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Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Central Library | Juvenile Book | E HENK | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Lebanon Junction Branch | Juvenile Book | E HENK | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
This masterful and stylistically original picture book introduces young children to four eggs. One is blue, one is pink, one is yellow, and one is green. Three of the eggs hatch, revealing three baby birds who fly away. But the green egg does not hatch. Why not When the three birds return to investigate, they're in for a big surprise! What will happen next With a compelling mix of comic-like panels, wordless pages and spreads, and a short text featuring word repetition, surprise, and suspense, Egg is an ideal book for emergent readers as well as for sharing in a group. Egg is sure to inspire creativity and storytelling in preschoolers as they anticipate the page turns and determine their own endings!
Author Notes
Kevin Henkes was born in Racine, Wis. in 1960 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. One of four children in his family, Henkes grew up with aspirations of being an artist. As a junior in high school, one of Henkes's teachers awakened his interest in writing. Falling in love with both writing and drawing, Henkes realized that he could do both at the same time as a children's book author and illustrator.
At the age of 19, Henkes went to New York City to get his first book, All Alone, published. Since that time, he has written and illustrated dozens of picture books including Chrysanthemum, Protecting Marie, and A Weekend with Wendell. A recurring character in several of Henkes's books is Lily, an outrageous, yet delightful, individualist. Lily finds herself the center of attention in the books Chester's Way, Julius, the Baby of the World, and Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.
A Weekend With Wendell was named Children's Choice Book by the Children's Book Council in 1986. He recieved the Elizabeth Burr Award for Words of Stone in 1993. Owen was named a Caldicott Honor in 1994. The Year of Billy Miller was named a Newbery Honor book in 2014.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Four eggs: pink, yellow, blue, and green. Three eggs crack: pink; yellow, blue, but not green. Three surprises: a pink chick, a yellow chick, and a blue chick hatch. Three fly away: pink, yellow, blue chicks; green egg stays put, waiting and waiting and waiting. Three friends return to listen to the green egg. They peck (and peck peck peck and peck some more) until the crack reveals a surprise: a green crocodile. Frightened fledglings fly away, leaving the small green reptile "alone," "sad," "lonely," and "miserable." That is, until the birds return and they all become "friends," and together the four go off into the sun to start a new egg-venture. Geometric patterns repeat, multiply, retreat, reappear. Each cream-colored page is framed with a brown border. Thinner lines sometimes create smaller frames within the larger ones, suggesting the passage of time, movement, and changing emotions. In the final sequence, the sun toward which the birds and croc are heading morphs into another egg: "The end...maybe." Fans of Henkes will delight in his use of line, simple forms, and a gentle palette, all of which clearly portray feelings, depict action, and suggest character. The concise text and straightforward illustrations, however, belie a more complicated tale. Is it simply a story of waiting-perhaps one of friendship? Or does it suggest the cyclical nature of young choosing their actions and flying out into the world? VERDICT This is a book that readers will want to pore over and talk about and read again and again.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Four eggs: pink, yellow, blue, and green. Three hatch, and out come pink, yellow, and blue chicks who promptly depart. Why isn't the green egg hatching? The birds return, and after some persistent pecking, an alligator pops out. It isn't what the birds were expecting, but a friendship quickly blossoms. Henkes's (Waiting) gentle story isn't just about appreciating difference-it's also about the craft of storytelling. Throughout, he divides the action into square panels that offer a visceral sense of how an author wields mood, rhythm, and pacing, as well as sets up a joke: in the opening pages, four-panel sequences showcase each individual, unhatched egg ("egg/ egg/ egg/ egg"), leading to surprises and smiles when things start to happen ("crack/ crack/ crack/ egg"). Thickly outlined in brown, Henkes's animals exude sweetness and innocence, and a quietly surreal ending, which sees the setting sun morph into an egg and then an orange bird, subtly emphasizes the anything-is-possible potential of storytelling. In many ways, it's a story with a writer's workshop folded into it-and it offers terrific encouragement for readers to embark on their own narrative experiments. Ages 4-8. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
With characteristic understatement, Henkes explores tenderness, acceptance, and love in this deceptively simple story. The cover depicts three birds gathered around a green egg, expressions of devotion on their faces. The first illustration shows four eggs, pastel-colored to match the birds on the front, looking as sweet as a handful of Jordan almonds. Three of the eggs soon hatch, the birds pop out, and then they leave to test their wings. The birds return, concerned about the green egg, and then help to peck it open. They are surprised and frightened when an alligator emerges! When the birds depart, the alligator is lonely, but the birds eventually overcome their fear and return. Rendered in brown ink and a soft, limited palette of watercolors, Henkes' illustrations provide depth and a meaningful sense of the passage of time, thanks to clever page layouts and visual hints. In the end, a new color is introduced, perhaps signaling another potential friend on the horizon. The open-ended conclusion invites readers to continue the story themselves. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Henkes' many fans will be eagerly waiting for this one, so stock up.--Whitehurst, Lucinda Copyright 2016 Booklist