Barnes & Noble Staff
One stormy night, a Canada goose egg accidentally rolls into a woodchuck family's nest. When the goose hatches, she is immediately loved and the woodchucks teach her all they know. But the goose feels something lacking in her life; something she sets out to find. Bang's gem-like illustrations round out this gentle, heart-warming tale.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The importance of accepting oneself and of appreciating differences in others is among the affirming messages in Bang's (The Paper Crane) deceptively simple tale, a kinder, gentler cousin of "The Ugly Duckling." Through spare but dynamic illustrations and minimal text, this small-format volume introduces a gosling raised by a family of woodchucks who teach her "all they thought a youngster should know," including how to dig, swim and avoid hunters. Much loved by her adoptive family members, the goose is nevertheless sad because she knows she is "different." No one can make her feel better, so she sets off "into the world to see what she could figure out by herself." Tumbling off a high cliff, the desolate creature discovers a hidden talent: she can fly. And she does-straight back to her woodchuck home. Like other passages here, the concluding sentence ("You know, that goose surprised everyone, especially herself") seems intentionally open-ended, leaving room for interpretation and inviting discussion on any number of issues, including adoption. A useful read-aloud, sized just right for a laptime one-on-one. All ages. (Oct.)
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-On a dark, stormy night, an egg blows out of a goose's nest and rolls into a woodchuck's den. The woodchuck family happily accepts the baby goose that hatches, but no matter how they try, the little goose feels sad and different. It is only after she goes off into the world and accidentally falls off a cliff that she discovers that she can fly. So, she flies back to her adopted family secure in her uniqueness. Through its quiet, understated text and warm, rich illustrations, this reverse ugly-duckling story celebrates being different, but still being accepted. The book's layout and small format are particularly effective. Some of the paintings are done on double-page spreads, some consist of two or three panels to a page, and others are details of the larger picture that really zero in on the action, drawing readers' eyes and attention to a focal point. This is especially true when the egg rolls out of the nest during the storm and when the goose goes over the cliff. The text is spare, but through it and the vibrant artwork, a profound message is presented. Goose is well suited as a read-aloud for groups or a cozy one-on-one situation. The story is universal enough for preschoolers, but will be appreciated as well by older children. Pair it with Andersen's classic The Ugly Duckling.-Jane Claes, T. J. Lee Elementary School, Irving, TX
Kirkus Reviews
A hand-sized book holds a humorous tale of a goose raised by woodchucks. Bang (Chattanooga Sludge, p. 444, etc.) begins: "On a dreadfully dark and stormy night, an egg was blown right out of its nest." The goose egg rolls into a deep dark hole and lands in a den of woodchucks where it hatches. The woodchucks raise the goose as one of their own and try to teach it what a woodchuck should know, with some success. The still-earthbound goose, however, sets off into the world to find out what more there is, falls off a cliff, and discovers she can fly.
Bang makes intriguing use of perspective, multiple images, frames, and borders. In the first pages, white, gray, and aqua images are painted across black backgrounds, with rain pelting down in and out of the frame; the trunk of a wind-bent tree is in the border, with its branches the focus of the picture. Elsewhere, the egg rolls right out of the frame and lands on the next page. Other pictures look like snapshots from the woodchuck family album, with a formal portrait as well as tiny, candid shots of the goose and siblings digging, moving logs, grazing, and swimming. Children will scrutinize every illustration carefully, taking pleasure from the innumerable discoveries therein.
