Goose the Bear
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Bear got more than he bargained for when he accidentally ran into Fox. Little did he know, Bear had picked up Fox’s stolen goose egg. Soon, the egg hatches and Bear finds himself holding a confused little gosling that’s calling him “Mama.” Try as he might to convince the little goose he’s not its mother, the goose sticks around. Bear tries to show the goose that he’s not its mother by climbing, running, and swimming away, but Goose is there every step of the way, climbing, running, and swimming just as well as Bear. But, Fox is lurking the whole time, waiting to take back his “prize.” Just as Bear begins to accept Goose as his own, Fox makes his move. Will Fox get Goose, or will “Goose the Bear” make “Mama” proud?
In this quirky mix-up at its finest, Katja Gehrmann tells the heartwarming and species-confused story of Goose the Bear with the help of colorful, offbeat illustrations and a narrative to match. If you want to be a bear, be a bear—even if you’re a goose.
Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A diminutive gosling makes a believer out of a condescending bear in Gehrmann's tale, first published in Germany in 2009. A fox steals a goose egg but loses it when he collides with a bear ("Bears were not to be messed with"). When the egg hatches, the bear is underwhelmed. "Mama!' cries the gosling. "I'm not your mama," the bear says, uncomfortably. "I'm big and strong.... And you're different." "Yes, Mama," replies the gosling. Gehrmann works in cheerful wash and kinetically charged charcoal outlines, making the most of the contrast between the tiny gosling and the giant, lumpy bear. The bear's confusion and contempt turn slowly to admiration as the gosling proves that she can fly as fast as he can climb and run, as well as swim right alongside him. And when she catches a huge salmon (knocking the fox smartly on the head with it), the bear's perspective changes altogether: "The bear was proud. It could be his child." Gehrmann's light touch produces a story that works both as a straight comedy and, deeper down, as a fable about looking past differences. Ages 4 8.
