The Game of the Goose

by Ursula Dubosarsky

One long summer holiday, Fred insists that she, Rowley and Rabbit buy a strange old board game in the Salvation Army op shop. Instead of the Noah's Ark that Rabbit has his heart set on, the children buy The Game of the Goose. It leads them all into danger, and each child must perform an act of salvation.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens

133 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Ursula Dubosarsky is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. About The Golden Day, her first book with Candlewick Press, she says, "The little girls watch, wonder, respond, change, and grow — and then their childhood is gone, forever. This element of the story, I suppose, is at least partly autobiographical. But, as I say — all of our teachers come home safe and sound in the end." Ursula Dubosarsky lives in Australia.

Reviews

[Anna Davidson]

A strange, creepy story that I couldn't put down. With such a compelling storyline, this would make a great read-aloud.

[Guilherme Semionato]

3,5. Buyer beware: the 2017 edition from Excelsior Books is abysmal, full of bizarre typos, words (whole lines?) missing, and some catastrophic line spacing and space between paragraphs (if such a thing annoys you stay away from this). Even worse: this is a beautiful story that deserved the loveliest of editions. Before the game began I thought this would be a gem, a classic; three kids whose backyards are joined one sweltering summer end up creating a kind of a club. It made me very, very happy; and I thought Fred and Rowley pressuring Rabbit to buy the boardgame was brilliantly written; kids can be cruel. But then the game began, and it was just okay, I guess. Things happen but there's not a heightened sense of discovery, drama and magic. It just goes from Point A to Point B to Point C with no conviction and worldbuilding. For me, Fred's development wasn't really that expressive and the "reversal" of roles between Rabbit and Rowley was too commonsense. Something was amiss here. Since Ursula herself says this is her best book, I don't know what to expect of her others (which can be a good thing). But I'm looking forward to read more.

[Charlotte]

Strange, enchanting, disturbing, frustrating, confusing, and altogether memorable....Three kids are drawn inside an old game, each following a different path...and their adventures are very odd; like dreams that fragment away as they journey on. When at last they are almost at the end of the game, their paths cross, and it is little Rabbit, who is only six, who at last wins the game.


I listened to this, and recommend the audiobook--narrated by an Australian man, giving it even more a fantasy feel to my American ears, and the haunting bit of music that introduces each chapter is now stuck in my head, along with lots of lovely images from the story. I am also left with a sense of frustration, because there are no answers to anything. Magical goose ex machina at the end, for instance, just as I was wondering if the goose would ever in fact show up.....

[C.]

I enjoy dragging down the average ratings of obscure Australian children's books.

[Sarah Thornton]

A little bit Jumanji but a little bit something much older and more sinister. A lot of birds, unanswered questions, and surprising redemption.

[Wendy Orr]

A wonderful story with a classical feel - I absolutely loved this book of three children who fall into a magical game.

[Sean Harding]

Beautifully written story is ultimately about friendship and the need for one another, it is told in a deceptively simple and yet not simplistic way, and you feel like you are involved in the story. The end will either feel like a natural outcome or a cop-out depending on what you think.

[Sophie Cutler]

This is my favourite book of my childhood and I often find myself returning to it during times of stress when I need a safe and magical place to escape to. ✨💗

[Nikolina Gramelis]

It’s a great book! Very entertaining and I enjoyed the description and the constant cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. This is highly recommended and I recommend this book for 9-16 year olds.

[Rachel Abercrombie]

Found in Elliston, read and left in Elliston. I suspect this is a little too weird for the target audience.

[Judy]

I was torn between 'liked it' and 'it was ok' Because I really couldn't decide if I liked it. The leading female character behaved is such an unlikeable way in the first part of the book and I feel it could have perhaps been better resolved in the later part of the book. In the end, she was still unlikeable. And of course, that is fine in a story, (I don't demand all my leading characters to be likeable) as long as there has been resolution or some kind of moment of self realisation for the character. There was, to a degree... but it was too subtle to counteract the negative aspect, for me... Partly, the problem was that the book was written quite tightly and I'm guessing to keep words and complexity to a minimum for a particular age group. With a bit more wordiness and depth, we could have had more insight into the character's personal growth. Not sure. Tricky. Still love Ursula D :-)

[Liz Yardley]

Well-written and a great ending but the game really needed a descriptive map for reader's reference. Otherwise the events seemed a little random.