Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Little Green Goose
Illustrator: Anke Faust
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
NorthSouth, 2010 ISBN: 978-0735822924
Mr. Goose lives on a farm with a collection of other animals, and he enjoys spending time with the chicks, reading them stories or taking them for a swim. The truth is that Mr. Goose would love to have a chick of his own. He would love to have a baby to care for “who would call him Daddy.”
Mr. Goose asks the chickens if one of them would give him one of their eggs, and they make it clear that they are not interested in helping out a poor goose like him. Then Daisy the dog finds a very large egg, and she gives it to Mr. Goose, who faithfully sits on it to keep it warm.
Then one day the eggs cracks and the most peculiar little chick hatches out. Instead of a beak and feathers, this chick has shiny scales and a long tail. It is a rather strange little goose, but Mr. Goose does not care. The baby calls him “Daddy” and Mr. Goose sets about caring for his offspring with love and tender care.
Then one day the rooster tells the little green goose and he is not a goose at all, and that Mr. Goose cannot possibly be his daddy. The poor little green goose is distraught, and he sets off to find his real daddy.
Families come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes parents and their children look nothing alike, but the love that connects them is a bond that cannot and should not be broken.
In this charming picture book, Adele Sansone shows to great effect how love is what makes a family, not a blood tie, or even a species tie. Anke Faust’s delightful multimedia artwork perfectly compliments the heartwarming story.
