The Serious Goose

PreS-Gr 2–Comedian and prankster Kimmel challenges kids to make a serious goose smile. At the beginning of the story, Kimmel has drawn a no-nonsense goose with furrowed eyebrows and a bill pressed tightly together. He proceeds to place the goose in several silly situations, including placing a chicken on her head and dressing her as a moose, but he fails to make the goose smile. It is up to the readers to succeed where he has failed, and there is a mirror placed in the center of the story so that children can practice their silly shenanigans. The hand lettered text is black, large, and bold, with plenty of white space on the pages to allow readers to focus on the goose’s facial expressions. There is pleasure in watching the goose’s serious expression start to shift, and when she finally dances out in underwear with a ridiculous grin on her face, every reader will grin along with the “silly goose.” This book will be fun to read aloud to a child, but particularly hilarious to read to a group of children. Proceeds from the book will benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and other children’s hospitals around the U.S.