Too Much of A Good Thing? The Bruce Swap by Ryan T. Higgins

There was a forest in front of the little cabin Bruce the curmudgeonly bear shared with three goslings and four mice.

Sure, it's the North Woods, so there are some evergreens around the lake, but Bruce's yard was mostly a forest of signs beginning with the word NO--NO TALKING, NO SWIMMING, NO FISHING, NO CAMPING, NO PICNICKING, NO TRESPASSING...! Bruce was no fun. The mice longed for adventures. The geese just wanted--sandwiches!

ONE MORNING THERE WAS A LETTER IN THE MAILBOX AT 13 GO AWAY LANE!

It was a letter from Bruce's fun-loving cousin Kevin, saying he's coming for a fun-filled vacation. But nobody knew that--because one of the goslings ate the letter. So on the day of fun-loving Kevin's arrival, nobody knew they were about to have guests! Bruce went fishing, leaving a note, but one of the goslings ate that, so nobody knew that either.

So when fun-loving Kevin arrived with outdoor equipment and a bag of sandwiches, the mice and geese thought he was Bruce. But not the party-pooping Bruce they knew. This was a different Bruce.

"ALL OUR WISHES HAVE COME TRUE!" SAID THISTLE.

"WAIT! THIS MUST BE BRUCE'S DOPPELGANGER!" SAID RUPERT.

"DINGLE POOPER?" ASKED NIBB.

But no matter! This version of Bruce was nothing but fun. He gave them all the candy they could eat and then inspired a candy battle. He pulled out a pogo stick and hopped all over the cabin. He ordered endless pizzas. Then he flooded the cabin to make an indoor swimming pool. His rowdy buddies showed up and finished wrecking the cabin, so the party moved outside. Dingle Pooper Bruce taped Rupert to a kite and sent him up for his first flight. The cabin and yard were a dreadful MESS! Since MESS is not fun, fun-loving Kevin and his chums piled into their van and left the premises.

SOME OF THE FUN WAS.... QUESTIONABLE.

"NO MORE FUN! NO, NO, NO! PLEASE!" THE GOSLINGS PLEADED.

THEY ALL WISHED FOR REGULAR BRUCE TO COME BACK!

There's such a thing as too much fun for the mice and goslings, who were actually glad to see the real party-pooper Bruce putt-putting back up the road on his motor skooter, in Ryan T. Higgins' latest in his Mother Bruce series, The Bruce Swap (Disney Press, 2021). (But at least there's plenty of pizza left over!)

Author-illustrator Higgins combines hilarious comic illustrations, oddball family affection, and one of children's literature's greatest grumpy bears in his Mother Bruce series, which began with Mother Bruce (Mother Bruce, Book 1) (Mother Bruce Series, 1)

"A gentle, silly picture book about balancing fun and responsibility," says Kirkus Reviews

The Blowout! Bruce's Big Storm by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce was not a bear who liked neighbors.

Actually, Bruce doesn't like anybody. In fact, Bruce is a curmudgeonly, self-centered, introverted bear who only likes one thing--hibernating solo.

He once liked eggs, but when he swiped Mrs. Goose's eggs from her nest and put them in a pan of water to boil, he hatched goslings, goslings who imprinted on him and, like it or not, he became... MOTHER GOOSE BRUCE.

Bruce may be anti-social, but he is dutiful. Now living in the North Woods with his brood and their mice pets, Bruce finds that even there he still has neighbors

But none of them stayed very long... until the day of the big storm.

While the winds roar and the tempest rages, all of Bruce's neighbors decide to take shelter in his house. It's a bit crowded. But then Nibbs the mouse spies a little rabbit outside in the storm and he and the duteous Bruce dash out with their umbrella to save the little fellow. But the wind catches the umbrella and the three are all airborne. Are Bruce, Nibbs, and the bunny on a one-way flight to Fairbanks?

