Goose thinks the proverbial grass is always greener and is tired of looking the way she is. She starts to swap body parts with other birds so that she will look prettier - soon she has the neck of a swan, the beak of a pelican, the tail of a peacock, etc. Just as she begins to feel herself superior to everyone else, she realizes how these new parts are not designed for the life she is used to living, making it more difficult for to join the other geese in eating, swimming, etc.

This story is based on a similar fable of Russian origin, and thus reads a bit like a morality tale. Goose learns that being so vain is detrimental to her well-being and by extension, children are meant to absorb the idea that being yourself is preferable to putting on airs and pretending to be someone else. The book is told with a fair amount of repeated refrains, which tends to be a style most children like. However, I found that my young toddlers simply didn't have the attention span for this book. (They have been okay with other books that are just as long so I think it had as much to do with their moods on the day I introduced this book than with the book itself.) Still, I think this could be a silly but useful tale for older kids to get across the message of being yourself.

The author of this book is known more as an illustrator, and she does a fine job here of making the wacky animals that result when Goose and the other birds start swapping body parts. Still, there is something about the illustrating style that I don't exactly love - I think it may be the overly bold outlines for the animals combined with the sparse backgrounds. The illustrations are not bad per se, but they just aren't my cup of tea. Overall, this was a book that I liked but didn't love. I might use it again in my classroom as well as recommend it to others in specific situations, but it's not one that I'm holding up as a poster "best book." ( )