A vivid and authentic account of geese living their beautiful, wild lives.
A bonded pair of Canada geese raise a family.
When Goose and Gander fly back to the island they call home, it’s still wintry. They fend off rival geese and, as the ice thaws, dive for food. Amid frog song and under a full moon, the two come together, and “a miracle begins.” (Mating isn’t depicted on the page.) Next, Goose finds their old nest and lines it with moss and twigs, lays five eggs, and incubates them for a whole month—not feeding herself and not moving, even through a late snowstorm. Meanwhile Gander stands guard, driving off a hungry fox and a curious puppy. Five goslings hatch, looked after by both Goose and Gander and observed by a light-skinned child (referred to as “you”), until autumn arrives and all seven fly away together. The language is well chosen, and repetition gives extra weight to the words’ meaning. A spread of backmatter adds more fascinating facts about Canada geese. Using a restrained palette, Repka’s colorful illustrations are detailed and accurate, though stylized and elegantly composed, right down to the decorative endpapers. While the goslings are undeniably cute, the artwork eschews anthropomorphism. Perspective varies from full views to close-ups, with appropriate, identifiable landscapes and vegetation. The child is the only human and is portrayed less realistically than the animals. The many double-page spreads make for an immersive read-aloud.
A vivid and authentic account of geese living their beautiful, wild lives. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781534113183
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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