Olivier Dunrea

I knew the name Gossie before I knew Olivier Dunrea. I picked up Gossie from a bookstore when I was traveling out of state with my son. The tale of the adorable yellow gosling who loved to wear bright, red boots captured my attention. I bought the book and it soon became a favorite of my toddler. Soon after we bought Gossie & Gertie. That was when I really paid attention to who Dunrea was and whether he wrote other captivating gosling stories. Lucky us, he did. So BooBoo, Peedie and Ollie found there way into our house.

They are great stories for babies and toddlers by themselves or as a collection. The illustrations are simple, charming and have special surprises hidden in the simple pen, ink and watercolor artwork. Whether it is a little spider sitting on Ollie or a mouse sneaking a bite from BooBoo's bowl of food. And the 6 by 6 inch books are the perfect size for little ones to read on their own. The books come in board book form, tough for rough readers. And they come with a hard cover and paper pages for older children.

Amazon.com says the books are meant for ages 4 to 8, but Gossie and Gertie were among my sons' first words - before he turned 2.