Bringing Up Gosling! Mother Goose Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce is a recluse.

Bruce is a grouch.

HE DID NOT LIKE SUNNY DAYS.

HE DID NOT LIKE CUTE LITTLE ANIMALS.

BRUCE ONLY LIKED ONE THING--EGGS.

You might say Bruce is a bird watcher. He watches all the birds in the forest, watching for an opportunity to "borrow" their eggs, openly robbing their nests for the delicacies he concocts with his collection of egg recipes borrowed from the internet. One day he comes across an enticing dish, featuring hard-boiled eggs in honey sauce over salmon.

Bruce pulls out his personal shopping cart and sets out to collect the ingredients. He catches some fresh salmon and then relieves the bees of some of their honey.

(HE LIKED TO SUPPORT LOCAL BEES, YOU SEE.)

That only leaves the main attraction--eggs. Luckily, Mrs. Goose has a nice clutch going.

"ARE THESE FREE-RANGE ORGANIC?" HE ASKED.

Back home, Bruce puts the goose eggs in a saucepan to cook, but when he returns with firewood to stoke the stove, he finds four just-hatched goslings standing in a footbath of warm water in the pot.

Now we all know what young birds do when they hatch! Yes! They imprint on the first moving thing they see, and that's ... Mother Goose Bruce!

"MAMA?"

Bruce is nonplussed. He grabs up his gaggle of goslings and heads back to Mrs. Goose's nest to return the defective merchandise. He finds only a sign:

[BE BACK IN APRIL!]

That's not good news. Bruce has got the baby goose blues! They follow him everywhere, despite his stern orders to shoo!

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!"

Perhaps he can induce the geese to migrate. He rigs a slingshot between two saplings to shoot them into a southerly route. No luck. He buys them little single-engine model planes and tries to send them off into the wild blue yonder. They circle back, honking "MAMA!" and wearing warm mufflers and knit caps, all set to winter over with Mother Bruce.

Like it or not, Mother Goose Bruce is stuck raising his little flock. Wearing water wings and swim fins, he dutifully supervises first swimming lessons in their little plastic pool. He books a motel on the beach in Miami, hoping that they'll get the urge to stay south. He suffers through all the usual parental stages:

ANNOYING BABY GEESE.

STUBBORN TEENAGE GEESE.

BORING ADULT GEESE.

It's an unusual blended family, all right, in Ryan T. Higgins hilarious hit, Mother Bruce (Hyperion Books, 2015). Newbie author-illustrator Higgins hits all the marks in this, his first book. His wry and ironic text is pitch perfect in its sly but loving spoof of parenting, and his illustrations are both lovely and comic, opening with a charming woodsy scene reminiscent of Disney's Snow White's forest and beguiling goslings that are kissing-cousin likenesses of Olivier Dunrea's Gossie (Gossie & Friends), and still providing laugh-out loud scenes--game goslings in flight helmets in little open-cockpit airplanes, his "stubborn teenage geese" slouching about with earphones, and Bruce and one grown gosling, stretched out in beach chairs with sunglasses and iced drinks with little umbrellas, while another is followed out of the ocean by a tiny sea turtle, ironically piping "Mama?"

Kids and grownups alike will find a lot to like together in this one, a great family read-aloud. "Visually beautiful, clever, edgy and very funny," says Kirkus' starred review.

Living Color: Duck & Goose: Colors! by Tad Hills

Duck and Goose come through with flying colors in their brand-new board book, Duck and Goose Colors (Schwartz and Wade, 2015) by Tad Hills. In this outing the pedagogic poultry pair set out to teach preschoolers all about colors.

Duck begins with himself, comparing his own yellow fuzz with a buttercup in a meadow. And, oh, yes! His feet are orange, like pumpkins and Goose's hat. Their new little friend Thistle is a dapper but prim gray, and their friend the inchworm is as green as the leaves he hides among.

