Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Just You and Me By Sam McBratney
This was an adorable picture book featuring a beatuful adult goose and an adorable baby gosling goose on the cover. In this story the little goose is afraid of an impending thunder storm so the two look for a place to hide. Everywhere they go another forest creature has gotten there first but offers to share the spot with Little Goosey and Big Gander Goose. The little one is a bit shy about being scared of the storm and keeps asking if they can hide just the two of them. So they make their excuses and move on. They eventually find a place to hide and sleep out the storm. I thought this book was very cute because so many of us are ashamed or embarrassed about our fears and prefer to be with loved ones only when we fear danger. It was interesting that Big Gander Goose is introduced only as someone who looks after Little Goosey and not a parent. It touched my heart as a parent because I always want to be with my children when they are afraid and I rarely trust others to protect them. I did not like that each time they declined an offer to share a hiding spot they made excuses by pointing a negative aspect of that place and so after they moved on the first tenant decides to leave as well. In the end the storm passess and all is well. The catch....all of the other animals were hiding there as well but no one knew because it was such a great hiding place. I wonder what we were sopposed to learn from that?
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3 comments:
Perhaps the author had the animals find something negative about each hiding spot to illuminate how humans react. Many people use negativity to hide their fears or discomfort. It is easier to blame someone or something than to admit we are afraid or unsure of ourselves. Ann Collet
You are the second person to respond about a book from one of my favorite authors that I have not read yet. Sam McBratney holds a special place in the hearts of my family. His book, "Guess How Much I Love You" was the first book we ever read to my 10 year old (the day we brought her home from the hospital). It is a very sweet book about the interactions of a parent and child at bedtime. The other book we love by this author is "You're All My Favorites". We got this book after my second child was born. It addresses the fears all children have (expressed or not) that their parents love their siblings more than them. Based on your description of "Just You and Me" it sounds as if he is staying true to form and writing about thae wonderful relationship between parents and children. I can't wait to experience this book.
I love reading other people's blogs about books I've never heard of but that I must reah! This sounds like a great book to read to teach children that it's OK to be afraid of things.
I agree with Ann's comment about how the author was using the animals' reactions to show humans' negativity sometimes.
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