One Goose, Two Moose

Lining up for ice cream should be easy. There’s a goose line and a moose line- so why won’t everyone line up where Simon, the line managing goose, wants them to?

Stories like this are a complete joy to read aloud. Children- whether in a class or at home- will delight in joining in the fun, giggling at the antics of moose and geese as Simon’s frustration mounts! The visual humour of a moose standing in the goose line will set them off before the text gets there by which time they will be eagerly anticipating the next ‘count’ to the familiar pattern of ‘one potato, two potato’ with its inevitable interruptions! The ending is suitably satisfying and funny with the illustrations adding much to the humour.

Not only is this a giggle-fest of a tale, the story has great potential for encouraging counting, ordering and sorting. Children could draw their own pictures of geese and moose (or use those drawn or printed by an adult) to create the lines waiting for ice cream. These can be counted and matched to show whether the number of creatures is the same, more or less in each line. Simple addition and subtraction activities might also develop as well as plenty of play around hiding creatures in the wrong lines! The illustrations show such a wealth of personalities queuing up for an ice cream treat that children are sure to quickly develop back stories for the characters and happily create stories about them.

If ever there was a story which offered an excuse for one of my favourite culinary pastimes- making ice cream- this is it! Or perhaps it could lead to an ice cream parlour themed play area with some simple money work… There are so many ways this book could be used at home or at school, but best of all, it is a delightfully funny, brilliantly illustrated story which will be a great favourite anytime!

One Goose, Two Moose

Kael Tudor, illustrated by Nicola Slater

Scholastic ISBN: 978-0702307676