The young llama Harley is supposed to be trained as a pack animal. But it seems no one asked Harley’s opinion. He spits and shoves and kicks when the trainer comes. Far away from Harley is a woman rancher whose sheep are being attacked by coyotes. The rancher decides to get a guard llama, and Harley is chosen. Harley is a good at guarding, but the sheep don’t like him, and he’s lonely. Can he make friends with the bullying ram? Star Livingstone’s easy-to-read, chapter-book-sized story about real people and animals who live near her home in Massachusetts is written in short, simple sentences for newly independent readers. (“The sheep are restless. / They crowd together. / The coyotes sound close.”) Molly Bang’s full-color illustrations look as if they were created in pastels. (Ages 5–7)

Harley is a young llama who lives on a ranch. He is learning to be a pack animal, but he is having a hard time. He kicks. He screams. He spits! But then a shepherd calls; she needs a llama to watch over her sheep. She decides to take a chance on Harley. Through the seasons, a series of challenges both great and small turn the temperamental llama into a loving leaderwhether he's facing mischievous lambs, a bullying ram, or a pack of coyotes who prey on the sheep. With its poetic language and captivating artwork by Caldecott Honor-winning Molly Bang, this distinctive book speaks to all those who sometimes march to the beat of a different drummer.