Book of Petunia | Duvoisin Roger

The book "Petunia" includes two tales about Petunia the goose: "The Stupid Goose" and "Petunia's Christmas". They were designed and painted by Swiss-born American artist Roger Duvoisin in the 1950s. During his 48-year career as an author and illustrator, he created 42 picture books and illustrated more than 140 children's books. More than one generation of readers around the world has grown up on stories about Petunia. Now Petunia comes to Russian children.
"Stupid Goose". Walking in the meadow, Petunia found a strange object in the grass. Thinking carefully, she remembered that she had already seen this thing at the boy Billy and that it was called a "book". And the owner of the farm, Mr. Zucchini, once told Billy that a book is a source of knowledge and that one who loves books becomes very smart. Having combined all these facts in her goose brains, she decided that she knew how to become wise. She carried a book with her everywhere and felt that her mind seemed to be increasing. She walked with her beak proudly raised, and her neck was stretched more and more. The inhabitants of the farm also noticed the change in her and reached out to Petunia for help. Soon there was no one left in the barnyard who would not suffer from her "wise" advice. And once there was a real misfortune that almost cost many of them their lives. And it was Petunia's fault. It was then that she realized that she had not wised up a bit. And that it’s not enough to carry a book under your wing, you must first read it so that the wisdom from the book gets into your head. “Petunia's Christmas”. Petunia went for a walk and did not notice how she ended up on a neighboring farm. There she saw the huge goose Charles and was imbued with sympathy for him. Christmas was just around the corner, and the owners fattened Charles up to the festive table. Petunia had to use a military stratagem to recapture Charles. However, the owner tracked down the fugitives, and Charles was again behind bars. Petunia suffered, she could not forget the beautiful gander and decided to buy him from the owners. To earn enough money, she showed miracles of ingenuity. And with her devotion, she touched the heart of Charles's mistress. It all ended with a happy wedding and everyone's fun, as it should be in a real Christmas fairy tale.
Classic foreign stories in pictures are longer than modern picture books - they have more events, characters, plot twists. In the fairy tale "Stupid Goose", the inhabitants of the farm have such expressive characters that it will be easy for an adult to give each character his own voice and not just read a book to a child, but play it by roles. Repetition of situations when Petunia's help comes out like an animal will help the baby better understand the absurdity of Petunia's conclusions and appreciate the author's humor. And the bright ending will not leave the kid in any doubt about how important it is to be able to read. The teaching bore fruit, and in the fairy tale "The Christmas of Petunia" we have a completely different Petunia - quick-witted, hardworking and purposeful.