The Goose's Tale

While exploring the marsh near their home, a sister and brother find an abandoned goose decoy. Naming it Alice, the children set the decoy in their room, where it faces the river. As the two argue over a game, an unfamiliar voice interrupts them. Enchanted by their talking decoy, the siblings listen to the goose's woeful tale of having once been real. A hunter's gunshot took her life and separated her from her mate. Unfortunately, the tone of debut author/artist Clearman's text is as vacant as her decoy's pitted cork body. Congested by a rush of stiff prose, the tale takes the obvious path and misses intriguing possibilities. The goose teaches the children to fly; turned into geese, they soar into the sky and return with the goose's lost mate, who nuzzles the decoy back to life. But even the vibrant illustrations can't summon enough magic to bring this book to life. Ages 6-12. (Sept.)