It's the neighbors to the rescue, even when Bruce's cabin is blown away, in Ryan T. Higgins' latest installment in the saga of Mother Bruce, Bruce's Big Storm (Mother Bruce Series) (Hyperion, 2019). Ryan T. Higgins' illustrations of the perpetually grumpy but dogged Bruce never fail to get laughs from the picture book set. The New York Times best-selling author's wickedly funny cartooning scores again, just as it did in his super Kindergartner hit, We Don't Eat Our Classmates and the whole Mother Goose Bruce series. (Read reviews here.)

Don't Make Me Laugh! The Serious Goose by Jimmy Kimmel

[DEAR PARENTS,

THIS BOOK WILL TAKE 5 MINUTES TO READ SO THAT YOU CAN GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE.]

This is a serious goose.

Do not even try to be silly around this goose.

Okay, then, go on and try! Do silly stuff. Go right ahead. Knock yourself out!

This goose will not smile if you put a chicken of her head. OR a moose... or even a pizza--topped with snails.

See? Told you. Not even a smile.

"WHAT? THINK YOU CAN?"

Here's a mirror! Practice your goofiest face. See if you can make this goose laugh so hard she starts laying eggs!

Hey! You're pretty funny! WAIT! Is that the beginning of a smile on her lips?

(What? Geese have lips?)

This serious goose is not the only one who is going to be laughing in author-illustrator Jimmy Kimmel's new kids' book, The Serious Goose (Random House, 2019). Late-night comedian Kimmel is pretty funny. And if you have any doubts, you can take the serious goose test yourself.

All Year Round! Ruby and Rufus Love the Water by Olivier Dunrea

Ruby and Rufus love their pond. After all, they ARE goslings.

They dip their little webbed feet. They dabble, heads under the surface. They dive, big time!

Ruby loves to swan dive.

Rufus loves to back dive.

They enjoy drifting on their little red and white floatie rings. They sail on their floaties before the wind. They chase minnows. They even play in the pond when it's raining. After all, they ARE goslings.

But then one day they find everything has changed.

The water is frozen!

Ruby tries pecking. Rufus tries stomping. The pond is hard! Clearly there will be no dipping, no dabbling, and especially no diving underneath!

Then Ruby tries sliding on her feet. Rufus bellyflops and glides across the pond. They find out that their little floaties make great sleds. Ruby and Rufus make a discovery.

They love the pond all year round.

Olivier Dunrea's forthcoming Gossie and Friends story. Ruby and Rufus (Gossie and Friends) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019) features lovable water birds, Ruby and Rufus, in a little gosling tale that features the fun of the changing seasons for the youngest book lovers. In Dunrea's inimitable style, adorable little geese explore their world in spot-art vignettes set against bright white pages. This is the latest in Dunrea's duckling and gosling series which delights the eye and enchants toddlers and preschoolers with the discoveries of its young denizens. It is hard to resist the jolly joie de vivre of Dunrea's lively and lovable little goslings in this brand new adventure.

Grumpy Grinch! Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce was a bear who didn't like the holidays.

He used to stay in bed all winter and skip right through the whole business.

But that was back in the good old days before Bruce involuntarily became Mother Bruce Goose, foster parent to three goslings with other ideas about ways to while away the winter.

The goslings and their critter friends demand a cozy holiday family togetherness that is just what Bruce doesn't want for the winter. His goslings had already gotten busy decking the halls, while the mice stirred up some tasty eggnog. What fun! What cheer! What a beautiful Christmas tree!

Bruce didn't like fun. Bruce didn't like cheer.

And he didn't like cold weather. Bruce pulled out his long red flannel underwear and sleeping cap.

Big mistake!

"Are you SANTA CLAUS?" asked a big-eyed little 'coon kid.

And before he knows it, the goslings had lined up the moppets and Bruce was taking little bunnies and raccoons on his knees, listening to their silly Christmas wish lists. To get rid of them, he promised them whatever toys they asked for.

But at last the talkative tots left and Bruce was just headed for his cozy bed when ...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! All the parents wanted to thank Bruce for his Christmas spirit. They left, shouting with glee.

Bruce didn't like glee.

But what about the poor little disappointed children?

