My Life on the Mountain: Living with Goats and Cows on an Alpine Farm

Through simple lined drawings and step-by-step text, Brand paints an idyllic picture of a goat herder’s jam-packed life. The day begins with an alarm that goes off before sunrise. After building a morning fire, a red-haired, pink-skinned figure collects goats from the mountainside for milking, celebrating the collection of 38 pints of fluid. Cheese-making comes next, then a noontime meal and nap preps the busy protagonist for a trip to deliver their product in the village before heading back home for chores. At day’s end, “there’s still a bit of paperwork to be done,” but bed beckons. The artwork’s clean lines and contemporary styling pairs well with a palette of periwinkles and pinks for an infographic-like effect in this straightforward portrait of a herder’s livelihood that’s captured pictorially and via onomatopoeia. Extensive back matter concludes. Ages 5–8. (Feb.)