THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA

This is the story of a hungry fox who meets a plump goose and, ooh!, what an innocent looking goose she is. Just look at those big, doey eyes - so trusting! The fox can't believe his luck so he asks the goose to go for a stroll. The goose, with her angelic face, cannot refuse. Suddenly, a little chick pops up warning the protagonist: "That is NOT a good idea!" All too late! This fox is on a roll and next, he invites the goose back to his house tucked away in the deep, dark woods, and ... the goose says YES! "THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!" - now, LOTS of little chicks are shouting warnings! But ... just who are they trying to help? The fox or the goose?

Reviews:

If anyone is going to pull off a picture book built on the conventions of old-time silent movies—exaggerated facial expressions, telling body language, and, of course, blacked-out dialogue pages cut into the story—it would be Willems.

The setup is classic dastardly villain and innocent naïf, as a three-piece-suited, top-hatted, grinning fox catches the eye of a sweet, old babushka-wearing duck. Dinner! He asks if she’d like to go for a stroll in the deep, dark forest to his kitchen, where he’s making a pot of soup that’s missing only one last ingredient. At each step of the way, an increasingly frantic litter of chicks warns That is really, really, really, really not a good idea!

By the time the story reaches its peak, you can practically hear the Wurlitzer throbbing, and kids will be squirming with tense glee, primed for a classic Willems gotcha that turns the whole thing on its head for the poor, unsuspecting fox.

A quick, crowd-pleasing lark that should be a hit at group storytime. High-Demand Backstory: Willems, Willems Willems! And as much as everyone loves Elephant and Piggie, fans will be pleased to have a new offering in a picture-book format. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ian Chipman from Booklist