The goslings and the mice insisted that Bruce cannot disappoint all the children. Will Santa Claus Bruce make his midnight ride?

BAH! HUMBUG! was the word, as the goslings got in harness, flapping wildly, and the wagon on skids lifted off with Santa Bruce reluctantly aboard, in Ryan T. Higgins' latest in his Mother Bruce series, Santa Bruce (Mother Bruce Series) (Disney Hyperion Books, 2018). There's a plentitude of slapstick sight gags, as Santa Bruce get stuck in chimneys and chars the seat of his red underwear pants on the way down, and plenty of dry humor as the goslings ensure that nobody has a niggardly Noel despite their curmudgeonly Father Christmas, Santa Bruce.

Other books in this not-to-be-missed, top-selling series are Mother Bruce, Hotel Bruce (Mother Bruce), and Bruce's Big Move (Mother Bruce) (see reviews here).

Boo Time! Honk! Quack! BOO! (Duck and Goose) by Tad Hills

"So, Goose, what are you going to be tomorrow?" asked Duck.

"Tomorrow? Well, I think I will be myself, Duck. It's important to always be yourself."

"Tomorrow is Halloween! It's a day to not be yourself," Duck explained to Goose.

Little gray goose Thistle joins the conversation and announces that her costume is a secret, leaving Duck and Goose with a cryptic warning.

"Beware of the Swamp Monster!"

Duck is unfazed by Thistle's bravado, but Goose announces that he's no fan of swamp monsters. He decides that dressing as Super Goose might keep the shivers at bay.

The next evening he gets suited up in super-hero style and is met by a ghost who claims to be Duck.

"I'm not really a ghost! Look at my feet!"

Goose relaxes a little, and the two friends head off for some trick-or-treating, Goose still looking around apprehensively for a Swamp Monster. He spots a bee and a butterfly, a princess and a daisy, all clearly friends in costumes, but no sign of Thistle in her secret disguise. But then.... some scary footsteps are heard, coming closer, and closer, and....

Duck and Goose turned and saw the slimiest and most hideous Swamp Monster ever.

Goose groaned. "We're goners!"

Duck and Goose are scared, but sharp-eyed young readers will not be if they have spied Thistle in the background gathering moss from the pond for her secret Halloween disguise, in Tad Hill's Duck and Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo! (Schwartz and Wade, 2017).

Luckily, Goose rallies, remembering that he is after all a brave superhero, and Thistle gets a surprise comeuppance scare of her own, in author-illustrator Hills' newest story of his beloved web-footed characters' Halloween adventure. Hills offers youngsters some vicarious experience with the minor fears of Halloween, along with enough scares and treats to go around for all. Hills' adorable aquatic characters play out their little holiday excursion in both full-bleed and spot-art style on alternating pages, giving the youngest trick-or-treaters just the right preview taste of the spooky fun and sweet rewards of Halloween. Says Kirkus Reviews, "Goose and Duck are wonderfully childlike in their innocence and naiveté. Gentle Halloween fun from two beloved friends."

Check Out--Please! Hotel Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce was a bear who lived with three geese...

...reluctantly....

Bruce had been a contentedly curmudgeon bachelor bear, until inadvertently a hatch of goslings (at that impressionable age) imprint on him, forcing him to become "Mother Bruce." Raising goslings requires annual migrations southward when Bruce's predilection is to hibernate, but the dour bear does his duty for his brood.

But returning to his beloved den after wintering over at Miami Beach, he finds his home appropriated by a batch of squatter mice who have turned his quaint cave into The North Woods Hotel. His almost-grown goslings cheerfully become bellhops, but Bruce is not a happy camper in his own home.

One guest, a beaver, has his own dining table, which he is cheerfully chewing to shreds. Bruce finds his own bedroom and bed already full--with a moose, raccoon, bunny, three turtles, and a porcupine reclining there. One of his bedmates demands a glass of water, one wants to snuggle, and the turtle in the middle anxiously makes an announcement:

"I have to pee!"

It was a long night.

Morning finds a frog in Bruce's toilet and an aproned Chef Fox in the kitchen, trying to coax the turtles into a steaming tureen as the soup course for dinner.

