Flightless Goose Book by Eric D.Goodman Illustrated by Nataliya A. Goodman.
Books are my first love so I got very excited when asked to do a book review for Flightless Goose by Eric D. Goodman. Flightless . Gilbert lives on a pond with his geese friends and enjoys doing all the fun things that geese normally do. One day an accident changes Gilbert’s life and he is no longer able to fly. Gilbert becomes a new kind of hero that relies on hard-work and practice to achieve his goals. He never re-gains his ability to fly, but exercises to re-gain physical strength along the journey he grows in confidence too. As you’ll find out, Gilbert will need strength, confidence, and courage to save the day.
I love a full-colour children’s book, and appreciate the amount of love, care, and hard work the author and illustrator invested into this large book. It can easily hold it’s own along side our favourites from classic literature. My toddler Princess loves the pictures, and will sit on the floor turning each page in succession. Flightless Goose inspires her to use her imagination as she creates her own dialogue and story from looking at the artwork.
I recommend reading Flightless Goose with your children (grandchildren, nieces and nephews, students, etc). It’s a big book with a few sad moments, but it all turns out well in the end. I have to admit that I had a few emotional moments when reading it. The story is truly an adventure-filled tale that brings the readers through a range of emotions. It may inspire dialogue about playing near roads and road safety. There are many other themes brought to light as well: issues related to bullying, care for animals, the power of friendship, and the fact that EVERYONE has purpose and is special. There is a lesson about forgiveness here as well. Gilbert’s geese friends weren’t always kind to him after his accident, yet he didn’t hold a grudge.
Readers can find a positive role-model in Gilbert. He showed a lot of strength and determination when faced with disappointments and struggles. Gilbert also learned to have courage and stand up for what he felt was right when bullies threatened his friends. Of course we can’t forget that Gilbert’s good friend Johnny helps save the day when trouble returns to their park. As a reader I was sent away feeling as though I had fought and won battles with Gilbert because I was rallying so strongly for him. Gilbert the Goose is a new kind of HERO because children and young-at-heart adults can identify with his zest for life.
Another reason to love Flightless Goose is because it is part of the Pajama Program . This is a charity that has given 1,000,000 children new pajama’s and books. I didn’t go crazy with the zeros. I got very excited to read that staggering number and to see that One Million children have benefited! So buy a copy today because every sale of the Flightless Goose will help the Pajama Program charity “deliver warm sleepwear and nurturing books to children in need”(1).
* I received a complimentary copy of Flightless Goose for the purpose of doing a Book Review. As always, the views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.
(1) Quote extracted from http://www.rungoose.com/
