Egg! - Hardcover

Wood, A. J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316816167 ISBN 13: 9780316816168

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1993

Synopsis

A look at creatures that hatch from eggs provides young readers with clues throughout the text and in the detailed borders as to what kind of creature will hatch out of the depicted egg.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- The couplet on the cover--"A dozen eggs. What will they be?/ Unfold each page and you will see!"--sets up the guessing game aspect of this book. Following clues to learn the identity of the animal that hatches from each egg (ostrich, frog, Nile crocodile, platypus, puss moth and peacock butterfly, kingfisher, corn snake, spiny anteater, shark, green turtle, and hermit hummingbird), readers are directed to open the fold on the facing page. The effect is one of cracking open the egg. Each page of text and the folded page are bordered with additional visual clues. All of this suggests a book with high appeal. Unfortunately, it is riddled with confusing and misleading information, as well as some errors. The ostrich, for example, is depicted with three toes; it has two. The text states that the bird feeds on insects and berries; the fruit pictured looks like a small pome. Three eggs are shown; this does not represent the size of the typical ostrich clutch. When the page is unfolded, the illustration shows an adult ostrich and two chicks hatching from smaller eggs. Similar problems occur for almost every entry. Finally, the information is presented in a random format from egg to egg. Readers get a smattering of facts, but there is no consistent pattern (physical description, food, habitat, etc.) to foster the development of science concepts. Patricia Lauber's What's Hatching Out of That Egg? (Crown, 1991) remains the best choice for introducing the variety of egg-laying animals. --Carolyn Angus, The Claremont Graduate School, CA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A handsome puzzle book depicting a dozen eggs, with accordion folds that open to reveal what's inside each (ostrich, crocodile, platypus, corn snake, shark, turtle, etc.) and to show its parent and other stages (like tadpoles) and display similar animals (e.g., all five birds that lay eggs underground). A final page gives actual sizes, from 1/10-inch moth eggs to a 10-inch Triceratops egg. Though preschool use is suggested, the detail makes this even more appropriate for older children. The brief text includes surprising facts--e.g., a crocodile carries her babies in her mouth. Dozens of border illustrations add close-up details of habitats as well as eyes, feet, teeth, etc. Compacted into the folded area, some illustrations are oddly truncated--an adult Triceratops head seems to be growing out of a rocky cliff; others are somewhat misleading--the spiny anteater amid eggshells is cuddling a baby too mature to have just hatched. (A spiny anteater egg hatches to produce a thumbnail-sized embryo that then resides in the mother's pouch for two months.) Still, the delicately detailed art and appealing format make this an attractive additional purchase. (Nonfiction. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0316816167
• ISBN 13: 9780316816168
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Stillwell Stella