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Duck & Goose
Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3
Learn basic counting concepts with the New York Times bestselling feathered friends Duck and Goose! Now an animated series, available to stream on Apple TV+!
One goose. Two ducks. Three friends. All the favorite characters, including Bluebird and Thistle, return to illustrate numbers 1 to 10, and children will love to follow along with the simple text and all-new original art.
Be sure to look for other books in the series by Tad Hills!
One goose. Two ducks. Three friends. All the favorite characters, including Bluebird and Thistle, return to illustrate numbers 1 to 10, and children will love to follow along with the simple text and all-new original art.
Be sure to look for other books in the series by Tad Hills!
22 pages, Board Book
First published August 12, 2008
About the author
Tad Hills
67 books127 followers“Whenever I picture myself [as a child],” says Tad Hills, “I am doing art. I spent a lot of time on my own making things, drawing, and painting.” Hills was not consciously trying to become an artist, rather his motives were innocent and pure. “I liked making things,” he says.
As a graduate of Skidmore College in New York with a degree in art, Hills describes himself as the ultimate freelancer. He’s done some acting, made jewelry, makes fake teeth for stage productions, dabbled in interior renovation, and illustrated book jackets for adult trade books. But Hills’ break into children’s publishing coincided with his wife Lee’s new position as the art director for Simon and Schuster’s children’s book division. “Lee used to ask me to try illustrating some books she couldn’t find an illustrator for,” Hills says. When Lee moved to Random House to start her own imprint with long-time friend and associate, Ann Schwartz, she encouraged Hills to write his own picture books. “I started with four stories,” says Hills. His break out book, Duck and Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2006) was one of them.
The idea for Duck and Goose started with only a title—The Silly Goose, the Odd Duck and the Good Egg. As Hills developed the story, he realized his egg would have to be rather large to support Duck and Goose so they could hatch it. Hills also had to consider what would hatch out of such a large egg. A dinosaur? An ostrich? Additionally, Hills floated the title by his son’s kindergarten class and was rewarded with blank stares. Hills took the hint and changed his egg to a ball, and changed the title.
“For me, the writing is really difficult. I stare at a blank page for hours,” he says. “When Lee comes home and asks me about my day, I say it was okay. I wrote one sentence. . .But when I’m in the zone, I literally hear the dialogue between [Duck and Goose]. They were telling me what they wanted to say! That is the best feeling. That is when it’s not work. It’s fun!”
Hills paints with water-soluble oil paint on paper, using colored pencils for the last details. Although Hills’ Duck and Goose characters look simple enough, he drew hundreds of ducks and geese before finding a style with which he was comfortable. “The first ones [I drew] were older looking,” he says. “They looked like cigar-smoking tough guys.” Over a matter of months, Hills finally pared down Duck and Goose to their essential elements—circular heads, long rectangular legs, triangular feet, and door-shaped beaks. “When I apply the eyebrow,” he says, “I can express what Duck is feeling.”
As Hills’ two children grow, he finds himself drawn to how kids treat each other. “I didn’t tolerate meanness or injustice as a kid,” he says. In Duck, Duck, Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2007), Hills creates a friendship triangle by introducing a new duck named Thistle. Together Duck, Goose, and Thistle give Hills’ observations a voice and provide several conversation starters for parents and children.
Hills writes from his home in Brooklyn, New York. Some days he doesn’t write at all, but tries to stay receptive to what he’s experiencing. “Most of my ideas come to me when I’m not looking,” he says. “It’s hard to get yourself to a point where ideas are out there and you can grab them.”
from http://www.patriciamnewman.com/hills....
As a graduate of Skidmore College in New York with a degree in art, Hills describes himself as the ultimate freelancer. He’s done some acting, made jewelry, makes fake teeth for stage productions, dabbled in interior renovation, and illustrated book jackets for adult trade books. But Hills’ break into children’s publishing coincided with his wife Lee’s new position as the art director for Simon and Schuster’s children’s book division. “Lee used to ask me to try illustrating some books she couldn’t find an illustrator for,” Hills says. When Lee moved to Random House to start her own imprint with long-time friend and associate, Ann Schwartz, she encouraged Hills to write his own picture books. “I started with four stories,” says Hills. His break out book, Duck and Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2006) was one of them.
The idea for Duck and Goose started with only a title—The Silly Goose, the Odd Duck and the Good Egg. As Hills developed the story, he realized his egg would have to be rather large to support Duck and Goose so they could hatch it. Hills also had to consider what would hatch out of such a large egg. A dinosaur? An ostrich? Additionally, Hills floated the title by his son’s kindergarten class and was rewarded with blank stares. Hills took the hint and changed his egg to a ball, and changed the title.
“For me, the writing is really difficult. I stare at a blank page for hours,” he says. “When Lee comes home and asks me about my day, I say it was okay. I wrote one sentence. . .But when I’m in the zone, I literally hear the dialogue between [Duck and Goose]. They were telling me what they wanted to say! That is the best feeling. That is when it’s not work. It’s fun!”
Hills paints with water-soluble oil paint on paper, using colored pencils for the last details. Although Hills’ Duck and Goose characters look simple enough, he drew hundreds of ducks and geese before finding a style with which he was comfortable. “The first ones [I drew] were older looking,” he says. “They looked like cigar-smoking tough guys.” Over a matter of months, Hills finally pared down Duck and Goose to their essential elements—circular heads, long rectangular legs, triangular feet, and door-shaped beaks. “When I apply the eyebrow,” he says, “I can express what Duck is feeling.”
As Hills’ two children grow, he finds himself drawn to how kids treat each other. “I didn’t tolerate meanness or injustice as a kid,” he says. In Duck, Duck, Goose (Schwartz and Wade, 2007), Hills creates a friendship triangle by introducing a new duck named Thistle. Together Duck, Goose, and Thistle give Hills’ observations a voice and provide several conversation starters for parents and children.
Hills writes from his home in Brooklyn, New York. Some days he doesn’t write at all, but tries to stay receptive to what he’s experiencing. “Most of my ideas come to me when I’m not looking,” he says. “It’s hard to get yourself to a point where ideas are out there and you can grab them.”
from http://www.patriciamnewman.com/hills....
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
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April 24, 2018and a partridge in a pear tree
July 10, 2021
This is a little young for my almost-three-year-old, but she thinks it’s so funny and got into the numbers (she’s generally more a letters girl) because she loves the familiar Duck and Goose characters.
March 15, 2019
عنوان ترجمه فارسی:
یک جوجه غاز، دو جوجه اردک
یک جوجه غاز، دو جوجه اردک
January 11, 2014
I love reading this book to our 7-10 month old, as she loves it too!
It's a simple counting book, but with fun illustrations of a goose and two ducks (along with another friend).
The pictures are simple and charming. Something about the birds sitting there watching the clouds (when you're counting three clouds) just really hits home with me for some reason. That and the ornery face one of the animals gives to the other two for eating some berries without him.
It's probably my daughter's favorite book right now! :)
It's a simple counting book, but with fun illustrations of a goose and two ducks (along with another friend).
The pictures are simple and charming. Something about the birds sitting there watching the clouds (when you're counting three clouds) just really hits home with me for some reason. That and the ornery face one of the animals gives to the other two for eating some berries without him.
It's probably my daughter's favorite book right now! :)
November 12, 2013
Loving Tad Hills. Books my 6 yr old as well as my twin 3 yr olds have fun with, his books are colorful and fun and sometimes educational as well. Engaging stories a well versed reader can enjoy as well as non readers, even though this particular one is geared more toward the younger crowd, this author is highly recommended.
June 21, 2009
In Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, rather than just counting objects, we watch our buddies from the Duck and Goose series climb each other, get covered in berry juice, abscond with flowers, and stare at us from the dark. Finally, a counting book that does more than add multiple objects to a page.
March 6, 2026
Browsing books to give my friends' children as gifts since I won't gift anything I haven't first read myself.
Counting books have become a hard sell for me. This one is just fine, but counting books are a dime a dozen. Pick your series, ya know? For me to call it a must-gift, there has to be a unique presentation offered. This one doesn't provide that, so it's giftable, if this is the series you want to give (along with the other books of this subgenre: colors, letters, etc), but not one I'd feel compelled to promote, if that makes sense? It's cute. It does the job. As do many others.
Counting books have become a hard sell for me. This one is just fine, but counting books are a dime a dozen. Pick your series, ya know? For me to call it a must-gift, there has to be a unique presentation offered. This one doesn't provide that, so it's giftable, if this is the series you want to give (along with the other books of this subgenre: colors, letters, etc), but not one I'd feel compelled to promote, if that makes sense? It's cute. It does the job. As do many others.
October 24, 2019
Tad Hill's illustrations are so happy and have such good humor in them. I liken him to Norman Rockwell or Sandra Boynton - he can tell a whole story and create a whole feeling with a simple illustration. Reading his books are a joy
** Talking Points - What's your favorite number and why? If you were making a counting book, what are 10 of your favorite things that you would want to include?
