Being Kind To George

Jo Dunningham

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

Being Kind to George is based on a true story and real life characters. Set in a beautiful Country Park nestling in the heart of Wiltshire, England, it tells the tale of how easily man can inadvertently affect the wildlife around him. The story tries to show how even in kindness, man can damage not only the delicate balance of the environment in which animals live, but by befriending a wild animal they can remove the instincts that help it to survive.

Author Website - www.dunningham.be - note: this site was offline (404) as of 31 March 2011

Review by Molly Martin (110404) Rating (9/10)

Review by Molly Martin
Rating 9/10
Oliver a 'flob a lob dog' has big feet, an ungainly lope and lots of curiosity. Out on an early morning walk Oliver and Greg a strange hissing sound coming from the grasses along the side of the path. Oliver hides behind Greg as he peers into some reeds to find a round head, dark, beady eyes and a funny green something covered in water slime. George is a goose.

Greg who owns a café likes to take fennel seed to feed to the birds he meets on his walks. One day the goose follows Greg to the lake. Soon there is no more green slime covering George's feathers. He is white and lovely, eats more seed spends his summer swimming in the lake and waiting for Ollie and Greg. When Ranger Sue explains to Greg that feeding wild creatures can cause the animal to come to depend on humans and forget to look for food on their own Greg does not go to visit his feathered friend so much.

George loved all the attention he received from visitors to the lake. In the fall when the children go back to school George learns that not all people are kind or good when some rowdies chase, yell and grab at him. Afraid, hurt and lonely George comes to Greg's café.

Ranger Sue comes and she and Greg take George to a refuge for water birds who have forgotten how to live in the wild.

Being Kind To George is set in a lovely Park in Wiltshire, England. The poignant tale helps children realize that what may be kindness in fact can also harm wild critters as they begin to lose the instincts helping them survive on their own. When wild critters come to depend on people for food and help they are no longer the free creatures they were, but are helpless to those who would cause them harm.

Writer Dunningham has produced an excellent teaching/pleasure reading work covering 41 pages in Being Kind To George. Filled with wonderful illustrations the easily navigated eBook is sure to please the target audience of early to mid readers. A visit to the author's website will take readers to colour book pages suitable for download, pictures of George and insight into the writer and her work.

Being Kind To George will fit nicely in the classroom science program as well as free reading time. This is a good book for evening 'read to me' cuddle time with the 3-4 set, read with some help for the 6-8 and read alone for many 8-9s. This is a book I would use in my own K-1 classroom, happy to recommend.
Molly Martin (11th April 2004)