Gozzle: A funny and heartwarming story about family from the creators of The Detective Dog

I read to a group of parents and young children and this was an instant hit! The pictures are large and easy to see from a distance of a metre or so and the words are simple but get the story across welI (I do add a little voice for Gozzle). This is perfect for younger readers and great if you are readying a toddler to move on to nursery or other life changes.

You know you are in a second childhood (or not out of the first) when the highlight of the month is a new Julia Donaldson release! The current stock images above give a fair idea of the content and I simply love it, especially those facial expressions in the superbly atmospheric illustrations, by Sara Ogilvie, which generally have that 'the more you look; the more you see' (and ponder over) element!The durable hardback measures roughly 25.5 cm x 28.5 cm; the thick board cover opening to 44 good quality, matte-finish pages with the story running across double-page spreads (bar the first and last).ooOooFrom the back cover (image below refers):🐻~ ‘Meet Bear, who lives on his own and likes it that way.Enter Gozzle, a lively little gosling who is looking for a home...'ooOooThe two main characters feature on the colourful front cover that has a shiny finish in part.Inside, various onlookers are dotted around, as Bear does his best to distance himself from the persistent, somewhat repetitive little gosling that thinks he is her ‘daddy’!As we progress through the seasons, ‘Gozzle’ grows up and there is a twist in the tale, but I couldn’t possibly spoil that, or the ending (other than say that various emotions are covered).The text, sometimes capitalised, is a good size in black throughout and uses the rounded lower case ‘a’ that I much prefer to see, along with the (repetitive) use of ‘all right’ rather than the contraction. Snippets of information are nonchalantly woven into the text in that ‘learning without realising’ that I so love in a picture book.An easy 5 stars, for me and mine.(Not keen on stickers on books, I can confirm that the one on the front cover removes without trace, if desired.)

A delightful book. The illustrations are full but not fussy, and the dialogue can tug at the heartstrings of adults as well as children. I bought this book for my 4 year old granddaughter, and another copy for my grandson who is a nursery teacher.A third copy was bought for a friend’s little granddaughter, and I’m not parting with my own copy.Cannot recommend it highly enough.

This is longer than most Julia Donaldson stories, and it has a different vibe given that it's a story told through conversation, rather than narrative. Unlike most of Donaldson's previous work, this story does not rhyme but it doesn't need to in order to appeal to a young audience. It's a sweet story of kindness and acceptance, and is packed full of teaching points. It covers seasonal changes, hibernation, birds flying south for the winter etc. It is humorous too. Young children won't be able to resist the cute little gosling and her bear companion.

Quick delivery.Another good book from Julia Donaldson.

As with all her books, Julia Donaldson has done it again! Great illustrations and lovely little story!

Lovely story-my grandchildren really enjoyed it. Great illustrations too.

This is a beautifully illustrated book. The colours and detail are amazing.My grandson loves this book - the story is brilliant not sure who likes this book more 😀