Title: Henry and Anthony: The Adventures of a Canada Goose and a Homing Pigeon
Author: H. Lynn Beck
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-5320-8920-6
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Pages: 150
Reviewed by: Allison Walker
Pacific Book Review
When Mother and Father Goose lay only a single egg, instead of their usual clutch, they know the Great Goose has a special plan for their gosling. And Henry is indeed a very special goose. He is raised by the values of the Great Goose and becomes not only an exceptional flyer, but also an exceptionally kind and courageous goose. When a horrible accident leaves Henry maimed, he leaves his gaggle and seeks the world, not knowing where he is going until he gets there. On the way, Henry meets Anthony, a homing pigeon who lost his way home. Together, the duo teams up with an assortment of other birds and have incredible adventures.
Author H. Lynn Beck proves to be a fantastic teller of children’s fiction in his book Henry and Anthony: The Adventures of a Canada Goose and a Homing Pigeon. Eloquently crafted, “Henry and Anthony” is exactly the type of story which will keep children up at night begging, “just one more chapter.” The book has action, adventure, unlikely friends, and loyal companions. Although their adventures are often dangerous, and Henry and Anthony are injured while seeking to help their companions, the good guys prevail in the end and those who helped their fellows are ultimately rewarded.
Beck’s unusual choice of a hero goose is creative and well-executed. Even someone on the receiving end of that pinching beak may be inclined to look at geese a little kindlier after reading Beck’s story. The geese are brave, family-oriented birds who are big and strong, but still suffer many predators. They are fair and demand respect, and deserve some measure of admiration for their simple, straightforward way of life. A goose will always honk a warning, Beck writes. And, as the coyote who faces Henry’s wrath in the chicken coop learns, those who are smart heed the warning of the goose well.
“Anthony and Henry” is oftentimes fun, sometimes serious, every now and then outrageous. For example, Henry and Anthony eventually come to mix with a gaggle of geese who gorge themselves on berry bushes. The berries make the geese act silly, they fly in circles and fall over when they walk. Some of the geese take to playing “chicken” with oncoming traffic at a nearby highway. After some time and misadventure, a Department of Transportation employee notices a suspicious rise in vehicle accidents along this highway. Drivers report “smiling geese” charging their vehicles! An autopsy on the loser of a game of chicken with a truck shows the goose was “drunk as a skunk” when it came to its untimely demise. DOT is forced to rip out its newly planted bushes after finding the berries are producing a particularly potent wine.
Children will enjoy the fun and friendship of Henry and Anthony’s story, and parents will enjoy the family friendly content of a book they can trust to read to their children at bedtime. Beck writes a book with values the Great Goose would be proud of, masterfully crafting a story that manages to impress those values without affecting a preachy tone. His unlikely heroes in the form of under-birds Henry and Anthony prove it’s not the size of the bird that matters, but the size of the heart inside the bird.
