Like all the other animals at Animal Place, Jesse {a cow} has a special story inside her. And while pouting Kate is "careful not to listen too closely, for fear she might get interested," she absorbs the fragments of information about each animal imparted by her Aunt Kim and Uncle Ned as she and Joe tour this refuge filled with "green grass and more animals than they ever believed possible-all roaming around peacefully." Most importantly, Kate is subconsciously touched by a cow who, blessed with luck and courage, had managed to jump out of the truck taking her to slaughter when she was a calf.This enchanting story is based on a real Animal Place, a nonprofit sanctuary for abused and unwanted farm animals co-founded by the author, Kim Sturla, director of The Fund for Animals office in Vacaville, CA, and Nedim Buyukmihci, a professor of veterinary ophthalmology at the University of California, Davis. The book is wonderfully illustrated in black & white and in color by Eric Sakach. It includes a glossary of key terms like "refuge" and "protect" and a biographical sketch and photo of each animal featured in the story--Jesse the cow, Betty the chicken, Venus the pot-bellied pig, and the others.