Selected by a distinguished independent panel of experts including our editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare, for Diverse Voices - 50 of the best Children's Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK.
Joyful and dotty, how Old Al Haji Amadu tries to get rid of his five naughty goggle-eyed goats - and fails - is the ultimate triumph of pester power. Al Haji's three wives object violently to the five goggle-eyed goats who chew up everything they can get their teeth into, so, ignoring protests from his children, Ali Haji takes them off to market... But Al Haji hasn't bargained with just how much his children want the goats to stay... Strikingly bold and vibrant illustrations bring the market place in Timbuktu vividly to life.
Old Al Haji Amadu had three wives, seven children - and five extremely naughty goggle-eyed goats that munched and gobbled and chewed whatever they could find. One day, enough was enough, they had to go! But getting rid of these troublesome goats proved to be harder than Al Haji could ever have imagined...
'It's a fast-paced roller coaster of an adventure story.' - School Librarian
'A fast-moving, cinematic narrative. Unusual and memorable, it will make you want to be a traceur yourself.' - Tina Massey, Carousel
Author
About Stephen Davies
Stephen Davies writes picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, TV tie-ins and educational books. Many of his books are set in West Africa on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where he lived and worked for thirteen years. His first book Sophie and the Albino Camel won the Glen Dimplex Prize for best debut children's book. Since then he has written more than twenty books, including a series of six Hilda novels to accompany the popular Netflix animation.
Stephen lives in London with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys visiting schools in the UK and overseas, helping students with their own creative writing.