Grady the Goose

by Denise Brennan-Nelson, Michael Glenn Monroe (Illustrator)

From the moment she hatches from her egg, Grady Goose has to do things her way, often ignoring her parents' rule of "stick together." But when she lags behind as the rest of her family leaves for warmer climes, Grady learns the hard way that one is the loneliest number, especially for a young goose. A chance encounter with a helpful farmer soon sets things right, and a happy ending is in store for Grady and her family. Denise Brennan-Nelson, the author of the delightful Someday Is Not a Day of the Week, returns with another gentle lesson for young readers. Artist Michael Glenn Monroe's beautiful nature scenes, coupled with an information section on geese facts, add a wildlife component perfect for classroom use.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Nature

Hardcover

First published June 5, 2006

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elements of fantasy and reality blend in this sweet story of a young Canada goose who wanders away from her flock and becomes tangled in fencing, but is rescued by a kindhearted farmer who reunites her with her family. Grady learns an important lesson that day, one she keeps with her as she sets out on her first migration.

The illustrations are gorgeous and a joy to look at. It's always nice to see Canada geese depicted in a positive and sympathetic light, as too often these animals are viewed as simply pests or targets. In addition, a "manly" figure is shown doing something kind for an animal--also a great story element for humane education purposes. In all, GRADY THE GOOSE is a winner. Recommended!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely, very realistic illustrations. A good nature lesson too, in some ways - some geese-centric vocabulary, some information about hatchlings and migrations. Don't know if I'd use this for a storytime, though. It's a little long for the age group I usually work with, but it might be a good book for K-1 students (before a field trip maybe? Or at the start of the school year, moving between classrooms?).

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grady learns a difficult lesson about staying with her family. She constantly goes off on her own and doesn't listen when her parents tell her they "stick together." She's left behind when they migrate. A kind farmer drives her to a field and she meets up with her family.
Use to talk about situation awareness and reasons for rules.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family is the most important thing.

[Anne Lutomia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grady the goose learns a lesson about sticking together with her family.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art with an unexceptional story.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Denise Brennan-Nelson has written a book that parents and children can enjoy together will also teaching children an important lesson. We need to stick together and listen to our parents.
Grady is a little gosling who always seems to be getting distracted by things and never staying near to her family. But thankfully each time her family ends up being right there to get her, until one day they are not. What will happen to Grady? Will she ever see her family again?

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grady The Goose is a story about a baby goose, Grady, who likes to wonder off, despite Mother Goose's rules of "sticking together." She eventually gets lost and ends up in trouble, until a farmer finds Grady and takes care of her. In the end, the farmer helps Grady find her family and the family of geese are together again.
This is good for teaching children the responsibility of following rules, as well as, the responsibility one has for animals. Why is it important to care for animals?

[Jeff Szpirglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text is quite descriptive, and the pictures use a range of colour to show a lake in which geese mature and migrate for the winter. I used it to model and share visualizations with my grade 2 class, and it turned out to be a nifty way to remind my class to stick together on our field trip. The narrative doesn't do anything new, although students seemed engaged.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book sort of annoyed me. I usually don't mind personification of animals, but something about the mom constantly telling the baby goose "we need to stick together" was just...off. Also, the story made my two year old cry :P

[Madi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was cute, not the best book I've read because I think at some points it wasn't really right for the age group that I was shooting for, but it was still cute. I think the younger children will enjoy it more then the older ones that I teach.