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Gossie and Friends
Gossie
The first book in the preschool-perfect Gossie & Friends series by Olivier Dunrea about a small yellow gosling who goes looking for her missing boots and finds a new friend. Gossie is a small yellow gosling who loves to wear bright red boots—every day. But one morning she can't find them! This sweet story models social-emotional growth for the youngest children using simple language and adorable illustrations of baby farm animals. A family library essential that makes a perfect gift for babies and toddlers.
32 pages, Board Book
First published August 26, 2002
27 people are currently reading
1315 people want to read
About the author
Olivier Dunrea
71 books86 followersSince his debut in 1983, author and illustrator Olivier Dunrea has created a steady stream of picture books, including concept books, stories of family life—modern and ancient—and stories about artists. Many of Dunrea's picture books testify to his love of animals and his interest in archaeology and folklore of the British Isles, and several—including Ravena, The Trow-Wife's Treasure, and Bear Noel—take place in a similar land of Dunrea's own creation: the mythic island of Moel Eyris. "I don't write books or make pictures for children," Dunrea once told Something About the Author (SATA). "I make them for myself. It just so happens that children like what I do as much as I do!"
Olivier (Jean-Paul Dominique) Dunrea (1953-) Biography - Personal, Career, Member, Writings, Sidelights
Olivier (Jean-Paul Dominique) Dunrea (1953-) Biography - Personal, Career, Member, Writings, Sidelights
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
January 26, 2024
Absolutely atrocious, Gossie is promoting toxic behavior and I won’t support it. She does resemble a duck tho so + one star
January 26, 2024
sharing is NOT caring
January 30, 2024
Gertie is NOT your friend.
February 2, 2013
Could be a primer on board books
This is the original in a series of "Gossie" books by Olivier Dunrea that follow the adventures of a small yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots everyday. The action begins when our hero has lost her bright red boots. Where could they be? The simple text structure builds on Gossie's search
The illustrations are simple and bold, and the text structure is simple. This allows a pre- or sub- verbal infant/toddler to follow along, making predictions and filling in the blanks. These are important steps in a young child's reading development.
The story is short, cute, and sweet. Without hitting it too heavily on the head, it's a story about how sharing makes things go nicely, and wins friends.
Good for reading when...
Bed time, day-time, car trips--an all-rounder.
Sugar/Acid Balance: Will hives break out all over if you read it more than 10 times?
Your skin should remain clear even after you have read this every night for a month. Please note this statement has not been evaluated by the Federal Communications Commission, and should not be used while or in evaluating the text's potential to generate powerful radio waves which interfere with household appliances and your cat's mood.
Length, Type and Other Notes
30 pages; Board book
This is the original in a series of "Gossie" books by Olivier Dunrea that follow the adventures of a small yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots everyday. The action begins when our hero has lost her bright red boots. Where could they be? The simple text structure builds on Gossie's search
The illustrations are simple and bold, and the text structure is simple. This allows a pre- or sub- verbal infant/toddler to follow along, making predictions and filling in the blanks. These are important steps in a young child's reading development.
The story is short, cute, and sweet. Without hitting it too heavily on the head, it's a story about how sharing makes things go nicely, and wins friends.
Good for reading when...
Bed time, day-time, car trips--an all-rounder.
Sugar/Acid Balance: Will hives break out all over if you read it more than 10 times?
Your skin should remain clear even after you have read this every night for a month. Please note this statement has not been evaluated by the Federal Communications Commission, and should not be used while or in evaluating the text's potential to generate powerful radio waves which interfere with household appliances and your cat's mood.
Length, Type and Other Notes
30 pages; Board book
June 19, 2020
Gossie and the little red boots is one of the most unbearably precious things ever.
August 11, 2022
There are some books where I am convinced that the authors are toddler whisperers. Little Blue Truck was one of those books, and this book (and the whole series) is another one. My toddler loves these books! He asks to read them multiple times a day, and at this point, he has pretty much all of them memorized. He asks to wear his red boots just so he can be like Gossie, who loves her red boots. I don't know exactly what it is about these books, but there is something that speaks to toddlers in them.
October 14, 2007
I *love* all of these stories by Dunrea. When I have kids of my own these will definitely be some of the first I read to them!
