THE LITTLE ISLAND

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

A group of animals—ducks, geese, sheep, pigs, and others—work on a farm together. The geese and ducks live on an island in a nearby pond. One day, the geese decide that they do not like having the other farm animals traipsing through their island. The ducks don’t agree, but they are outnumbered by the geese, who get rid of the bridge to the island. Now, the geese and ducks must do their chores on their own, and they quickly realize how difficult that is, but the stubborn geese refuse to admit their mistake. Without the protection of the other animals, the ducks and geese are vulnerable when the foxes invade; when the others find a way to save the day, the geese realize just how desperately they want their old lives back and how wrong they were to take their friends for granted. A repeating parenthetical phrase—“animals almost never do”—will make readers laugh. Kids will also enjoy chanting along with the wonderfully alliterative phrases as the foxes invade (“Silently, stealthily…”). Art with a naïve flavor depicts the four-legged animals standing on two legs like humans, though the images may be slightly difficult to see at a distance in a large-group storytime. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cozy reminder to appreciate those around us.