Mother Bruce

Mother Bruce written and illustrated by Ryan Higgins is a hilarious story about a grumpy bear who becomes a "mother" to a group of goslings after a thwarted attempt to cook them up as eggs. Bruce ends ups raising the goslings. When Winter comes and he needs to hibernate, he tries to explain to the goslings about migration. When all attempts to get the goslings to migrate fail, Bruce packs up the goslings and they all "winter" at the beach, lounging in "tacky shirts."

While children will find Mother Bruce engaging and funny with the vibrant pictures and crazy antics, adults will also chuckle at "inside" jokes. For example, Bruce collects honey from the local bee hive because "he liked to support local business" and "I will have to ask show more Mrs. Goose about her return policy" when he tries to return her eggs that he has stole to eat and have become goslings. I predict this will be a favorite with the students this year as they seem to enjoy sarcastic humor. While I tend to read these books k-3, I believe this book would make 4th and 5th graders chuckle also. show less

I freaking love this book. Actually, so does Scott. He found it hilarious and for Christmas bought me the entire Bruce series. (Forget that we don't have kids yet. Forget that I was 29 when he did that). Honestly, this is a favorite of mine.

It's about Bruce, a very grumpy bear. One day while making a fancy meal (this bear googles recipes, y'all), he becomes a victim of mistaken identity. His meal hatched and goslings think Bruce is a she and she is their mother. As you might imagine, Bruce is pissed and looks for any and all ways to get rid of them.

The first time I read the book and got to the end, I spit out my water. It's so hilarious. Adults will definitely appreciate the humor as well as their children/readers.

Bruce was a grouchy bear. He liked his solitude, he liked his computer, and he liked eggs. On the hunt for the ingredients for a new recipe - boiled goose eggs drizzled with honey-salmon sauce - he got far more than he bargained for when his eggs hatched before he could cook them. Imprinted on him, the goslings simply wouldn't go away, no matter how many times Bruce rejected them. Eventually deciding to make the best of the situation, our ursine hero became 'Mother' Bruce, and set out to raise his four unexpected offspring...

An entertaining tale, one whose title plays upon the idea of 'Mother Goose,' Mother Bruce is the first of a prospective picture-book series about this grumpy bear and his unexpected charges. The artwork is show more absolutely charming, capturing the humor of the tale, from Bruce's chagrin at finding himself placed in the unwelcome role of mother, to the goslings' determined devotion to him. That said, although I enjoyed the illustrations and appreciated the story idea, there were times here that I felt that the humor - as when Bruce asks the goose whether her eggs are free-range organic - was intended more for adult readers than children. With that caveat in mind, I recommend this to children (and their adults) looking for stories with a little prickly-penned humor. show less

Bruce is a grumpy bear. He's also a thieving and unscrupulous bear, and he likes to take eggs from nests ("He cooked them into fancy recipes he found on the internet"). But four eggs he grabs from a goose don't cook. They hatch. The four goslings that emerge follow Bruce everywhere, and no matter how he threatens-even when he bares his fangs and roars-the adorable big-footed goslings look merely puzzled. Little by little, the geese break Bruce down ("Bruce was stuck with them. He tried to make the best of it") and wear away at his dignity; in one scene he glares darkly beside a wading pool in water wings and flippers. Having passed through goose infancy and goose adolescence (complete with headphones) into adulthood, the geese refuse to show more migrate; Bruce has to improvise. Higgins (Wilfred) dwells satisfyingly on Bruce's forbidding scowls and tubby middle, and even portrays properly the change from gosling fuzz to adult Canada goose plumage. It's a droll look at conflict won by the underdog and-in its way-a book about unconventional families. show less

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion in any shape or form.

I am super excited to be apart of the Mother Bruce book tour. When I first read the blurb for Mother Bruce, I knew that my Tiny Bookworms and I needed to read this.

Mother Bruce is hilarious and absolutely adorable. You may or may not have caught me reading this on my own. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. If you plan on reading this you should take a moment to appreciate the illustrations because they are so gorgeous.

The story itself is so cute and funny. Bruce becomes Mother Bruce not because he wants to but because his dinner plans for hard boiled goose eggs with honey-salmon sauce were ruined because the eggs show more hatched. Now Grumpy Bruce has little goslings whom are calling him Mama. He does everything to get rid of the little goslings but it turns out they don't want to leave their mama.

Mother Bruce will make you laugh and bring a smile to you and your little ones. My little ones and I really enjoyed this book and we're sure you will too. show less

Mother Bruce is a modern and humorous take on Mother Goose. Readers can appreciate the grumpy-but-lovable bear as his attitude toward the geese softens. I enjoyed the subtle nods of satire in the text, such as when Bruce throttles the real Mother Goose and asks if her eggs are free-range organic. The story also describes how he likes to use eggs to make fancy recipes from the internet. The writing in this story is certainly entertaining, and the illustrations convey Bruce's frustrations perfectly.

I really really liked this book at the beginning and for some reason the ending didn't really land for me. I can't say why, because it's a perfectly good ending, but something about it just didn't get me. But the first part was great. And the illustrations were hilaaaarious. I love Bruce the grump.

I did think about this story from the bird point of view by accident - which is a completely different story about birds constantly living in fear of the bear thief who confiscates their property and acts like it's a normal transaction. I can't tell if Bruce is just a polite monster or if he actually thinks that this is how you're supposed to get eggs. I don't know how many bird families are within Bruce's shopping range either, but he must show more spread it around enough that new birds are allowed to be born and lay their own eggs. "Bruce the Grump" isn't a very good mafia name but I guess that doesn't matter to the birds he's terrorizing. show less