Mac Gooses' Grocery

by Frank Asch, James Marshall

Mrs. MacGoose leaves the store and her egg in the care of Mr. MacGoose, who leaves them in the care of Junior, who leaves them in the care of Sis, who also gets tired watching store and egg.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Frank Asch is an American children's writer, best known for his Moonbear picture books.

Asch published his first picture book, George's Store, in 1968. The following year he graduated from Cooper Union with a BFA. Since then he has taught at a public school in India, as well as at a Montessori school in the United States, conducted numerous creative workshops for children. He has written over 60 books, including Turtle Tale, Mooncake, I Can Blink and Happy Birthday Moon. In 1989 he wrote Here Comes the Cat! in collaboration with Vladimir Vagin. The book was awarded the Russian National Book Award and was considered the first Russian-American collaboration on a children's book.

Asch lived in Somerville, New Jersey where he and his wife home-schooled their son Devin.

He currently lives in Vermont with his wife, Jan.

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly story about a family of geese who own a grocery store. Mom is trying to hatch an egg but soon grows tired of her task so she passes the responsibility off on Papa who passes it off and on and on until the poor egg is left alone. While the family is out, a couple of weasels sneak into the store and mess it up. Upon their return, the goose family all blames each other for the mess.

Just plain silly in the best way (the gosling in the egg puts on winter clothes inside the egg to keep warm). Marshall perfectly captures this ridiculous family of geese and their charming store (I loved all the kitschy signs advertising products).

Great read aloud with some opportunities for laughing out loud.

[Becky Tilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Substitution for TASK G
Plot summary: This children’s fictional picture book has a good moral to the story. It begins with a family of geese, who run a grocery store. Each goose gives the next goose their responsibility. In the end, none of the work is done and the store ends up in a mess. This book illustrates a great lesson about responsibility and teamwork.

[Cay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite children's books. It wasn't just that my kids loved it, it is that in very simple and funny ways it tells a great story. Its all about family and responsibility with an optimistic ending; everything will be ok in the end. The graphics are simple but adorable. Its timless and very much underappreciated, I fear.