There are purple butterflies, bluebirds and blue skies, a red ball, a row of black ants, also the color of Goose's bill, and, of course, Goose has fine white feathers to go with Duck's bright yellow ones.

Tad Hill's Duck and Goose are a popular pair in the picture book crowd and this bright little board book is a great start for the youngest book lovers. Kirkus Reviews says, "Duck and Goose have taken their places alongside Frog and Toad and George and Martha as fine examples of friendship, curiosity and problem-solving, and this offering is a good way to introduce babies to the pair."

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.

Different Strokes: Jasper & Joop by Olivier Dunrea

Jasper and Joop are two very different goslings.

Jasper's white feathers are pristine and smooth as silk. He never leaves the nest without tidying it up and putting on his little rep tie and striped cap.

Joop's grey feathers are spiky and messy. In fact, he musses them up carefully before he leaves his disreputable nest.

Nevertheless, this odd couple of goslings are friends. While the fastidious Jasper holds back from interacting with the wet, dusty, muddy outdoors and shrinks from interacting with people of the pig persuasion, Joop embraces it all!

"MUDDY MUD!!" HONKS JOOP.

As Jasper shrinks in distaste, Joop splashes in puddles, plops into the mud with the piglets, and cheers when the chicks invite him for a frolic in the musty, dusty straw. It is not until he ignores the buzzzzzzzing of the bees near their hive, that Joop runs a-fowl of his environment. Jasper looks on aghast as Joop follows the bees right up to their hive. And then, horror of horrors---

JOOP STICKS HIS BILL INTO THE BEEHIVE.

This time the judicious Jasper takes the lead and they both RUN from the angry bees--into the tall grass, rolling in the mud, and waddling wildly until they SPLASH into the safety of the pond. When they bob up, they find themselves in agreement for the first time that day:

"WHAT FUN!"

Olivier Dunrea's latest in his Gossie and Friends series, the just-out Jasper & Joop (Gossie & Friends) (Houghton Mifflin, 2013) shows a pair of fine feathered friends who find that their differences don't stop them from finding fun. Olivier Dunrea's oh-so-inviting illustrations, blackline drawings, in strong pastels against a bright white pages, give his books a plenty of eye appeal, and his stories of exuberant young geese and ducks are fine preschool fare. For Easter baskets pair this one with Dunrea's seasonal treat, Ollie's Easter Eggs (a Gossie & Friends book) (see my review here). What fun indeed!!

What Time Is It? Duck & Goose: It's Time for Christmas by Tad Hills

GOOSE!

IT'S NOT TIME FOR CATCHING SNOWFLAKES.

IT'S NOT TIME FOR MAKING A SNOW GOOSE.

Goose is obviously a carpe diem kind of guy. There's a fresh white snowfall on the ground, and he just knows it's time to throw snowballs, build snow forts, sled and skate, and create snow angels while the snow falls, so to speak.

Duck, however, is a task-oriented sort. There's a job ahead and there's no time like the present to get it done. What time is it?

Well, it's Christmastide, and it is obviously Duck's self-appointed purpose to push and prod his happy-go-lucky pal to get cracking with the Christmas tree. What Duck fails to heed all along, of course, is that Goose, despite his momentary heedless hedonism, is planning ahead as well. Concealed behind his back is a large gold star, all ready for topping the tree at just the right moment.

With Tad Hill's new holiday board book treat, Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas (Schwartz & Wade, 2010), it is well nigh impossible not to spout words like "cute" and "adorable" and "charming," because that is exactly what it is. That odd couple of the board book set, Duck and Goose, are delightfully darling in their stocking caps and mufflers, and their final product, the little snow-decked Yuletide tree, freshly wound with cranberry and popcorn strings, is, well, quite cute! Just in time for the holidays, the youngest board book lovers will welcome this addition to the series.

