Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin

by Tad Hills, Tad Hills (Illustrator)

Overview

When they see their friend Thistle carrying a pumpkin, Duck and Goose each want one but they're having no luck finding any until Thistle steers them in the right direction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375858130
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	07/28/2009
Series:	Duck and Goose Series
Pages:	22
Sales rank:	184,610
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD300L (what's this?)
Age Range:	Up to 2 Years

About the Author

TAD HILLS is the author and illustrator of the ALA Notable Book Duck & Goose—called "expressive and adorable" in a starred review from Kirkus Reviews—and Duck, Duck, Goose, both New York Times bestsellers. His Duck & Goose board books include the ALA Notable Book, What's Up Duck?, and the Indie bestseller, Duck & Goose: It's Time for Christmas! He is also the author-illustrator of How Rocket Learned to Read, a New York Times bestseller and a Parents' Choice Award Winner, and Rocket Writes a Story.

Editorial Reviews

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. (July)

Publishers Weekly

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

School Library Journal

"This appealing story is told in simple, well-chosen words. . . . Preschoolers on their annual pilgrimage to the local pumpkin patch will identify with Goose and Duck." —School Library Journal

"This autumn tale is charming enough to enjoy throughout the year." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Playful and comically hopeless Duck and Goose are back in a fall-themed board book. In this episode, the duo admires their friend Thistle's pumpkin. They set out to find one, but they look in all the wrong places and become distracted along the way by the fun that can be had in autumn. The feathered friends have no luck finding a pumpkin in a pile of leaves or up an apple tree. Thistle suggests they try the pumpkin patch, and the final spread shows the twosome marching off with an extra-large pumpkin and congratulating each other on their pumpkin-finding abilities. While some of the jokes will likely go over most toddlers' heads, youngsters will identify with Duck and Goose's distractibility and their obsession with something new. Hills' oil paintings, done in warm fall tones and stretching to the edge of the oversized pages, are as fresh and lively as any of the other titles in the series. The text is told entirely in snatches of dialogue; Duck, Goose and Thistle's utterances hover close to the speaker and help to differentiate the three characters. This autumn tale is charming enough to enjoy throughout the year. (Board book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews