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Book Cover for: Mindi and the Goose No One Else Could See, Sam McBratney

Mindi and the Goose No One Else Could See

Sam McBratney

A charming new story from the author of Guess How Much I Love You offers an original--and heartening--take on childhood anxiety.

Once there was a girl called Mindi who was afraid of something that no one else could see. This thing that she was afraid of, this thing that no one else could see, was a big goose. It came into her room as quietly as a thought comes into your head. . . .

When a little girl named Mindi says she is being visited by a big goose--a scary creature that is visible only to her--her devoted dad and mom try everything they can think of to drive it away. But maybe some outside assistance is warranted from their wise friend Austen, a farmer who knows what is needed to help Mindi turn her mind to something new. In a sensitive exploration of childhood fears, Sam McBratney, the author of Guess How Much I Love You, narrates with charm, wit, and a touch of whimsy, while Linda Ólafsdóttir's delicate illustrations enhance the modern fairy-tale feel in a story that is sure to become a bedtime favorite.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
  • Publish Date: Mar 1st, 2021
  • Pages: 40
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 10.70in - 10.00in - 0.40in - 1.10lb
  • EAN: 9781536212815
  • Recommended age: 03-07
  • Categories: Social Themes - Emotions & FeelingsFamily - MultigenerationalAnimals - Ducks, Geese, etc.

About the Author

Sam McBratney (1943-2020) is the author of the internationally best-selling classic Guess How Much I Love You and its sequel, Will You Be My Friend?, as well as All My Favorites, all illustrated by Anita Jeram. He also wrote Just You and Me and There, There, both illustrated by Ivan Bates, and Mindi and the Goose No One Else Could See, illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir, among many other books for children.

Linda Ólafsdóttir is the author-illustrator of Play? She is also the illustrator of In Grandma's Garden by Brenda West Cockerell as well as a series of retold fairy tales by Diane Namm. Her artwork has appeared on stamps, cereal boxes, and children's clothing. She lives in Reykjavík, Iceland.

More books by Sam McBratney

Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You: (The Heartwarming Tale of Little Nutbrown Hare Loving Right Up to the Moon and Back an Ideal Baby Shower Gift & Easter Bask, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You: (A Cherished Classic about Little Nutbrown Hare Loving Right Up to the Moon and Back an Ideal Baby Book for Baby Shower Gif, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: I See Me: A Guess How Much I Love You Mirror Book: (A Follow-Up to the Cherished Classic Story of Big and Little Nutbrown Hare - For Babies & Toddlers, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You: Deluxe Book and Toy Gift Set: (Adorable Baby Shower Gift Set - Classic Board Book about Loving Right Up to the Moon and Bac, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You Padded Board Book: (The Cherished Classic Baby Book in a Soft Padded Format Perfect Baby Shower Gift & Easter Basket Stuffer, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You: Pop-Up: (An Interative 3D Pop-Up & Pull-Tab Edition of the Classic Baby Book about Loving Right Up to the Moon and Back), Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Baby Book Based on Guess How Much I Love You, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: You're All My Favorites, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Will You Be My Friend?: (Discover Little Nutbrown Hare's New Friendship in This Follow-Up to 'Guess How Much I Love You' for Toddlers & Preschoolers), Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Will You Be My Friend? Padded Board Book: (Discover Little Nutbrown Hare's New Friendship in This Follow-Up to 'Guess How Much I Love You' for Toddler, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You Blush Sweetheart Edition: (A Rosy Pink Valentine's Day Gift Edition of the Beloved Classic about Little Nutbrown Hare Loving, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: I Love You All Year Round: Four Classic Guess How Much I Love You Stories: (Seasonal Stories of Parental Love with Little Nutbrown Hare), Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Here I Am!: A Finger Puppet Book: (An Interactive Edition of the Classic Baby Book about Little Nutbrown Hare Loving Right Up to the Moon and Back a P, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: I Love It When You Smile, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: I'm Sorry, Sam McBratney
Book Cover for: Guess How Much I Love You: Baby Milestone Moments: Board Book and Cards Gift Set, Sam McBratney

Praise for this book

Winsome mixed-media spreads and vignettes by Ólafsdóttir alternate between the white characters' cozy interiors and farm scenes, while chapter book-like writing by McBratney (Guess How Much I Love You) develops Austen as a character by witnessing the way he attends to Black-and-Whitey's needs, prefiguring the way he will attend to Mindi's. McBratney shows what it's like to listen authentically to children--and to believe them.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Mindi is terrified of the big goose--composed of shadows--that shows up in her bedroom, and though her dad looks for it and her mom threatens it with wooden spoons, the goose remains...Ólafsdóttir's gentle-hued art combines watercolors and soft pencil outlines that contribute to the fable feel of the tale, while stretching shadows illustrate how a lamp or a curtain rod can transform into a giant goose in Mindi's bedroom. Late author McBratney (Guess How Much I Love You) strikes an interesting perspective that could be helpful to viewers with fearsome shadows in their own rooms.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A loving father and a wise neighbor find a way for Mindi's invisible goose to depart. . . McBratney's posthumously published tale is filled with a gentle kindness, and the illustrations pick up on that, both treating the child's fear with respect. Ólafsdóttir's country scenes are tidy and filled with sunlight, Austen's many animals look contented, and a young goat bounces across the endpapers. . . Low-key and reassuring.
--Kirkus Reviews

There's a sweetness in both the artwork and the concept. . . In text, illustration and design, this spacious and appealing book in itself conveys order and comfort for readers ages 3-7.
--The Wall Street Journal