The Lonely Goose
by Lela Nargi; illus. by Anne Hunter
Primary    Random House Studio/Random    40 pp.
3/25    9780593647554    $19.99
Library ed.  9780593647561    $22.99
e-book ed.  9780593647578    $8.99

“He was the best dancer with the most powerful moves. He hissed loudly and bravely. He had a long, sleek neck and a fine bill. When he called her, she swam nearer.” And thus, two Canada geese mate for life. Every year these constant companions raise a clutch of goslings, migrate south in the winter, and return to the same spot each spring to birth and raise yet more young geese. But then the male dies. For days the female remains by his body and eventually stays behind and alone when the rest of the flock migrates south. Soft mixed-media illustrations, paired with gentle text, underscore not only the tranquility of the geese’s early life but also the isolation of the female’s existence after the death of her mate. Her seclusion ends a year later when she spots an unattached male and the two begin a life together. Back matter offers facts about Canada geese, validating a mourning period when a mate dies as well as opening up areas for further inquiry, such as habitat encroachment and the threat of lead poisoning; also appended with a brief bibliography of internet sources.

From the ">May/June 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.