Silly Little Goose!

Title: Silly Little Goose!
Author: Nancy Tafuri
Illustrated: Nancy Tafuri
Published: Scholastic Press, New York
Date: 2001
Summary:One windy morning, Goose thinks she's found a fine place to make a nest. But the pigs don't think so- Then Goose thinks she's found a better place to make a nest. But the sheep don't think so- But Goose never gives up. And before long, Goose "hatches" a surprise for everyone!
Age Level:Primary (2-5)
Strengths: I really thought this was a cute book. I really liked how the text and the pictures interconnected with one another. The text were big enough for the readers to see and the pictures were certainly large enough to see. When it says "First, Goose finds..." it shows Goose looking around the farm, trying to find a nest. On the next page it says "somplace nice and warm" while the picture shows Goose going inside a little place for the pig. The text uses different words to describe what Goose is looking for, but just when she thought she found someplace to build her nest, other animals come into the picture and say "Silly Little Goose!" which means she has to find another place. She tried to find someplace warm, but the the pig and her babies live there. She tried to find someplace nice and soft, but the cat and her kittens live there. She tried to find someplace nice and quiet, but the sheep and her children live there. She tried to find someplace nice and cozy, but the hen and her chicks live there. She finds a hat that is all of the places she has described. It builds a certain kind of pattern and vocabulary and students will find what the similiarities between the words are. I also loved how the text produced different sounds for each animals presented, and how the hat was floating in the background of the story.
Concern: This is more of a question. Though I do like the white space and the colors throughout the story, I'm wondering why the author did it the way she did. You see, she put most of the setting in there, except the color of the sky, yet when the different animals say "Silly Little Goose!" the sky is blue.
Comments: I think this is a cute story and would recommend it to younger children, so they can understand the concept of patterns and learn some words (cozy, warm, etc.) They can also participate in the story as well when the page that says "Silly Little Goose!" comes up. The teacher and the students can say it together.