Other books about Duck and Goose are Duck and Goose (Duck & Goose), Duck, Duck, Goose (Duck & Goose), What's Up, Duck?: A Book of Opposites (Duck & Goose,) Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, Duck and Goose: How are You Feeling? (Duck & Goose), and Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin. A selection of these, er, charming little board books makes a great pre-Christmas or stocking-stuffer gift for any, er, totally adorable toddler you know.

Pumpkin Hunt: Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hill

"Nice pumpkin, Thistle."

"Yes, it is."

"I want a pumpkin, too," said Goose.

"Duck, let's go find one."
Admiring their friend Thistle's lovely orange specimen puts Duck and Goose into instant pumpkin lust. The two set out to find their own, but they have no idea where pumpkins are to be found. A hollow log turns out to be a pumpkin-free zone. Then the frisky friends jump into a pile of autumn leaves and toss them at each other.

"Is our pumpkin in the leaf pile?"

"No," said Duck.

"Is our pumpkin up in the apple tree?"

Well, no, and it's not in the pond where Duck admires his own relection either. Goose climbs on top of Duck's shoulders to peer at the top of a big stump, to discover only an acorn.

Then they come upon their friend Thistle again, who asks a salient question.

"Have you tried the pumpkin patch?"

"The WHAT?" ask Duck and Goose.

Needless to say, the two friends are soon congratulating each other on their amazing search strategy from their perch on top a beautiful orange pumpkin.

Tad Hills' Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin is the latest in his best-selling picture and board books starring his admittedly adorable gosling and duckling pals, just in time for visits to that elusive pumpkin patch for preschoolers everywhere.

Not Eggs-actly!: Duck and Goose by Tad Hills

In a feathered "finders-keepers, losers-weepers" squabble, a little duck and a little goose find a large, roundish, spotted object in the field. It's an egg, right? In their limited experience, it's an egg, and they immediately dispute ownership. Duck "saw it first," but goose "touched it first."


The quarrel threatens to turn a bit testy until the two begin to think about the baby growing inside their egg. Protectively, Duck and Goose scramble to sit atop the egg to keep it warm, and both manage to perch precariously back-to-back on top.

"Scoot over. I don't have any room," complained Duck.

"You are much closer to me than I am to you."

"Stop yelling in my ear, Goose!"

"Shhhh..." Goose hushed, pointing at the round thing beneath them.

Quietly, Duck and Goose continue their quarrel about ownership of the baby inside the egg. Duck insists that it must be taught to quack. Goose insists that honking is the way to go. But then the two pseudo-parents come to common ground.

"I am going to teach the baby bird to waddle," Goose added.

"So am I," Duck said.

Duck and Goose agree that both of them can teach the baby to swim and fly, and the two sit patiently atop their charge, through sun and moon, rain and shine, as they await the big event.

Then one day, they feel something that means the big moment is coming. What to do? Goose suggests remaining calm. Then they notice a small bluebird giving the egg an experimental kick. She excuses herself and suggests that they play together. "I just thought that maybe I could play with your ball. It really is a nice one," she says.

"Did she say ball?" Goose gulps and whispers to Duck. The two ponder the unthinkable for a moment and immediately begin to spin the situation.

"I did have my doubts," said Duck.

"Yes, and I must say, I was somewhat suspicious of those big dots," Goose admitted.

With the resilience of their tender years, the two decide the ball is definitely a keeper, and immediately make the best of the outcome by kicking their new toy down the field, where "sometimes, it even flew."

Tad Hills' Duck and Goose, an ALA Notable Book, is sure to hit a nerve with children who have argued over possession rights and found a way to compromise and enjoy the fun. The bright, appealing illustrations and the absolutely simple silliness of the two little ones' rivalry over hatching a polka-dotted ball will have children giggling, "That's not an egg!" but laughing sympathetically all the way through.

For more Duck and Goose fun, see also Tad Hills' What's Up, Duck? and Duck & Goose, How Are You Feeling?