Papa Goose

Book excerpt: “Papa Goose is destined to become a classic. This book has everything in it I love: great animals beautifully portrayed as individuals; cool science; drama, discovery, and personal transformation.” —Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of An Octopus The charming true story of one man’s journey to raise seven goslings in the name of science. In Papa Goose, Michael Quetting shares the hilarious and moving true story of how he became a father to seven rambunctious goslings—and the surprising things he learned along the way. Starting right at the beginning, with the eggs, his journey takes him from the incubator all the way to the airstrip, where he must attempt to teach the geese to fly as part of an ambitious scientific research initiative for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, which tracks animal migrations around the world. For the next eleven months, we follow the newly minted dad as he takes the goslings on daily swims in the lake, tracks them down when they go astray, and watches their personalities develop: feisty, churlish, and lovable. Packed with charm and humor, Papa Goose quickly draws us into the adventure as Gloria, Nemo, and the rest of the crew conquer land, water, and air.