by David Small
First published 1997
George Washington faces an unusual problem at Mount Vernon. His cows have formed a band and spend their days making music instead of giving milk. The pigs have opened a restaurant and refuse to wallow in mud. His sheep have started a laundry business, washing their own wool and charging the neighbors. Every animal on the farm has decided to pursue careers that make no sense for their species. Washington watches his orderly plantation descend into chaos as his livestock becomes increasingly entrepreneurial. The harder he tries to restore normal farm operations, the more creative his animals become in avoiding their traditional duties. Washington must figure out how to run a farm when none of his animals want to be farm animals anymore. This tale explores what happens when everyone decides to follow their dreams, even when those dreams seem completely impractical.
Genres: fiction, satire, animals, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: whimsical
Tropes: animals-with-jobs, entrepreneurial-animals, farm-life
Setting: Mount Vernon
Period: 21st Century
40 pages · Paperback · Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)