SILLY LITTLE GOOSE!

Little Goose needs to make a nest. But whenever she settles into a place on the farm that's "nice and soft" or "nice and quiet," it turns out to be another animal's domain—a blanket-lined crate belongs to the cat family, a bin of straw is the sheep's fodder—and she is rousted to a refrain of "Silly Little Goose!" Luckily, the farmer's hat (which blows through several spreads) lands in a "perfect" grassy nook, and soon the new mother's eight eggs are emitting eight tiny sounds. This handsome book exudes a lovely nostalgic sensibility, including the elegant typography. Tafuri's (Have You Seen My Duckling?) animal characterizations occasionally miss the mark (the pigs look a little blobby, the cats feel unfinished), but her plump, feathered heroine is just right—a determined bird who retains her sweet comic dignity despite being kicked out of every corner of the farm. The final image of Little Goose proudly parading her goslings before her fellow farm inhabitants proves that she wasn't so silly after all—and that persistence has its own rewards. Ages 1-6. (Apr.)