Gus

by Olivier Dunrea

Overview

Gus loves to be by himself. He explores the whole barnyard, taking in the world around him all on his own. Until he finds three small eggs. His perfect companions might be inside! How long will they take to hatch?

The latest character to join Olivier Dunrea's growing gaggle of adorable goslings has a self-assured independence that preschoolers are sure to identify with!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547867618
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	03/03/2015
Series:	Gossie and Friends Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

OLIVIER DUNREA is the creator of beautiful and well-loved children’s books. A painter and a sculptor, his work centers around farms, animals, architecture, and folklore. He lives in the tiny village of Narrowsburg, New York, in the Catskill Mountains.

Editorial Reviews

"As surely as there's room in the series for Gus, there's room in his contemplative little life for companionship after all."
—Kirkus

"Dunrea's gently amusing, pleasingly repetitive stories and thoroughly beguiling illustrations continue to capture preschooler life in all its variety."
—Horn Book Magazine
 

From the Publisher

Gus is the newest gosling in Dunrea’s “Gossie and Friends” series. He is an observant gosling who prefers to play alone. Gus explores on his own, watching spiders working, mice playing, and spends time at a pond watching a turtle. Gus’s quiet curiosity permeates the book and draws him to a nest of turtle eggs where he patiently waits. Gus’s patience is rewarded and he finds that sometimes it is fun to be around others too. Dunrea manages to create yet another personality in the series in this lovable little gosling. From the pot he wears on his head to his disheveled feathers, to his surprise at the end, it is impossible not to follow along wondering what Gus will discover next. Dunrea’s illustrations are done in pen-and-ink and gouache and focus simply on the characters and setting on a white background. Young children, and especially Gossie fans, will enjoy this book. Reviewer: Aimee Isaac; Ages 3 to 7.

Children's Literature - Aimee Isaac

2015-01-10
Gus is a welcome addition to the Gossie & Friends series.Sporting a cooking pot on his head with its handle turned to the front like a visor, little "Gus is a small yellow gosling who likes to be by himself." He quietly observes the world around him in pen-and-ink-and-gouache illustrations that embrace open white space to achieve focus on the very things that Gus spies—a spider, mice and a turtle. After watching the turtle dig in the sand and then return to the water, Gus goes to investigate the place where the turtle was digging. There, he finds three small eggs, and he decides to sit on them to keep them warm. His patient brooding leads to their hatching, and he is delighted to see the baby turtles emerge. They, in turn, seem to imprint on him: The closing image of Gus with the babies riding on his back and head as he swims across the water amends the statement that Gus is a gosling "who likes to be by himself" to say that this is true "[m]ost of the time." As surely as there's room in the series for Gus, there's room in his contemplative little life for companionship after all. Good to meet you, Gus. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews