Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild and Ann James

Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild and Ann James
Buy Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild and Ann James at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Jo Heffer
Summary: Lucy Goosey is growing up and must face a long journey travelling to another country far away. The only problem is that she does not want to leave the security of the small pond where she has lived since she was a small gosling. She must face her fears or risk remaining behind on her own. Luckily Mum comes to the rescue and her love and reassurances help Lucy make up her mind.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 40	Date: October 2008
Publisher: Little Hare Books
ISBN: 978-1921272394
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Lucy Goosey is a delightful heartwarming story that demonstrates the strength of the bond that exists between a mother and her child although in this case we are talking about geese. I shared this story with my five year old and three year old daughters and they both loved it.

At the beginning of the story we meet Lucy Goosey who is very attached to the small pond she has lived in since she was a small gosling. She loves that pond so much that when her mother tells her they have to leave it in order to go on a long journey, she decides not to go. The problem is though, that soon the pond feels dark and lonely and Lucy Goosey starts to feel afraid. Thankfully she hears her mother's voice searching for her and they talk about why Lucy does not what to leave.

She is worried about losing her way in the misty moisty clouds, being caught in a storm and getting tossed in the tree tops or falling into the cold dark sea. For each of these fears her mother is able to reassure her that she will always be there searching until she finds her. They finally fly off together into the sky but only after Lucy has decided that when her mum is really old she will look after her too.

This is a lovely short story that is supported by the beautiful illustrations. I'm sure that most children will be able to relate to Lucy and her fear of the unknown and it could be a very useful book that will help children talk about their own fears. Both my daughters felt very sorry for Lucy when she was all alone and were very relieved when her mum turned up. My youngest told me that everything was going to be alright now that her mummy's here! It's a story that also demonstrates how sometimes it is necessary to make choices and make ourselves do things that we don't really want to.

The illustrations are absolutely lovely in this book and have an almost mystical feel about them. This is mainly achieved by the muted colours and the blurred edges in most of them. They really do help to tell the story well and children will enjoy looking at these as much as listening to the story.

There are also some wonderful descriptions in this story making good use of alliteration and similes. My daughters loved the sound of the misty moisty clouds and they could imagine the rock as big as a cow and the bushes that were dark as caves. My favourite pieces of description were when we are told that:

she huddled in the reeds,
listening to leaves rustling,
twigs cracking, things slithering.

As I read this I felt I could almost hear these strange sounds coming out of the silent lake. Finally at the end of the story I love it when we read:

away they flew
into a never-ending sky full of stars.

I do think that the use of such wonderful description helped my daughters to picture all that was happening in the story.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

Overall this really is a lovely story that will move and delight young children. If this appeals to your little one, they might also want to take a look at Baby Brains and RoboMum by Simon James which is a different type of story telling of a strong mother and child relationship.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild and Ann James at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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