And then the tour bus full of elephants (and their trunks) arrives, and they all have reservations!

His little liveried goslings rush out to take their luggage.

This was the last straw!

With a ROAR Bruce clears the place, with the interloping critters running for the tall timber, followed by the would-be hotelier mice, Peace and quiet reign inside as rain begins to pour outside. Bruce's goslings softly honk sadly as they watch the mice getting soaked as they seek shelter under an evergreen.

Will "Mother" Bruce relent? The goslings already know that crabby Bruce is an old softie, in Ryan T. Higgins' Hotel Bruce (Hyperion Books, 2016). In this sequel to his hit, Mother Bruce, Higgins brings back his bad-tempered bear in another picture book filled with illustrations loaded with sight gags and the sweet silliness of a grumpy bear who finds his den as full as the old woman who lived in a shoe. "A merry, witty celebration of chaos and grumpiness," rejoices Kirkus Reviews.

Eggnapped: Ollie's Easter Eggs by Olivier Dunrea

THIS IS GOSSIE AND GERTIE.
THEY ARE GATHERING EGGS.

THIS IS OLLIE.

HE IS HOPPING.

The goslings, Gossie and Gertie and BooBoo and Peedie are collecting eggs and dyeing them bright colors--yellow, purple, red, and blue.

"I WANT EGGS!" OLLIE SHOUTS.

Happy-go-lucky Ollie is busy playing Easter Bunny, perfectly happy to miss the job of hauling, mixing dyes, and dipping and dunking the eggs. But when he sees the exciting product of their labors, he wants to get in on the fun, too.

The other goslings get busy hiding their colored eggs. One by one they find good places to conceal their big bright eggs. Then they gather to plan their Easter egg hunt. But while they are not looking, Ollie carefully pushes all the colored eggs away from their hiding places and covers them stealthily with his green blanket.

And when the Easter egg search begins, no one can find any eggs, not even the ones they themselves hid. They even upend themselves in the pond to look for the eggs underwater. What kind of Easter egg hunt is this? Where can their eggs be?

Ollie is a gosling with a better way to decorate eggs in this jolly barnyard tale, now in a brand-new board book edition, Ollie's Easter Eggs (a Gossie &; Friends book) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013). Easy text and simple, centered pastel illustrations set against a bright white background make this story of the mischievous Ollie a treat for the Easter season.

No Nap! Gideon by Olivier Dunrea

GIDEON IS A SMALL, RUDDY GOSLING WHO LIKES TO PLAY. ALL DAY.

What little Gideon definitely does NOT like to do is take naps.

Every time his mother calls to remind him that it's really time for his nap, he has only one answer.

NO NAP! I'M PLAYING!

Gideon is a proactive player. He likes to chase things. He chases a piglet in the piggery, butterflies in the meadow, and he pesters the poultry in the henhouse poking around for their eggs.

And then he gets chased by a mole he meets in the meadow.

So Gideon tries other techniques. He stalks a beetle, splashes with the ducklings in the pond, plays leapfrog with a frog, outstares a turtle, and bounces on the back of a perplexed but patient ewe in the sheepery. And every time his mother calls him to nap, he dashes away. If he can just keep moving, maybe he can outrun that nap!

But little goslings need to rest, and Gideon begins to slow down as he wanders out in the field to elude his mom. Finally, he spots an appealingly soft haystack and scrambles up one side to the cushy peak.

This time when his mother calls him, Gideon doesn't answer. He's still busy, but--

This time Gideon is busy taking a nap.

Olivier Dunrea's first book featuring little Gideon without his gosling gang, Gideon (Gossie & Friends) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) is just as charming as his previous stories of Gossie, Gertie, Stomper, Peedie, Ollie, and BooBoo. Busy toddlers will see themselves in the go-go gosling Gideon, trailing his little demi-octopus toy with him on every foray, who stays awake by staying on the move, but parents can only hope that they will also recognize the appeal of settling down at last for that nap which will find them at last.

Take a video peek at Gideon and his gosling gang here