October 4, 2018
it is a fun book about a duck losing her boots that she wears everyday
October 8, 2018
We love Gossie and all his friends. Great books to read to 1 1/2 to 4 yr olds.
October 8, 2021
This is a really cute bilingual board book about a gosling and bright red boots. I love it! 🦆🥾
December 18, 2024
Really cute.
PSA: a gosling is a baby goose. Not a duck.
PSA: a gosling is a baby goose. Not a duck.
June 27, 2016
I don't know why, but I just LOVE this book.
Gossie is a gosling that likes to wear bright red boots every day. She wears it all the time. One day, she wakes up and her boots are gone. She goes on a hunt to find them. When she does find them, she has to make a tough decision.
I like the flow of the story, the pictures, and the lesson it teaches. It includes rhyme, opposites, and even a picture of a turtle (who doesn't like turtles?!?) I have skimmed some of the other books from the series, but I didn't like them as much. I'll have to give it a more legitimate try again later.
Gossie is a gosling that likes to wear bright red boots every day. She wears it all the time. One day, she wakes up and her boots are gone. She goes on a hunt to find them. When she does find them, she has to make a tough decision.
I like the flow of the story, the pictures, and the lesson it teaches. It includes rhyme, opposites, and even a picture of a turtle (who doesn't like turtles?!?) I have skimmed some of the other books from the series, but I didn't like them as much. I'll have to give it a more legitimate try again later.
January 14, 2020
Older book that still works for beginning readers. Gossie loves her bright red boots and wears them every day. One day they aren't there. She discovers a friend is wearing them; they share them to complete the story.
Simple to follow and read out loud text and charming pictures.
Simple to follow and read out loud text and charming pictures.
December 14, 2011
Cute little board book that makes a great read aloud. My daughter loved it.
May 12, 2021
Adorable illustrations!
July 17, 2018
Gossie is an entry point for the larger Gossie & Friends series, and it may just get your family hooked.
There is great repetitive text throughout the story that repeats like a chorus, reminding you what's important: "Gossie is an adorable little gosling. She likes to wear her bright red boots. Every day." We learn about all the places she wears her boots (spoiler: everywhere and doing everything) with simple, poetic prose that is always presented with the kind of parallel construction that helps kids follow along easily.
Of course, Gossie's boots go missing one morning. She looks everywhere and finds them on Gertie's feet. Gertie smiles, compliments the boots, and gives them back immediately. Now Gossie has a friend.
Gossie doesn't have a ton of clothing vocabulary or dressing concepts; it's just about the boots. But the social-emotional issues around clothing that it addresses are dealt with beautifully.
Gossie's insistence on wearing the boots at all times will be familiar to many! (My son Luke is fixated on his rainboots, so this was perfect for him.) Gossie also models how to take a calm and rational approach to her boots going missing (look for them, calmly) as well as to the unpleasant discovery of a strange kid (Gertie) having borrowed them (be forgiving and friendly). A gem.
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I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about clothing and dressing:https://www.lineupthebooks.com/dressing/
There is great repetitive text throughout the story that repeats like a chorus, reminding you what's important: "Gossie is an adorable little gosling. She likes to wear her bright red boots. Every day." We learn about all the places she wears her boots (spoiler: everywhere and doing everything) with simple, poetic prose that is always presented with the kind of parallel construction that helps kids follow along easily.
Of course, Gossie's boots go missing one morning. She looks everywhere and finds them on Gertie's feet. Gertie smiles, compliments the boots, and gives them back immediately. Now Gossie has a friend.
Gossie doesn't have a ton of clothing vocabulary or dressing concepts; it's just about the boots. But the social-emotional issues around clothing that it addresses are dealt with beautifully.
Gossie's insistence on wearing the boots at all times will be familiar to many! (My son Luke is fixated on his rainboots, so this was perfect for him.) Gossie also models how to take a calm and rational approach to her boots going missing (look for them, calmly) as well as to the unpleasant discovery of a strange kid (Gertie) having borrowed them (be forgiving and friendly). A gem.
