History is weird. Sometimes, a tiny, unassuming children's book becomes a global symbol not because of its plot, but because of where it was at a specific moment in time. If you were alive and watching the news on September 11, 2001, you saw it. It was in the hands of a teacher at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. President George W. Bush sat there, holding a copy of the my pet goat book—actually titled The Pet Goat—while the world changed forever.
What People Get Wrong About the Story
People call it a book. Technically, it’s a reading exercise. The Pet Goat is actually a short story found within a larger textbook titled Reading Mastery II: Days and Ways. It was developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner. It wasn’t a standalone picture book you’d find at a Scholastic fair. This matters because the "Direct Instruction" method used in that classroom required rhythmic, repetitive reading.
The story is about a girl’s pet goat that eats everything in sight. It eats a gate. It eats a flower. The girl's dad wants to get rid of the goat, but then a robber shows up, and the goat butts the robber away. The goat becomes a hero. It's a simple, phonics-based narrative designed to help kids master "th" and "oa" sounds.
Why do we still talk about it? Because for seven minutes, the President of the United States continued reading with those second-graders after being told a second plane had hit the World Trade Center. Those seven minutes have been scrutinized, mocked, defended, and documented in films like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. But if you look past the politics, the actual text of the my pet goat book represents a bizarre contrast between innocence and the sudden onset of a national crisis.
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The Science of How Kids Read
The book uses the Direct Instruction (DI) method. It’s controversial in some circles because it’s so scripted. Teachers follow a very specific set of prompts. The kids respond in unison. You’ve probably seen the footage: the teacher points, the kids say the word. It’s effective for literacy, but critics say it kills creativity.
At Emma E. Booker Elementary, the kids were high performers. They were showing off their skills for the President. When you watch the video now, you can hear them reading about the goat eating the dad's shirt. The President is nodding. He’s trying to keep his composure while his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, whispers the most devastating news imaginable into his ear.
Tracking Down a Copy Today
It's surprisingly hard. You can’t just go to a bookstore and ask for the my pet goat book. Since it’s a specific lesson (Lesson 153) inside a 1995 SRA McGraw-Hill textbook, you have to hunt for the specific edition of Reading Mastery.
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- Check eBay for "Reading Mastery II" – Look for the 1995 edition.
- Search for the Level 2 Storybook – It’s usually a hardbound tan or orange book.
- Library Archives – Some university education departments keep these for teacher training.
Collectors often pay hundreds of dollars for the specific version Bush held. It’s become a piece of political memorabilia. It’s weird to think a phonics lesson became a relic of the War on Terror, but that’s the reality of modern history.
Why We Project So Much Onto It
Psychologically, we look for symbols during trauma. The my pet goat book became a "flashbulb memory" anchor. It represents the "before" time.
Some people see Bush’s refusal to stop reading as a failure of leadership. Others see it as a leader trying not to scare a room full of seven-year-olds. The teacher, Kay Daniels, has spoken out many times saying the President did the right thing by staying calm. She noted that the atmosphere in the room was electric, but the kids were focused on their goat story. Honestly, if he had jumped up and run out, the panic in that room would have been instant.
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The Actual Content of "The Pet Goat"
The story is basically about a goat that is a total nuisance.
The dad says, "That goat is bad."
The girl says, "No, he's a good goat."
The goat eats a "can."
The goat eats a "pan."
Then the robber comes. The goat saves the day.
The dad changes his mind.
It’s almost poetic in a dark, unintentional way. While the President sat there reading about a "bad" thing that turns into a "heroic" thing, he was about to step into a conflict that would define his entire legacy.
Actionable Steps for the Curious
If you are trying to understand the historical context of the my pet goat book or want to find it for your own collection, follow these steps:
- Look for the textbook ISBN: Specifically ISBN 0026863553. This is the "Reading Mastery II" book that contains the story.
- Watch the raw footage: Don’t just watch documentaries. Look at the unedited C-SPAN footage of the classroom visit. It lasts about 20 minutes. You’ll see the full context of the lesson before and after the whisper.
- Read the teacher’s account: Search for interviews with Kay Daniels. She provides the most grounded perspective on what happened in that classroom.
- Verify the edition: Many people buy the wrong "Reading Mastery" book. It must be the 1995 edition; later versions sometimes changed the stories or the numbering.
Understanding this book means understanding a pivot point in history. It’s not just about a goat. It’s about the last few minutes of the world as we knew it before everything changed.