In this sequel to Duck & Goose
, a domineering girl duckling threatens the friendship between the boyish title characters. As the drama begins, Goose stands in a marsh, waiting expectantly for Duck. He cannot wait to show Duck the blue butterfly that has alighted on his head. Duck, meanwhile, is planning his own show-and-tell. "Just wait until Goose meets Thistle," he thinks as he and a new friend visit "all his and Goose's favorite spots... the lily pond and the shady thicket." When Duck and Thistle race up to Goose, Thistle frightens the butterfly and boasts, "once, three
butterflies landed on my head at the same time!... That's two more butterflies than you had!" Thistle challenges Goose to races and a handstand contest, winning with ease; Duck is impressed, Goose feels dejected, and Thistle pirouettes proudly. In sunny oil paintings of green grass and blue sky, Hills depicts the overeager newcomer proving herself and driving a wedge between the pals. His tale echoes Kevin Henkes's Chester's Way
, however this third wheel is not just assertive but obnoxious; Thistle is unlikable and, more generally, an off-putting portrait of a bratty, oblivious girl. Duck and Goose reconcile and get some peace by challenging Thistle to a napping contest ("I'm the fastest faller asleeper ever!" she proclaims), then the buddies play while she sleeps. However, silencing the bully is but a temporary fix. The book points out a common dilemma, leaving readers to strategize solutions. Ages 3-7. (Jan.)
