It is spring here In California’s Central Valley. The Kinders and firsts have been learning about the many birds living in the orchards surrounding the school. One boy recently brought me a broken robin’s egg – the yolk was dripping through his fingers and all the children gathered around to look. This led to a discussion on eggs and a search for more. Fortunately, the rest of the eggs seemed safe in their nests. I found 2 wonderful books to share with them to encourage their curiosity.
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long (Chronicle Books: 2006) is absolutely beautiful! The text is simple and poetic and displays a broad variety of eggs showing that they are quiet, colorful, shapely, textured and can even be fossilized! The illustrations are done in watercolor and the pages shine. Facts are simply explained about the eggs of birds as diverse as the hummingbird and the ostrich. Also included are fish, amphibian, and insect eggs. The book even has a satisfactory end because an egg is quiet until… it is noisy! This is a wonderful book that teaches about the beauty and diversity of nature.
The question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg is pondered in the book, First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Book Press). The text is simple, First the egg, then the chicken… which enables a young child to “read” the book by looking at the pictures. The page turns and art which are cleverly done using die cuts, show the process of change from tadpole to frog, seed to flower then onto words to story and paint to art. This book is a celebration of both nature and art. It was a Caldecott Honor Book and also a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner. First the Egg is a perfect book to share with young children!
Claudia Wagner says
I found your blog in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and enjoyed E is for Egg (shhh!) It’s good to know there are people like you out there. People who like children, science, and books. Thank you.
Claire Annette Noland says
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am learning a lot in the process of doing this a-z challenge. How is t going for you?
Shail Raghuvanshi says
Hi Claire, am from the A to Z blogging Challenge.
The book sounds interesting for children. We need many more books like these for children, which explain facts so simply and interestingly. Nice Post.
Shail Raghuvanshi recently posted…E for Easy!!
Claire Annette Noland says
Hi Shail, Thanks for stopping by my blog. This a-z challenge has been quite challenging for me. I am just not tech savvy and especially have a hard time uploading photos. I figured that this challenge would force me to post everyday and I find that it actually is getting easier. I just read your post, E is for easy. What a great list! thanks for sharing and I look forward to visiting your blog more often.