A great-grandmother goose bestows wisdom to her family in Jo Ann Schmitt’s picture book Great Granny Goose Says.

Great Granny Goose is visited by her flock of great-grandchildren (“the Greats”) and decides to teach them an important lesson: that “There is only one thing in this life that you can call your very own.” The Greats take turns guessing what it could be. “I know…,” says one Great. “My food.” Another guesses “My bed.” A third suggests it’s “My money.”

She tells them the answer is “Your word.” When the Greats are confused, Great Granny Goose explains that this means doing what you say you’ll do. Before departing, the Greats promise to always keep their word.

Although Great Granny Goose’s advice is useful, it’s impact is undercut by the fact that it’s delivered only as telling, without examples of why or how keeping one’s word is valuable. There’s also a strange, jarring, non-sequitur before Great Granny Goose reveals the answer to her question, when she asks the Greats, “Do you know you came into this world without ever having feathers? Did you know that?”

The story’s visual presentation is equally problematic. A brief bit of dialogue at the beginning is rendered in standard upper and lower case letters, but the rest written in capital letters, which makes it seem like everyone is shouting. The illustrations vary greatly in style and quality. Some seem to use photographs of New Orleans and other scenes as their basis, with additional cartoon elements added; others are more standard cartoon fare. One image appears to show a pirate, which only loosely relates to the text. Repetition of images, or elements of images, also lessens the quality of the reading experience.

Grammar and punctuation errors further undermine the story’s professionalism.

Revision is required for the book to attract a wide audience. Still, parents could use it as a prompt to talk with their children about the value of keeping one’s word.

Also available as an ebook.