Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier. A girl named Beatrice lived with her mother and siblings in a small shack. One day, Beatrice’s mother informed them that some people from far away had given them a goat. They began preparing for its arrival, like building a shed and growing food for it to eat. Beatrice named the goat Mugisa for luck. Then, Mugisa had twin babies. Beatrice began feeding it more food and water than normal to help it produce extra milk. She then used the milk for food, selling any that was left over. After a long time, Beatrice finally saved enough money for school.
Even if there are a lot of other necessities, education is second only to basic survival needs. That is why Beatrice’s mother let her go to school once she has saved enough money. Attending to other family needs first means that they will not get an education, which is indispensable to good logical thinking. This should also happen to us. We should have more people who love or at least agree to learning. If the pros remain pros, but children do not improve, which will be the case without education, they we will likely have a rather gloomy future ahead of us.
What is also very important is fighting poverty. Poverty is a very widespread problem. According to census.gov, 11.5% percent of Americans live in impoverished regions in 2022. And it’s not just Americans. People all over the world live in impoverished regions, especially in low income countries such as Afghanistan and Madagascar and developing countries such as China and India. Almost half of the global population lives on less than $6.85 a day. Imagine all those people, having to grow their own food and go to a river for water just to survive! Just the normal 8 glasses a day costs more than $8, and that’s not including food. Now, think about how lucky you are, with good food, good water, and good schooling. There’s simply not enough to go by.
And always thank others for the little things you get, and do not underestimate the value of them. A gift like a goat can go very far. There is even an instance of someone using a paper clip, and making a lot of trades, until he ended up with an entire house. Yes, an entire house! If the poor throw away what is required for them to live because they expect to get more in the future, a sizeable portion of the world’s population are completely useless to society.
Beatrice’s Goat is a book that highlights the important part of society—education, the spread of poverty, and never to underestimate what you get because they can be a great help later on. Always consider education first, acknowledge the poor in the world, and never throw away what you get because you think you get more. It is a very good book worth to be passed from generation to generation.
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