Gossie (Gossie & Friends) [Hardcover]

Olivier Dunrea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2002 | Series: Gossie & Friends

Meet Gossie, a small yellow gosling who loves to wear bright red boots—every day. One morning Gossie can’t find her beloved boots. She looks everywhere for them: under the bed, over the wall, even in the barn. Preschoolers will enjoy helping Gossie find her red boots and delight in where Gossie finally finds them.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K-Two books that are sure to become favorites because they tap into quintessential preschool experiences. In the first book, Gossie's red boots are missing. When they are found on the feet of Gertie, a smaller gosling, Gossie ends up sharing them. In the second story, Gertie is back, this time with blue boots of her own. She follows Gossie and does everything Gossie says, for a while. When she begins to do her own thing, her friend gets upset. By the end, the tables turn and Gertie leads Gossie to the food bowl, which they share, struggles forgotten. Dunrea's texts use easy words and simple, repetitive sentences, with a little bit of rhyming when it fits: "She wears them when she rides. She wears them when she hides" (Gossie). The ink-and-watercolor illustrations add little details that will reward observant children, such as a small insect in the background. Gossie's rural world is reassuringly child-sized, clear, and contained, as indicated by simple lines, primary colors, and focused illustrations on a white background. Because of the books' small size they will be better for one-on-one sharing than for group storytime. Young children will ask to hear these stories again and again, and they're just right for little hands.
Laurie von Mehren, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Reviewed with Olivier Dunrea's Gossie & Gertie.

PreS. These small, square picture books introduce two little goslings in stories as unassuming yet satisfying as the art that illustrates them. Gossie features a little goose who loves wearing her bright red boots everywhere. One morning, they are missing. Searching everywhere, Gossie becomes increasingly distressed until she finds her boots on the feet of another, slightly smaller gosling. The last page shows the duo walking together, each wearing one red boot. In Gossie & Gertie, Gossie in her red boots and Gertie in blue ones are inseparable companions. Gossie, who expects Gertie to follow her lead, is increasingly annoyed when Gertie follows her own path. These beautifully designed volumes are simple enough for a two-year-old, yet they offer enough of a story to entertain older preschoolers as well. Pleasing in their economy of line, the bright ink-and-watercolor illustrations look clean and sharp against the white backgrounds. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (August 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618176748
• ISBN-13: 978-0618176748
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.4 x 6.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Olivier Dunrea is the creator of beautiful and well-loved children's books. A painter and a sculptor, his work centers around medieval farms, farm animals, architecture, and folklore. He lives in a 100 year old Arts and Crafts house in a tiny, remote mountain village on the western edge of the Catskills Mountains. More of Olivier's art and life can be seen at www.olivierdunrea.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars These boots are made for walking February 18, 2005

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

All logical corners of my cranium make it perfectly clear that there is no understandable reason why I liked, "Gossie" as much as I did. The pictures are repetitive with very little detail and a heroine who's mouth is permanently agape. What's to love? But then there's that part of my brain that looks beyond the obvious hairline faults of an otherwise near perfect creation. If Gossie looks the same from page to page, that's because such repetitions are adored by early readers everywhere. If her story is not a rousing shoot-em-up escapade, it makes up for it by being a lovely simple story told with the ideal amount of words and images. And if Gossie is not your typical gosling heroine, it may well be that original appearance that makes her so darned appealing in the first place. "Gossie" may not be the greatest preschooler tome ever penned, but you'd have a hard time conjuring up a list of any that are better.

Storywise, there's not much to say. Gossie loves her bright red boots. A chronic mouth breather, she spends her days stomping around and about in the aforementioned attire. One day, however, the boots are nowhere to be found. In a state of panic so intense that she shuts her beak in misery, Gossie searches high and low. All seems lost until she finds that the boots are walking. "On someone else's feet!". Her fellow gosling, Gertie, compliments her on her choice of footwear and by the end of the tale the two are stomping about, one boot on each gosling's foot.

Aside from the fact that the book teaches good heartfelt lessons about sharing and not getting mad when younger friends/siblings purloin one's belongings, the books a heckuva lotta fun to read. Gossie herself is entirely enticing.... Dunrea has drawn her with fine pen and inks and filled her bright yellow body in with swaths of yellow. Her adventures (prior to the boot loss) teach kids about the wonders of uphill, downhill, rain, snow, backwards, forwards, etc. The words are simple enough for kids to grasp but presented in a charming package. If I someday make a list of preschooler-books-parents-can-read-twenty-times-over-without-gagging, this will undoubtedly be number one. Heck, you could read it one hundred times without cease and still find yourself charmed by its plucky little ending. Few will marvel over the fact that this book garnered itself several sequels.

