A new gosling joins Dunrea's farmyard. Gideon "likes to play. All day" until he collapses in a tiny heap atop a haystack. Otto introduces Gideon's "favorite friend," a stuffed-toy octopus. The two are briefly separated; their reunion is a sweet surprise. Seemingly simple, the art is filled with clever, kid-beguiling details.

Gideon the gosling loves toy Otto; Gideon loses Otto; Gideon finds Otto. Joy, oh joy. Gideon and his toy octopus, Otto, are inseparable. They swim, play and read together. But one day, Gideon leaves Otto on a wall while he plays with his bunny friends. During their playful romp, Otto falls into the long grass. Gideon searches desperately until Otto rides out of the grass on a turtle's back. There you have the entire tale, told simply, but conveying heartfelt emotion. Gideon, a new character in Dunrea's sweet gosling series, like his predecessors, reflects very young readers' concerns, experiences and confusions. Gideon and Otto are loving friends, no matter that one of them is an inanimate toy. His feelings of sadness and worry when Otto is missing are universal, as is his relief and happiness when they are reunited. The small 6 x 6 format is just right for little hands, as is the clarity of the design. Each page has one sentence in large typeface with an illustration above that perfectly matches the action and is surrounded by lots of bright white space. The illustrations are neatly outlined in black and are rendered in pen, gouache and ink on watercolor paper, with true shades of oranges, yellows and greens predominating. A lovely and comforting addition to a charming series. (Picture book. 2-5)