inspirational tale of little Billie goat plotting to dodge all her obstacles to climb the Matterhorn! Middle school kids will enjoy her tale at keep your eyes on the prize and pursuing your dreams no matter what, Fun story, great message.

My thanks to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group/River Grove Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I admit, I DNF'd this at 25%. I found it to be boring and I couldn't connect to any of the characters. This is most likely a reader issue and not the book issue, as it was written well, with clarity and no confusion about what was going on. It just didn't move me in the slightest.

This would be a good book for middle readers who like to read books where the characters are animals. I would recommend that it be reviewed by the adult who is in charge of the child who is going to read this, as the MC Billie doesn't listen to the adults around her when they tell her not to go off on her own beyond the farm. She disobeys them so she can follow her dream. Following your dreams is good, but not necessarily when a child and unable to figure out and deal with consequences that follow from un-thought-through actions.

So recommended, with some reservations. 2, wasn't for me but might be for you, stars.

The G.O.A.T. Is such a cute and admirable role for little Billie to dream of being! Her determination to achieve what no one has done in her group of family and friends is nothing short of amazing as she faces not only physical obstacles for being so small and having an enormous feat to overcome, but also that of social and psychological obstacles as she squares off against those doubting her and pressuring her to stay put. This is such a wonderful story for young readers as it helps them develop their own perseverance in attaining their dreams and goals.

“Billie Someday: The Greatest of All Time” is like a mix of “Wizard Of Oz” meets “Lord of the Rings” with “Animal Farm” and was a delightful read.

To begin with, I adored the theme of the story. The story delivers a beautiful message to show that nothing stops you from succeeding in your goals if you set your mind and work hard towards achieving them. The author conveys this message beautifully as Billie sets her heart to become the greatest of all time. The story starts a bit slowly but picks up pace after a few chapters. The book becomes exciting when Billie sets her mind to cross the Darkwood and climb the Matterhorn. Moreover, I loved the exciting climax as Billie encounters Merlin. The author also adds excellent short tales within the story, and I enjoyed reading about “The Wolf and the Hare” and other ones by Sappho.

Although most of the characters are farm animals, I loved how the author gave them human-like emotions to relate to them. I loved Billie in the lead and thought the author wrote her wonderfully. Billie is determined, courageous, and doesn’t let anything hinder her spirits from going on her quest. The author also wrote supporting characters like Antoni, Caesar, Sappho, Teena, and Edna nicely. I liked almost everyone in the story (except Homer) and thought they made the tale sparkle. On a side note, the black and white illustration sketches are also stunning and add beautifully to the book (although I would have loved to see more).

Overall, “Billie Someday” is a beautiful adventure middle-grade novel that will inspire you to follow your dreams.

Billie Someday is the story of a farm goat who wants to be the G.O.A.T of goats -- the “Greatest Of All Time”. But will she fulfill her dreams and destiny when she sets off to climb the mountain where her ancestors lived?

This is a cute story with an important moral about being persistent and working to fulfill your dreams. I appreciated the attention to detail of having the maps of Billie’s World included at the beginning of the book. I think the lesson the book teaches is very important for children, but I did find that it was longish and the pacing a bit slow, and I’m not sure a reader of the targeted age will stick with it.

Thank you so much to Greenleaf Book Group and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.. Billie Someday was a very cute read with an important lesson for kids about never giving up and following your dreams. It was a good story and very cute. However, it did not hold my interest. It was very slow and boring at times. I still thought it was very cute and a good idea, the writing and execution of the book just wasn't to my liking. I feel like most kids that would read this would enjoy some parts of this book but feel a bit bored reading it as well. Still, it wasn't a bad book and I LOVE the cover. This might be on my list for cutest book covers ever!

Very slow build: would it keep a child's interest?🤔

Reading the book blurb caught my interest but I found the actual book a very slow go. There were a few too many characters to keep straight and Billie, the young female goat at the center of the story, just did not have an emotion hook that made me care about her grand ambition.

Would a middle grade reader really stick with this story? From the beginning, Billie's adventures and escapades are pretty tame for a middle grade reader and her victories seem pointless. And would a parent find this little goat a positive object of admiration for his or her child? Billie's single-minded, impetuous and irresponsible, going off without warning where she's been warned not to go and causing worry for her mother and the other farm animals. And I found some of the philosophical stuff too advanced for most in the targeted reader demographic. Sadly, it's just not a book I would recommend to a young relative.

Thanks to River Grove Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

First sentence: It may have felt like an ordinary July morning high in this mountain valley, but you can be sure that it was not.This was a special day, because in the valley there happened to be a farm where, on a barn floor of well-trampled hay and mud, a proud mother goat lay chewing a bit of cud, waiting to give birth. She was alone for the moment, but soon there would be a sweltering gale of commotion, including a farmer, a doctor, wet nurses, dry nurses, congratulators—and a handful of nosy goats that would begin prodding for details.

Premise/plot: Billie Someday, our heroine, is a goat. A goat who feels it is her destiny to be the greatest of all time. Yes, our goat wants to be a G.O.A.T. Unsatisfied with her mundane life on the farm, this kid is determined to do something extraordinary: to return to the home of her distant ancestors. Billie Someday wants to be a mountain goat, or, perhaps a mountain climbing goat. But it won't be an easy journey. Far from it. Obstacles abound. Will Billie's dreams come true? Will she climb to the top of the mountain? Can she survive the oh-so-dangerous wolves that stand in between her and the mountain? Will she return to tell her tale?

My thoughts: Billie Someday is a middle grade animal fantasy. Since there is an animal on the cover, I do feel I need to mention that Billie (and friends) survive to the end of the novel. This isn't one of those books where you will need a box of tissues.

I do not have an adventurous bone in my body. I don't. But Billie does. Billie is all about ONE dream, and that dream will take her off the ordinary path so to speak. She's not like any other goat--well, farm goat, she knows. She's different and she has to fully and completely embrace her difference in order to realize her awesomeness.

The story is direct rather than cutesy. These farm goats are being kept for one reason only: for milk. The girls are kept, of course, and will go on to have kids of their own and be milk producers. But the boys, well, they aren't kept--or if they are kept, not intact. There for a while I thought this book was going to go semi-graphic in that department. (It didn't. Not really. Kids (human readers) may be curious about kids (the goats) and ask questions and look up definitions, but there's nothing inappropriate in the text itself. And it's certainly nothing that would be new to a farm kid.

I think my favorite character was the cat, Antoni.

This book was so good! This is a well written book that should be in every middle grade library. It is full of adventure and excitement and will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. It teaches a very valuable lesson about never giving up on your dreams. Billie Someday was an excellent read. Thank you Greenleaf Book Group--River Grove Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.