Zelda the Varigoose

Zelda, the yellow goose who felt the loss of her beloved turtle friend in Remembering Crystal (2010), is the subject of this clever interactive book first published in Switzerland. Transparent acetate pages illustrated with the physical features of a snail, bee, chameleon, and others, are transposed onto Zelda’s simple, sloping shape, which appears on the right-hand pages. Pensive phrases describe the resulting goose hybrids, such as Goosesquid, Ladybug Goose, and Goosephant: “If I caught cold, then I suppose/ I’d need an hour to blow my nose.” Loth’s well-designed gem reads like a kind of poetic interlude about this endearing character. Ages 4–up. (June)