Duck & Goose, Find a Pumpkin

August 31, 2009
A medley of books to celebrate the season.
Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin
Tad Hills
. Random/Schwartz & Wade
, $6.99 (20p) ISBN 978-0-375-85813-0

Loyal friends Duck and Goose notice their friend Thistle's pumpkin and decide to find one of their own in this pleasing autumnal board book. Their misguided search leads them to unlikely places (“Is our pumpkin in the log, Goose?”), with a tersely funny “No” as the repeated reply. When Thistle reappears with a helpful hint, the friends finally track down an enormous pumpkin, carting it off together. Hills's cozy oil paintings play up the gentle humor at work. Ages 2–5.

August 1, 2009
PreS-Duck and Goose are searching for a pumpkin like the one their friend Thistle has. They look unsuccessfully in a hollow log, in a pile of bright autumn leaves, and in an apple tree. They even look under the water and on top of a stump before Thistle suggests that they look in the pumpkin patch. On the final spread, they are shown carrying a large pumpkin between them, and Goose says, "We sure know how to find a pumpkin, Duck," and Duck agrees. This appealing story is told in simple, well-chosen words and illustrated with uncluttered oil paintings done in autumn colors. Signs of the season are everywhere. Dark red apples have fallen to the ground, a lone acorn sits on a tree stump, and orange leaves lay lightly on the grass under a pellucid blue sky. Preschoolers on their annual pilgrimage to the local pumpkin patch will identify with Goose and Duck."Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2009
Preschool The title literally says it all. Duck and Goose see their pal Thistle with a pumpkin and decide theyd like one, too. The succeeding two-page spreads, executed in soft, autumnal colors, follow a simple format. One feathered friend asks if their pumpkin is under the water, or in the leaf pile, or on a tree stump, and the other answers, No. Thistle reappears and wonders if theyve visited the pumpkin patch, finally leading the duo to the right spot. We sure know how to find a pumpkin, Duck. Yes we do! Young children will enjoy this return visit from old friends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)