three-year-old madeline loves playing with her gramma and poppa, and with their very large dog stanley. but it looks like poppa has a problem. every thursday, the paperboy comes and his flyers blow all over the front lawn. then poppa has to pick them up. "that paperboy really gets poppa's goat," says gramma. madeline doesn't know what that means, but she wants to help. first they build a box for the flyers, but robins turn it into a nest. then a question from madeline gives poppa an idea. soon madeline, stanley, and poppa are off on a trip to the country, in the hope of keeping poppa from "losing his goat" again. gary hutchinson is convinced of the importance of reading to pre-school children and committed to writing stories that children love to hear and that adults love to read.