Duck and Goose are best friends. Goose is a sensitive soul who loves tiny things in the world such as butterflies - especially that beautiful blue butterfly that has just landed on his head! He can't wait to show his friend Duck, but Goose does know he needs to move carefully and speak very softly so as not to startle the butterfly.
Meanwhile Duck has found a new friend and she is wild! Thistle lives to compete, and she lives to win! She is a huge boaster and has to 'out do' everyone.
The three play all day but Goose is not having fun. Every game turns into a competition and every time Thistle just has to win. Eventually (in a deeply emotional moment) Goose just walks away. Your young reading companions might gasp when they hear what Thistle says about this:
"Oh, that guy was going to lose anyway."
Notice how Thistle doesn't even know his name and Duck is so keen to please his new friend he does not notice his friend's reactions. BUT when they do finally talk, they hatch the perfect plan to trick young Thistle.
There are quite a few books about Duck and Goose - Duck, Duck, Goose is the second book in the series which began with this one.
Blurb from author page: Duck & Goose, Goose & Duck. Feathered friends forever . . . or are they? That’s what we discover in this charming and hilarious follow-up to the bestselling Duck & Goose. You see, there’s a challenge to their friendship: a little whippersnapper of a duck named Thistle. Thistle’s good at everything (or so she thinks), from math to holding her breath to standing on her head. Duck thinks she’s fantastic. But Goose does not! And so Goose is faced with a problem close to the hearts of children everywhere: what happens when your best friend makes a new friend?
My only tiny reservation about this story based on the concept of 'twos company, threes a crowd' is that nothing is really resolved at the end. Duck and Goose have tricked Thistle but what happens when she wakes up - this is certainly a great moment in the story for a discussion with your preschool or Kindergarten group.
Tad Hills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the Rocket and Duck & Goose series, including the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read; Rocket Writes a Story; R Is for Rocket; Duck & Goose; Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Go to the Beach; and Duck & Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo! ... Tad lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, two children, and his real-life dog, Rocket, who has not yet learned to read. Penguin Random House
Listen to Tad Hills here talking about his books. You will love seeing the full size Duck and Goose.
Duck, Duck Goose was published in the US in 2007 and reprinted here in Australia in 2009 so sadly it is no longer in print. I picked up my copy for just 50 cents at a recent charity book sale. I am keen to gift this book to the grandchild of a friend and I will keep an eye out for any board books by Tad Hills - I think they would make good gifts for very young children.
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