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about clothing and dressing:https://www.lineupthebooks.com/dressing/
January 21, 2020
Olivier Dunrea’s Gossie is about Gossie, the gosling, and her beloved bright red boots. Gossie wears her boots every day and does just about everything in them from eating to sleeping to walking. But one day Gossie wakes up to her boots missing, so she sets off to go looking for them. The story of Gossie and her boots is adorable. She’s innocent and cute, and the illustrations really help get her personality across. The illustrations are simple, only showing the part of the picture talked about on that page. I think little kids will find their simplicity nice and easy to be able to guess what she’s doing. The mild use of rhyming is fun to have, especially for reading aloud. The story has almost a rhythm to it, with the short sentences giving it a nice flow. Gossie is great for young children to hear and a good one to try reading at a beginner level as the words aren’t complex and they can use pictures for clues. I highly recommend this sweet story for new readers and younger kids.
November 16, 2017
Sweet simple story for parents to read to young children
This is a sweet story about a gosling (children will learn that a gosling is a baby goose; parents can talk about the names for other baby birds and animals) who loves red boots. (Very tiny red boots since goslings are smaller than newborn babies.) Concepts like in and out, up and down, over and under, are covered by Gossie's adventures.
Simple crisp drawings are on every page. I remember when my son was a baby and toddler that he was not enamored of the really modern artistic illustrations in some books I bought him as I was. I learned to stop buying those to read to him when he was young. This book keeps it simple.
It will never been a classic like Green Eggs and Ham or Hop on Pop but it seems good to me. I do not have any grandchildren yet to try out the book on.
This is a sweet story about a gosling (children will learn that a gosling is a baby goose; parents can talk about the names for other baby birds and animals) who loves red boots. (Very tiny red boots since goslings are smaller than newborn babies.) Concepts like in and out, up and down, over and under, are covered by Gossie's adventures.
Simple crisp drawings are on every page. I remember when my son was a baby and toddler that he was not enamored of the really modern artistic illustrations in some books I bought him as I was. I learned to stop buying those to read to him when he was young. This book keeps it simple.
It will never been a classic like Green Eggs and Ham or Hop on Pop but it seems good to me. I do not have any grandchildren yet to try out the book on.
November 3, 2019
Gossie is on my favorites shelf because it is such a good book for emerging readers. This fictional tale comes with a main character that is animal, always popular with children, but who is also endearing relatable. The story is full of high frequency words making it a great tool for automaticity. This book also has sections that are simple enough for echo or choral reading, illustrations that relate directly to the text (perfect for getting students to describe the relationship between the two), and is also great for getting students to make text-to-self connections. There story ends with a wonderful social/emotional connection to having friends and sharing. Last, but certainly not least, the illustrations in Gossie are done in a vibrant eye-catching style, sure to engage children during read-alouds.
October 18, 2023
Whatever happened to little Gossie Gosling after she lost her Mickey Mouse t-shirt?
Seriously, Gossie never had that preschooler's item of clothing -- at least not in this picture book. At that age, my son never wanted to wear a shirt that didn't have Mickey.
But Gossie was a goose. And fictional. So it's only realistic, sorta, that her favored item of clothing was something different: Bright red boots.
She wears them even when she sleeps.
After those boots get lost, what on earth is she going to do now?
Eventually Gossie finds a rather ingenious way of solving her problem. Though no spoiler from me, no no! So that's all I write here, Goodreaders.
FIVE STARS for a sweet little picture book with exceptional visual appeal, thanks to those bright red boots.
Seriously, Gossie never had that preschooler's item of clothing -- at least not in this picture book. At that age, my son never wanted to wear a shirt that didn't have Mickey.
But Gossie was a goose. And fictional. So it's only realistic, sorta, that her favored item of clothing was something different: Bright red boots.
She wears them even when she sleeps.
After those boots get lost, what on earth is she going to do now?
Eventually Gossie finds a rather ingenious way of solving her problem. Though no spoiler from me, no no! So that's all I write here, Goodreaders.
FIVE STARS for a sweet little picture book with exceptional visual appeal, thanks to those bright red boots.
March 18, 2019
We have been reading this book for a while now and it has become a favourite with my 21 month old granddaughter. As soon as we open the book she has to hang upside down just like Gossie does. Then we go on into the story. Ada waves at Gossie's friends when she goes out wearing her beautiful red boots. Then when the boots go missing, she is completely absorbed in the story as Gossie goes searching for them. Are they under her bed? I ask. Ada shakes her head, "No." And so it continues until the mystery is resolved.
