The Joyfulicity Blog

The premise starts with a small, harmless action: a boy gives a mouse a cookie. From there, the story quickly spirals into a chain reaction of requests and events. Once the mouse has the cookie, he asks for milk, then a straw, then a mirror, and so on, with each request leading naturally into the next. That “one thing leads to another” structure is what gives the book its charm.

What Will We Do With Goo? is a delightful and imaginative picture book that captures the playful chaos of childhood, the love within a family, and the irresistible charm of a mischievous pet. At the heart of the story is a young child, their two moms, and Goo—a dog who is equal parts troublemaker and sweetheart. I am particularly fond of this book also, because the author is my daughter and the illustrator is my son. Goo is a nickname we use for our actual family dog Goose.

The story follows Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare as they try to express just how much they love each other. What begins as a playful back-and-forth—stretching arms wide, reaching as high as possible, and comparing distances—quickly becomes something more meaningful. Each attempt to measure love grows a little bigger, a little more imaginative, until it’s clear that love isn’t something that can really be measured at all.