LITTLE GOOSE

Downy yellow goose explores his small universe. Full of curiosity and excited by all the things around him at the beach, Little Goose sees 8s and os; they “make his eyes go walking, ’round and ’round without ever stopping” and remind him of something that makes him comfy and happy—but what? When Mama gives him an enigmatic response, Little Goose sets off with a waddle and a wiggle in search of the answer himself (though all his wanderings remain under Mama’s watchful eye as she swims in the distance). The turtle, the frog and the mouse all share the sources of their happiness. When Goose gets temporarily stuck in the mouse’s hole, it sends him waddling back to Mama, and he finally remembers his happy place: her soft wing. Apple’s full-bleed colored-pencil illustrations add appropriate warmth and gentleness to Mraz’s fable, which, although more than a little precious in its contrivance and hardly original in presentation, is nevertheless in tune with a young target audience. (Picture book. 3-6)