The best thing about this book is that when Gossie's red boots are discovered walking on someone else's feet, Gossie ends up sharing them with Gertie, her younger sibling.
The best thing about this book is that when Gossie's red boots are discovered walking on someone else's feet, Gossie ends up sharing them with Gertie, her younger sibling.
May 4, 2017
They can be tough to find, but there are some great boardbooks out there. These are a part of a series that started with the book Gossie. They are short, adorable stories about goslings. The illustration details are darling. The stories are simple and repeat a bit, they would be perfect for new readers as well as little babes! We also had to share BooBoo, it's our favorite. She likes to eat from morning till night. So dang cute. #kidsbooks #kidsbooksworthreading #childrensbooks #kidlit #boardbook #olivierdunrea #hmhbooks #childrensliterature #gosling #kidsbookstagram
February 15, 2021
Gossie is very forgiving of someone stealing her beloved shoes while she slept. In clear, simple language, Dunrea shows us how much she loves her boots, how hard she looked for them, and how happy she is to have them back. The art style is done in little vignettes on white backgrounds, making Gossie the small yellow gosling seem even smaller.
Wife's response: A nice lesson about not holding grudges, I guess? I wouldn't be that forgiving if someone took my favorite boots without asking.
Kiddo's response: Red! Boot! *gnaws on corner of book*
Wife's response: A nice lesson about not holding grudges, I guess? I wouldn't be that forgiving if someone took my favorite boots without asking.
Kiddo's response: Red! Boot! *gnaws on corner of book*
May 8, 2018
"Gossie" - written and illustrated by Olivier Dunrea and published in 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. A delightful picture book - Gossie is a darling little gosling and the charming drawings go just right with the simple words on each page. My copy has a little chart that tells this is aimed at ages 4-6, but I think that could definitely be expanded on both ends. Dunrea has created other fun adventures for Gossie and given her some cute gosling friends.
August 16, 2021
The cute books of Gossie and friends are a big hit with both mum and child here. :-) This is the first part and introduces Gossie with her favourite red boots.
The text of these books is not in rhyme but do have a good rhythm, which makes it very attractive and fun to read. I do think that sometimes the quality of the Dutch translation suffers under the (understandable) desire to keep the rhythm intact. I'm not saying I would be able to do it better, though. ;-)
The text of these books is not in rhyme but do have a good rhythm, which makes it very attractive and fun to read. I do think that sometimes the quality of the Dutch translation suffers under the (understandable) desire to keep the rhythm intact. I'm not saying I would be able to do it better, though. ;-)
February 10, 2019
Gossie is a small yellow gosling who wears bright red boots.
Gossie engages in a variety of activities all while wearing her beloved red boots. Then one day her boots go missing.
This is a simple story, reflecting a child's everyday experience. All children will be able to relate to having a favorite article of clothing as well as how upsetting it is if that item is lost.
Gossie engages in a variety of activities all while wearing her beloved red boots. Then one day her boots go missing.
This is a simple story, reflecting a child's everyday experience. All children will be able to relate to having a favorite article of clothing as well as how upsetting it is if that item is lost.
May 2, 2023
I'm kind of bias about this book since I hold this book near and dear to my heart as it is one of the first books I have ever read or been read to growing up. Not only is a really cute read and endearing, but it teaches at a young age to share and have friendship which is delivered in a really enjoyable way.
March 3, 2025
This book is about a gosling who wears red boots every day. One day, she cannot find them. She looks everywhere, until she finds them on Gertie's feet! Instead of taking them back, they share the boots, each wearing one on each foot.
- This would be a great resource to show students an example of sharing.
- This would be a great resource to show students an example of sharing.
July 1, 2019
This book is wonderfully simple and beautifully illustrated. Great for reading to a kid or letting a kid read to you. The rhyming scheme is spot on and easy for a beginner reader to catch onto and run with, helping them gain reading confidence. Recommend to anyone with young readers.
June 1, 2021
Our first Gossie book (and the first in the series), this was one Elliot loved. It’s above a gosling who loves her bright red boots and searches high and low when they go missing. Elliot loves his rain boots, so he totally gets Gossie on a deep level 😂
* library book. Read at 20 months
* library book. Read at 20 months
Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews