Beach Babes: Duck and Goose Go to the Beach by Tad Hills

Duck and Goose are enjoying the morning sun in their meadow.

"DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT HERE?" GOOSE HONKED.

"LET'S NEVER LEAVE!"

"YOU JUST GAVE ME THE GREATEST IDEA, GOOSE!" SAID DUCK. "LET'S TAKE A TRIP!"

Homebody Goose thinks there's no place like their meadow. Why would anyone leave such a perfect place?

Duck, however, has a case of webbed wander-foot. He suggests they take a hike.

Goose is appalled.

"I'LL WALK, BUT I WILL NOT HIKE!" GOOSE GRUMBLED.

But Duck is his friend, so Goose trudges along, still pointing out the accouterments that make the meadow perfect--log, pond, their special ball. Duck zooms ahead, paddling down an unexplored brook, and then waddling up a long hill. Suddenly he stops and stares at a sight he's never seen before.

"COULD IT BE THE BEACH? ... I LOVE THE BEACH!"

Duck dashes down the dunes, across the sand, and wades right into the sea. Goose follows more slowly. There so much sand, so much sound all around. Warily Goose gets his feet wet, too. Duck is thrilled.

"THESE WAVES ARE VERY...."

Suddenly a big breaker bowls the two over.

Duck is tipped tail over bill and comes up sputtering and draped with seaweed.  It seems he is not so sure about the beach now. Goose, on the other hand, has an unexpected reaction.

"FUN!"

Author Tad Hills takes his endearing little water fowl duo to meet the beach, in his latest in series, Duck & Goose Go to the Beach (Schwartz and Wade, 2014). As usual, Goose drags his webbed feet a bit but comes around to lead the way as the two explore the fun of the beach, having an adorable encounter with a crab and listening to the sound of the sea in a washed-up seashell. The two little waddlers in their sun hats share an adventure that can be a bit intimidating at first for youngsters, taking that first dunking in the waves vicariously for their readers. "There is so much expression in just the eyes of these characters that children can't help but smile, " says School Library Journal.