While Scriblerians focus almost exclusively on middle grade and YA fiction, the occasional picture book review adds some extra fun, especially if a personal story is attached.
I’ve been on “Baby Watch” for all of February. Three little granddaughters are waiting for their baby brother’s arrival. In the middle of the month, I received The Call.
“She’s had contractions all day,” my son informed me. “You’d better start driving.”
Since I live five hours away, this has worked well for the three previous births. However, once I arrived, the latest news was disappointing. Everything had stopped. No more labor. Baby Samaritoni was not interested in joining the rest of the family. Not yet. His decision left ample time to play with his sisters. Ample, as in days, not hours.
I decided to ask my granddaughters to name their favorite books, and I would do my next two posts on their choices. The oldest is a voracious reader. She couldn’t decide what her favorite story was, but her sister next in line immediately handed me her choice.
Ed’s Egg by David Bedford and Karen Sapp. What a delightful picture book.
Ed is a little chick who doesn’t want to hatch. (Can you see the connection with my own family drama?) He’s gotten too big for his egg, so it cracks in more and more places, but he still won’t leave the shell until it finally leaves him.
Once Ed is forced to walk around without his egg, he discovers it’s more fun to play with his brothers and sisters than to stay squashed inside an egg. And when he gets tired, the best place of all is to be tucked safe and warm under his mother.
Of course, small children love the aura of mother love and family fun, and the illustrations contain detailed textures vibrating with color, sure to capture a toddler’s attention.
For older children, the author provides several discussion questions which utilize language skills, science, expressing feelings, and art. Explaining how a mother hen must incubate her eggs. Asking for children’s reactions when they feel shy and want to hide.
The author question we’ve been asking in our family: why do you think Ed didn’t want to come out of his egg?
Ed’s Egg has a happy ending, and our story does, too. Baby brother was born on February 22nd, healthy and heavy–and just like Ed, his happiest place to be is tucked close against his mommy.