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‘Ollie’ Book Review

Cover of Ollie by Olivier DunreaLast summer during our toddler summer reading program, my daughter and I discovered the adorable goslings of the Gossie & Friends series by Olivier Dunrea. My daughter, who adores ducks, immediately fell in love with the goslings. I also found myself enthralled by the cute characters and the simple but fun stories of the series of books.

Ollie introduces young readers of the Gossie & Friends series to a new gosling, Ollie. As the story begins, Ollie is waiting — waiting inside his egg. He refuses to come out. Despite encouragement from Gossie and Gertie, Ollie will not come out. He rolls to the left. He rolls to the right. He even stands on his head. But will Ollie ever come out of his egg?

My daughter particularly loves Ollie. In addition to ducks, she also loves eggs. She owns a number of toy eggs that she loves playing with. With Ollie refusing to come out, almost every page of Ollie featured an illustration of an egg. My daughter was absolutely ecstatic!

Like the other Gossie & Friends books, Ollie features a simple story that young readers will delight in. The language is simple and repetitive, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who are still acquiring language and helpful for early readers who are still picking up the written language. However, although simple, the story is never boring. I have read Ollie over and over and over again to my daughter, yet I have not grown tired of reading about the little gosling who will not come out of his egg.

In addition to the story, I also adore the whimsical illustrations in the Gossie & Friends books including Ollie. I love looking at all the details on each page of the book. Although simple, the illustrations are absolutely darling. My daughter also loves the pictures. In Ollie, she particularly loves the page with the pig. Oink, oink!

Inside Pages of Ollie by Olivier Dunrea 1 Inside Pages of Ollie by Olivier Dunrea 2

Final Verdict: Just as I love all the other Gossie & Friends books, I also love Ollie. In fact, Ollie is probably one of my favorite titles of the entire series. The stubbornness of Ollie reminds me a lot of my own stubborn toddler. I also love the whimsical illustrations. My daughter, too, likes the story and looking at the pictures throughout the book. We give Ollie another four enthusiastic thumbs up!

Image Credits

Cover of Ollie by Olivier Dunrea © 2013 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of Ollie by Olivier Dunrea 1 © 2013 Heather Johnson
Inside Pages of Ollie by Olivier Dunrea 2 © 2013 Heather Johnson

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