** Essential Oil Pairing Tips - I love the fruits and flowers in this book, so I'd diffuse 2 drops of doTERRA's Citrus Bliss essential oil blend & 3 drops Jasmine
** Talking Points - What's your favorite number and why? If you were making a counting book, what are 10 of your favorite things that you would want to include?
** Essential Oil Pairing Tips - I love the fruits and flowers in this book, so I'd diffuse 2 drops of doTERRA's Citrus Bliss essential oil blend & 3 drops Jasmine
January 8, 2023
I have read a few Duck and goose books in the past so I thought I should check out this book. This book is adorable and really great for toddlers and infants. I love that it has such bright colors which is great for the age that it's for. The words are simple and easy for the quick minded toddlers. I highly recommend checking this book out.
July 18, 2024
Hills Valleys #8
Duck & Goose #8
Well it is now book #8 of the series and the author, well it appears he is now bereft of ideas, and so we learn to count from one to ten.
I'm sure it is useful to someone somewhere, but it is pretty cheap book writing.
Duck & Goose #8
Well it is now book #8 of the series and the author, well it appears he is now bereft of ideas, and so we learn to count from one to ten.
I'm sure it is useful to someone somewhere, but it is pretty cheap book writing.
July 8, 2017
VERY basic countying book. Just counts up to 10 once. I read it in ebook format and did not notice that it was a board book. Great for infants and toddlers.
December 6, 2017
All my kids have loved this book at age 2. We read it over and over again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2018
Wee ones will learn to count with the humor and fun of Duck and Goose.
May 16, 2018
With Hill's lovely illustrations of these bird friends, this is a sweet, 1 - 10 counting board book.
March 2, 2019
I like books like this one that are about numbers. It is important to know about numbers.
June 19, 2019
Fun counting book.
December 17, 2019
My son loves this book, we've read it on repeat many, many times. It's quite cute.
October 17, 2020
Nice book to count.
November 13, 2022
11/10/22: Read with my grandchild and they loved it. Almost was able to "read" it from the pictures alone. Highly recommend for those littles that love duck & goose like my little does.
September 20, 2023
A fun counting book from Duck and Goose. The illustrations and words are very simple, but beautiful. I enjoy that there is a night time page thrown into the mix.
October 21, 2023
11/10/22: Read with my grandchild and they loved it. Almost was able to "read" it from the pictures alone. Highly recommend for those littles that love duck & goose like my little does.
April 13, 2025
If Super Simple Songs was a book...
July 21, 2025
Not my favorite counting book since it only gets to 10, but I do love Duck and Goose.
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February 15, 2016Title: Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3
Author: Tad Hills
Genre: Counting Book
Theme(s): Counting 1-10
Opening line/sentence: 1 goose
Brief Book Summary: The book works with readers as they count from 1-10. Each number is associated with some item in a silly illustration above the text. For example, Hills writes "9 footsteps" and has 9 footsteps leading to a bush where a duck's bill is poking out.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: J. M. Almy
I purchased this book for my 2 year old neice Abby. She couldn't put it down. She especially liked the number 8 page. A simple but effective way to learn to count to 10 with beautiful illustrations and short sentences.
Abby and I are Duck and Goose fans and this one is another hit. We are eagerly awaiting Duck and Goose's next adventure.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Newton Ooi
This is one of a series of children's books focusing on the interplay between a duck and a goose. This book focuses on the numbers, and each panel, or page, illustrates a number. The book is high quality with solid binding and thick pages to withstand the grabbing and biting of babies and toddlers. A great buy.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews. I liked the short clips of text on each page paired with a wonderful illustration. I also really liked how each number was represented in the picture placed above.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: As I mentioned above I really enjoyed how the author incorporated each number into its' given picture. I love the idea of physically providing 1-1 correspondence. I also think the short lines of text are extremely friendly to new/early readers.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For this book I think a felt board activity would be perfect. You could provide each student an item or two from the book and when their item is read they come up and place it on the felt board. The as a class you can count the items then continue with the story.
Author: Tad Hills
Genre: Counting Book
Theme(s): Counting 1-10
Opening line/sentence: 1 goose
Brief Book Summary: The book works with readers as they count from 1-10. Each number is associated with some item in a silly illustration above the text. For example, Hills writes "9 footsteps" and has 9 footsteps leading to a bush where a duck's bill is poking out.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: J. M. Almy
I purchased this book for my 2 year old neice Abby. She couldn't put it down. She especially liked the number 8 page. A simple but effective way to learn to count to 10 with beautiful illustrations and short sentences.