In the world of preschooler picture books written with little hands in mind, "Gossie" takes the cake. It's that rare breed of book that appeals to the sensibilities of Harvard educated yuppie parents and their applesauce smeared two-year-old heirs. A fine fine purchase. Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful..... March 13, 2003

By Roz Levine

Format:Hardcover

"This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day..." They are her prized possession, and she almost never takes them off. She wears them all the time, rain or shine, eating or sleeping. Gossie just loves her bright red boots. Then one morning they disappear. Gossie looks everywhere, from one end of the farm to the other, but she can't find them. "They were gone. Gossie was hearbroken." But what is that flash of red? Could that be her beloved boots? "They were walking. On someone else's feet!" Olivier Dunrea's clever text is engaging and written in short, simple sentences that little ones will beg to help you read. His charming and expressive artwork is bright, playful, and very appealing, and filled with gentle humor and captivating eye-catching details. With a happily-ever-after solution to set everything right in the end, Gossie is a fun-filled preschool crowd pleaser that's sure to become an instant favorite at your house.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My 2 year old has it memorized November 7, 2003

By Reader 200

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My two year old loves this book so much that she has almost the entire story memorized. As a parent, nothing is better than having your child look at the picture and tell you the story word for word. The words are simple enough for any child to understand. And it teaches concepts, such as backwards and forwards that small children easily pick up. It is a cute story that a two year old can relate too, a great learning to read tool, a wonderful teacher of concepts and not too silly for parents to read thousands of times. I can't say enough about Gossie!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming for all ages December 18, 2003

By Tracy K. Buchanan

Format:Hardcover

The first in a series about Gossie and her friends, this book
has captivated my 6 month old, myself and my husband! The pages flow so nicely and the illustrations are simple, very beautiful and full of little suprises. We look forward to more books by Olivier Dunrea. We also reccomend "Gossie and Gertie" "Ollie" and "Ollie the Stomper"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Epic Board Book! July 5, 2008

By M. Allen Greenbaum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As board books go, this is a looong one, yet, "Gossie" holds one's interest even as it introduces a barnyard full of prepositions and situations. Oliver Dunrea's idyllic little watercolor and ink drawings are a beguiling mix of innocence and sheer pluck and energy. Gossie occupies the center of the page, generally waddling across safe, cozy little settings. There's lots of white space, with Gossie invariably pictured in profile. (Funny... although she's a gosling, she looks more like a duck to me.)

We quickly learn that Gossie is just gaga over her red boots. She wears them everywhere, and is very nimble in them, walking both backwards and forwards! She's small and simple enough for young toddlers to identify with, and hence adore. The bright primary colors will attract the eyes of even the youngest audience.

Gossie's joyful romp is interrupted when she loses her beloved red boots. She looks everywhere for them, and that search introduces all those prepositions and nouns and other good little vocabulary words. Another writer might have placed some false clues, a red little something that is NOT the red boots, but Dunrea keeps the story simple, there are no red herrings here.

To her utter delight, Gossie finally finds her boots on the feet of her pal Gertie (featured more prominently in other books). One would expect such thievery among snallfry to result in cries, fists, or outrages accusations--maybe even fisticuffs or floods of tears. Instead we have an exquisite example of uncomplicated friendship: Gertie hands over the boots, and compliments Gossie on her sartorial tastes! Gossie, ever the sweetie, returns this generosity by sharing her single pair of boots with Gertie.... We're left with one gentle and funny picture of each bird wearing ONE boot, walking (in profile, of course), together across the page.

This is a somewhat unusual board book because of its comparative length. It's appropriate for the older toddler as well as the younger. In fact, the reader may chose to read this in sections--like a chapter book without chapters--for littler ones with short attention spans.

To sum, the book has a lovable main character (Gossie), a favorite object (the red boots), a simple plot that's neither too bland nor dramatic (oh, my where are the boots!), latent educational value (all those directional prepositions), light,pleasant, nursury-worthy illustrations, and a positive, slyly humorous conclusion. In short, another winner in the board book category! Read more ›