
I meant to add….. I just paid $70 for this book, as a gift to my husband. His nickname is Dr. Goat.
@Gina — A fine “Racket” it is! Congratulations on finding a copy. When I look at it now, as an adult, Dr. Goat looks kind of scary. I never felt that way as a child, but then, I grew up in an age where even cigarette packages were anthropomorphized!
Three Cheers for you and your Doctor Goat!