Daily Fig - Page 4 of 12 - Fruitful finds for young minds

Gossie: The Touching Story of an Adventurous Gosling Who Wears Red Boots

By Daily Fig Staff

This book for preschool kids has a simple, captivating story and illustrations that are as illuminative as they are delightful.

“This is Gossie,” begins the beloved book by author and illustrator Olivier Dunrea. “Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots.” The tender story follows the baby bird on her exploratory outdoor adventures.

Gossie (public library) was an instant hit with young readers when it was first published in 2002. Featuring a simple, captivating story with beautiful illustrations, it was the first book in a series about Gossie and her friends.

The book is perfect for toddlers and children in preschool. The illustrations, which are as illuminative as they are delightful, reinforce many important concepts for young readers, such as forward and backward, uphill and downhill, and rain and snow. Children will enjoy seeing the other animals and insects Gossie meets as she explores the farm in her red boots.

This is Gossie. Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day. She wears them when she eats. She wears them when she sleeps. She wears them when she rides. She wears them when she hides. But what Gossie really loves is to wear her bright red boots when she goes for walks.

As the story unfolds, a problem emerges when Gossie loses track of her bright red boots. Try as she may, Gossie cannot find them anywhere.

One morning Gossie could not find her bright red boots. She looked everywhere. Under the bed. Over the wall. In the barn. Under the hens. Gossie looked and looked for her bright red boots. They were gone.

She’s heartbroken — until she discovers that another gosling is wearing them. Now, some days, Gossie finds a way to share with her newfound friend, and the two set off together, wandering through the wonders of a widening world, each clad in one bright red boot.

On his website, Dunrea explains where the inspiration for the story came from.

Gossie & Friends began in 2001 with sketches of goslings while I was staring out the studio window watching Canada geese fly overhead, honking loudly. A pair of red rubber toy boots sat on my bookshelf for some strange reason. As I sketched goslings I started drawing them wearing red rubber boots. And that is how the idea for Gossie and her ‘bright red boots’ came to life.

Gossie is a perfect children’s book for youngsters. The story is easy to follow, and the illustrations are simply delightful. Complement with The Giant Jam Sandwich, a humorous story about a massive wasp infestation, and Rude Cakes, a hilarious story that gently helps teach kids the importance of good manners.

Rude Cakes: Teaching Kids Manners with Cheeky Humor

By Daily Fig Staff

Unruly youngsters will love this story about a delicious-looking dessert whose manners and attitude are quite distasteful.

“Life,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said in an essay, “is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” But that which strikes adults as common sense is not always self evident to children. And when it comes to good manners, many kids are not as (ahem) polished as their parents would like them to be.

For all the ill-mannered and unruly youngsters out there, we present Rude Cakes (public library), a hilarious children’s book by Rowboat Watkins that tackles the matter of bad behavior head-on. The story is about a rude cake, a delicious-looking dessert whose manners and attitude are quite distasteful. The rude cake never says please or thank you, never listens to its parents, and always makes the other characters cry. The captions are priceless.

Rude cakes never say please, and they never say thank you, and they sometimes take things that don’t belong to them. Rude cakes never share, and they’re never sorry because they’re never, ever wrong.

But then something unexpected happens. A giant hand plucks the rude cake from bed, and for one harrowing moment it appears that the rude cake will disappear into the mouth of a Giant Cyclops. Then readers discover that the Giant Cyclops just loves to wear hats.

Giant Cyclopses love to wear jaunty little hats. Giant Cyclopses always say thank you, and they always say please, and they love to share.

Because the Giant Cyclops is such a nice chap, and because the rude cake eventually says “please,” the rude cake is eventually restored to its bed. But the experience clearly makes an impression on the rude cake. At the end of the story, the impudent hero ultimately rejects bad manners for an agreeable temperament. As the story ends, the rude cake plays happily with the other characters, because, “of course, no cake is ever too rude to change.”

In an interview that’s as silly as the book, author and illustrator Watkins reveals that the idea for Rude Cakes came to him when he “hit the bottom.”

At some point in an extended trough I’d been sliding into for who-knows-how-long, I finally hit the bottom. Conk. Like in a cartoon. Conk. Honestly. My brain literally made the sound conk. I kid you not. And I just knew I couldn’t sink any lower. Which was weird, because I’m pretty much always sure there is somewhere lower to sink. But for whatever reason, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t like any of my ideas (because they all suck), and it sure would be fun to draw a book with a giant hairy hand looming in from the top of the page. Who wouldn’t love that? I would.’

Funny and off the wall, Rude Cakes discusses a difficult topic without coming across as patronizing. This children’s book is a great way for parents to talk to kids about bad manners. Complement with The Darkest Dark, a story by astronaut Chris Hatfield about overcoming fears of the dark.

Scarecrow: A Figurative Exploration of the Seasons of Life and Nature of Existence

By Daily Fig Staff

A heartwarming children’s book that celebrates the intricacies of life from a scarecrow’s perspective.

“If you do not know your place in the world and the meaning of your life, you should know there is something to blame,” Leo Tolstoy asserted in A Calendar of Wisdom. “It is not the social system, or your intellect, but the way in which you have directed your intellect.”

The conundrum Tolstoy described has served as inspiration for innumerable self-help books. But it’s a problem that simply doesn’t exist in Scarecrow (public library), an elegant and thought-provoking children’s book written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Lauren Stringer. The main character — a scarecrow — is an inanimate object who is self-aware and deeply introspective. He’s confident in his place in the world and appreciates his life, however short it may be.

Scarecrow sets a great example for readers. In an age when many people are consumed by existential anxiety and dread, the scarecrow’s attitude is quite refreshing. In fact, the book itself could serve as a metaphor for life. Buried underneath the surface of the playful children’s story are a series of clever, Tao-like philosophical messages that stick with readers. Accept your condition. Observe what’s happening around you. Develop an appreciation of the small things in life.

His hat is borrowed, his suit is borrowed, his hands are borrowed, even his head is borrowed. And his eyes probably came out of someone’s drawer. But a scarecrow’s life is all his own.

It takes a certain peace, hanging around a garden all day. It takes a love of silence and air. A liking for long, slow thoughts.

By portraying the scarecrow’s life over a calendar year, the story figuratively explores the seasons of our lives and gently reminds us of the fact that we’re mere mortals. The scarecrow continuously reflects on the fact that he has been fortunate enough to experience many wonderful things. He considers himself lucky.

The scarecrow doesn’t care what he is made of or how long he might last, for he has been a witness to life. The earth has rained and snowed and blossomed and wilted and yellowed and greened and vined itself all around him.

His hat has housed mice and his arms have rested birds. A morning glory has held tight to his legs and a worm is living in his lapel.

There is not much else a person might want, and the scarecrow knows this.

Stringer’s beautiful paintings capture the intricate details of the scarecrow’s life. The pages really give readers a feel for every season of the year.

The inspiration for Scarecrow may have come from Rylant’s younger years. According to an interview with NPR, the renowned author grew up in a rural West Virginia coal mining town.

There were seven of us in a little house, tiny house, out in the country. We didn’t have any indoor plumbing. It was very isolated. No libraries, of course. And it was a really wonderful experience.

And so in my books you might notice that there’s a theme of nurturing among all the characters. They’re all taking care of each other. They’re being steady and reliable and loving.

Scarecrow is a beautiful story that celebrates life from a scarecrow’s perspective. Readers at every stage of life will appreciate this touching children’s book. Complement with with Finding Winnie, the amazing origin story of the bear that inspired the character of Winnie the Pooh.