Abby and I are Duck and Goose fans and this one is another hit. We are eagerly awaiting Duck and Goose's next adventure.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Newton Ooi
This is one of a series of children's books focusing on the interplay between a duck and a goose. This book focuses on the numbers, and each panel, or page, illustrates a number. The book is high quality with solid binding and thick pages to withstand the grabbing and biting of babies and toddlers. A great buy.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree with both of these reviews. I liked the short clips of text on each page paired with a wonderful illustration. I also really liked how each number was represented in the picture placed above.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: As I mentioned above I really enjoyed how the author incorporated each number into its' given picture. I love the idea of physically providing 1-1 correspondence. I also think the short lines of text are extremely friendly to new/early readers.
Consideration of Instructional Application: For this book I think a felt board activity would be perfect. You could provide each student an item or two from the book and when their item is read they come up and place it on the felt board. The as a class you can count the items then continue with the story.
September 24, 2015
What separates Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3 from most other board books designed to teach early counting to pre-readers is the lovely, deftly understated artwork of author/illustrator Tad Hills. While many early counting books rely almost entirely on bright colors to attract the attention of infants, Tad Hills takes a bolder tack, showing confidence in even the youngest children to be able to appreciate the beauty of subtle art. That said, there are also plenty of bright colors and playful moments in Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, and the way the painted scenes blend internally is a sight for readers of any age who like good artwork.
Readers will vary widely in their selections of favorite pages from this book, but I especially like the "6 feet" page, with the three birds seated on the grass with their feet pointed at us. I also like the night scene for "8 eyes", so different from the other pages yet no less attractive for its lack of lively color, as eight eyes glow distinctly from the faces of our four feathered protagonists. Tad Hills knows what he's doing as a writer and is most definitely adept at creating pleasing artwork for the board-book set, and I would, without a second thought, recommend his work to others. I would easily give one and a half stars to Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, and for a book that has no discernible plot, that isn't bad at all. I quite enjoyed reading Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3.
Readers will vary widely in their selections of favorite pages from this book, but I especially like the "6 feet" page, with the three birds seated on the grass with their feet pointed at us. I also like the night scene for "8 eyes", so different from the other pages yet no less attractive for its lack of lively color, as eight eyes glow distinctly from the faces of our four feathered protagonists. Tad Hills knows what he's doing as a writer and is most definitely adept at creating pleasing artwork for the board-book set, and I would, without a second thought, recommend his work to others. I would easily give one and a half stars to Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, and for a book that has no discernible plot, that isn't bad at all. I quite enjoyed reading Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3.
December 27, 2013
Duck and Goose are favorites around here. This book is no exception. I'm not sure I would call it a book for preschoolers. My barely four-year-old will pick it up now and again, but it's far too basic to hold his attention. My 18 month old, on the other hand, is Duck and Goose obsessed.
While this book lacks plot and is nothing more than a typical counting book, it's already a favorite. The artwork is cute, but still beautiful. The characters are apparently very funny to my youngest. He loves the simplicity. Each page has little more than what needs to be counted, as well as Duck and Goose, of course. This makes it easy for him to enjoy finding everything without too many distractions.
Duck and Goose are adorable characters that easily appeal to little ones. This book is being added to our pile of books that need to be easy to find as we'll get requests to read them all day long!
While this book lacks plot and is nothing more than a typical counting book, it's already a favorite. The artwork is cute, but still beautiful. The characters are apparently very funny to my youngest. He loves the simplicity. Each page has little more than what needs to be counted, as well as Duck and Goose, of course. This makes it easy for him to enjoy finding everything without too many distractions.
Duck and Goose are adorable characters that easily appeal to little ones. This book is being added to our pile of books that need to be easy to find as we'll get requests to read them all day long!
February 5, 2012
This is a really cute counting book. I really like the look of these ducks and geese and love all the books in the series. I had a very hard time passing up copies of this and other board books in the series at TJ Maxx! I don't remember all the pages, but I do remember that the counting was natural.
August 10, 2012
While visiting Grandma this week, 18 mo old Emily got lots of number reinforcement. This book was super at connecting her to familiar things in a cute way. I think she is about to understand number/quantity. It does make it easy to point at 1 to 1 because the objects are big and clear for toddler fingers. I will need to look for the series now.
October 4, 2011
Duck and Goose count to ten in Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3. A nice concept book with typcial Duck and Goose cuteness. I also learned from this book that their friend Thistle is a gray duckling rather than a gosling or a cygnet.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews