Mom's Tree House

I just recieved a copy of ”Flightless Goose“, a children’s book written by Eric D. Goodman and illustrated by Natalya A. Goodman and was surprised to find this book to be such a speacial treat. Priced only at $15.95, this hard-cover, picture detailed book came with a read-along CD which added an extra charm to the book’s lesson. The story itself is captivating, fun and educational making this book a children’s must read.

 Gilbert is a happy, playful goose who always enjoys spending time with his friends. Then one day, upon an accident, Gilbert could no longer fly. His friends soon after begin to taunt and make fun of him. Gilbert does find comfort with his human friend Johnny, who is confined to a wheelchair. When his geese friends leave South for the winter, Gilbert is left behind feeling sad and alone. By the end of the story however, Gilbert becomes a hero. The lesson to be learned- that is okay to be different and that anyone can overcome challenges.

I read the story to my 6 year old niece Juju, and she loved it. She clearly got the message that no matter what happens you can work hard in learning to be good at something. My niece participated with the reading as she asked questions and listened. She also enjoyed the beautiful water color drawings of Gilbert wearing clothes and red sneakers. She then became excited when we read the book a second time using the CD.

My niece then listed to the CD, as she read, she heard sounds of water splashing,  geese playing and all different sound entailed with the story. As she listened, she was able to follow each word in the book as they are written with a large font which caused her to focus not only on the pictures but on  the words as well. I was happy to see that she was able to connect the CD with the words as well as with the events taking place in the story. The CD  enhanced the story by bringing the book to life and we loved it.  The CD itself. narrates the story in a pleasant, slow and gentle voice making it easy for my niece to pay attention and follow the read.

After we read the story with the CD, we then went to visit Gilbert at http://www.flightlessgoose.com/  and was impressed with the interactive dialogue  asking the reader (my niece) about Gilbert’s story. As she read the book already, she was excited to know the answers to the questions asked. I loved this feature as she was basically working on her reading comprehension and didn’t even know it.

What else could I say? This book is awesome. Period!  The book, CD and the site made this reading an educational but  fun experience. Just that fact my neice enjoyed this story so much, makes me a believer in Gilbert, the “Flightless Goose”. I recommend this book to every child, the lessons taught, are simply valuable.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

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