Lost Goat Lane

by Rosa Jordan

Book Overview

An eloquent, dramatic story of an adolescent girl's first glimpse into the problems of prejudice in her community and the redeeming power of friendships.

For thirteen-year-old Kate, being poor in a small rural Florida town means feeling ashamed and isolated. At school, her classmates laugh at her old clothes, and things are not much better at home. Kate's mother is working long hours just to keep food on the table, and Kate has to keep...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561453250
• ISBN13: 9781561453252
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Lost Goat Lane Review

Rosa Jordan is the author of this book. She was born in Ropesville, Texas. She moved to Rossland, B.C. in 1974. She spent 25 years traveling and she traveled a lot in central and South America. She has been to Santa Monica junior college, UCLA and the University of Guanajuata. Living with farm animals makes 13 year old Kate's chores a lot more complicated than our normal daily chores. There aren't much kids living around their area so they don't have much friends to play with after school. Their mother works every day trying to use what she earns to pay off their late mortgage payments. Their father, well...unfortunately he left them. One day Kate's goat, sugar runs off and they find her with the Wilsons, their African American neighbors. Kate meets Ruby, the grown daughter of the Wilsons. Kate can clearly see that Ruby doesn't like them. As these two get into a little business together, Kate learns a lot about prejudging and prejudice. Lost goat lane is very realistic. Although the part about the goat running off is improbable, it is very true that most kids try to play with people that have the same physical features as themselves. It is unfair how people can decide that others are different because of appearances. Rosa Jordan used words that 10+ year olds could easily understand. The book itself is very straight forward; you do not have to think very hard to understand the concepts of the book. I think that this book really warns people of prejudice; how it is done so much in our life but that does not mean it is the right thing, people that look different can still be very alike you. - "Ruby, she asked, do you still think people like us are white trash?"

Great read for children and adults

I have to say, I really enjoyed the story in this book. My daughter first read the book and loved it so much she encouraged me to read it. I loved it! The characters are really colorful and the author wasn't afraid to tell the tale with ups and downs, making the story rich and full of life. The story takes place in the deep south which is refreshing and new to me, and I really enjoyed the authors' ability to tell a wonderful story in a way I could visualize clearly, making the story come to life. Friendships, family, poverty, goats, aligators, laughs, tolerance, dreams and drama. I really recommend this book for both children and adults. A good story is a good story!