Petunia

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Synopsis

Petunia is a very silly goose who finds a book. Thinking that anyone who owns a book is wise, she carries it around, becoming more and more prideful as she dispenses hilariously bad advice to the other barnyard animals. But it's not until she and her friends are hurt by one of her mistakes that she finally realizes that true wisdom isn't in merely owning the book but in learning how to read it.

Review

Petunia is the first book in Roger Duvoisin's children's book series of the same name. Petunia is a goose who lives on a farm. One day, while strolling in the meadow she comes upon a book. She recalls seeing the farm boy taking one to school and his father telling him that anyone who owns and loves books is wise, so she carries it around, becoming more and more puffed up with pride, while believing that she's clever. All the farm animals come to her for advice, but the "wisdom" she dispenses is highly questionable. When her errors in judgment get her and all the other farm animals hurt and in trouble, the silly goose finally realizes that it's the words inside the book that make it special and not just possessing it, setting her on a path to true wisdom.

Petunia is a classic children's picture book first published in the 1950s. Although I can't recall for certain, I may have read it during my own childhood, but whether I did or not, it turned out to be an enjoyable book to (re)discover in adulthood. Petunia is a very silly goose indeed, who lets her pride over owning a book get in the way of seeing the truth that real wisdom comes from learning how to read it. The advice she gives her farm friends is laced with humorous situations, but it's not until everyone gets hurt that she realizes her own folly. The book presents a great cautionary tale for kids on not becoming too confident in your own knowledge but instead that becoming a life-long learner is the actual path to gaining wisdom. I love that the story teaches a lesson in critical thinking to youngsters but it's done so in a lighthearted way. The illustrations are indicative of the time period in which the book was first published and alternate between simple black and white line drawings and ones that have splashes of bright color. They all complement the text well. Overall, this was a wonderful book that will be placed on my keeper shelf for the grandkids, and even though it looks like many of the other books in the series may be hard to come by, due to being out of print, I hope to find and read more of them.

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Roger Duvoisin @ Wikipedia