Peedie

July 12, 2004
To his fetching flock of goslings (Gossie & Gertie
; Ollie)
Dunrea adds two welcome and worthy feathered friends. Each of these tiny creatures, like their predecessors, has a distinct personality and a penchant for doing something that will spark recognition in adults and youngsters alike. "Peedie forgets things. Even when Mama Goose reminds him." And BooBoo is a curious blue gosling who "likes to eat from morning till night. Every day." There is one thing that Peedie never forgets, however: to wear his lucky red baseball cap. Well, almost never. When one day he puts the hat in a "secret place" but forgets where, his search for it turns up some endearing images: only the gosling's webbed feet stick up as he looks in the pond; and again, only his bottom half is visible as he searches under a flower pot. BooBoo's insatiable appetite compels her to visit other farm animals and sample their rations, each time announcing, with kid-pleasing repetition, "Good food." But she discovers that she likes to eat almost
but not quite "everything" after swallowing a soap bubble, which results in a comical succession of burps, and a burst of bubbles. Dunrea's simply charming ink-and-watercolor art reveals an endearing supporting cast of diminutive critters (turtle, spider, snail) observing the goslings' antics. In what may be a good omen for fans of this growing gang, Peedie finds his lost cap atop a gosling egg. Ages 2-5.

July 1, 2008
Dunrea's stories about baby geese and their small, amusing adventures make perfect board books. BooBoo eats everything--until she eats a soap bubble; Peedie forgets everything--except where his lucky red baseball cap is. The brief, rhythmic texts and spare but detail-filled illustrations humorously convey the lovable foibles of these toddlerlike goslings.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)