I fell in love with this book as I was reading it! Such a sweet story. For this book, I would have my students then draw their own families as if they were pumpkins keeping sure they pay attention to size in comparison to one another to family member size. Dad would be the biggest pumpkin, mom the next size down, and so on. ( )

goose and duck are going to find a pumpkin around the forest. they look and look and finally find a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch!
2 books

A sweet, simple story for the fall season. ( )

The Duck and Goose books by Tad Hill (there are many!) are great to share with your toddler or early pre-schooler. Fun, simple stories, with bright and adorable illustrations! ( )

This review was previously published. I have edited it.

This title was originally released as a small format board book in July 2009, but to my delight Random House has re-released it in a large, picture-book size board book, perfect for storytime! It's about 10 by 10 inches.

It's hard to believe there is anyone out there who hasn't met Duck and Goose yet, but if you haven't...

Duck and Goose are best friends, sometimes joined by another duckling, Thistle. While they most often explore concepts in their board books, in this particular title they're on a hunt - a hunt for a pumpkin! Duck and Goose are so enamoured of Thistle's pumpkin that they go searching for one of their own, but in all the wrong places. With a little help from Thistle, they finally find their own pumpkin.

The text is short, sweet and simple, perfect for toddlers. It's framed as a series of questions, "Is our pumpkin in the log, Goose? No." and makes not only a good straight read-aloud, but a nice structure for creating your own questions and story, especially if you're reading this with older kids.

Hills' oil paint illustrations are so rich I just want to keep stroking this book. Duck and Goose's brilliant white and yellow plumage stands out sharply against a glowing orange and green background of leaves, grass, and pumpkins. The illustrations are simple and easy for little ones to follow, without overdoing the detail, but they're not abstract and don't make you guess what the painting is supposed to be.

Verdict: I'm delighted that Random has published this board book in a large enough format that I can use this title in storytime. Great for toddlers and young preschoolers and perfect for fall storytimes. Even if you have the original, I strongly recommend purchasing this new edition as well!

ISBN: 9780307981554; This edition published July 2012 by Random House/Schwartz & Wade; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library