This seamless, striking and sensory picture book by master Kevin Henkes is sure to please young readers. This is one book that MUST be read ALOUD.
There are four eggs: One pink, one blue, one yellow and one green. The first three hatch and little birds enter the world and fly away. The birds come back to visit the green egg. They examine it, wander around it, listen to it, peck at it and surprise! It's an alligator that emerges the green egg. The birds are excited and rejoice at their new friend, but he cannot fly with them. They realize that they will have to stay earthbound for him. They climb up on his back and go for a ride.
What seems simple in a children's book is the hardest thing to pull off. How do you make a lasting impression with so few words? It is something Henkes should be lauded for.
The perfect book for teaching about eggs and the fact that not only birds lay them! This is one book that I know will be Audrey-approved! (Audrey is my 20 month old niece) To be Audrey approved is strong praise indeed!
Highly, highly recommended for every young reader and all collections. A MUST HAVE.
32 pages 9780062408723 Ages 2-4
Recommended by: Pamela Thompson, Library Media Specialist, Texas USA
See more of her recommendations: https://booksbypamelathompson.blogspot.com/
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A rosy sun rises as our adventure begins. Four noble pastel-colored eggs appear each in its own square on the page. Suddenly, a promising crack appears in the pink egg, the blue egg and the yellow egg. But the green egg is still silent until....surprise!!!!
This is a brilliant first graphic novel for preschoolers and for teaching the parts of story to young aspiring writers. We have our characters, the climax of our action and then an unexpected and utterly satisfying twist.
Easily understood by the youngest "reader," this is a simply delightful and egg-citing tool to teach the wonder of seeing a story in pictures.
32 pages 9780062408723 Ages 2-4 (and up)
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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Four eggs - one pink, one yellow, one blue, one green. Crack. Crack Crack. Three hatch and release their little ones - but the green one does not. Waiting, waiting, waiting...Listening, listening, listening... Peck. Peck. Peck. Until finally... But what emerges is not what is expected. And as the birds fly away in surprise it is left alone, sad and miserable. Until...
Described as "a graphic novel for pre-schoolers", Caldecott Medallist Kevin Henkes has woven a magnificent story with the minimum of words and some seemingly simple illustrations. Using the softest pastel palette, simple lines and shading he conveys so much emotion and action that even the very youngest reader will be able to sit and tell the story to themselves and their teddies without having to know one word of the sparse text. They will enjoy predicting what might be in that final egg and be surprised when the secret is discovered. Could that really be inside an egg? Are birds the only things that hatch from eggs? They will also empathise with the surprise when it is left alone and lonely, perhaps able to express their own feelings when they have been in a similar situation. A perfect opportunity to build a word wall of synonyms for 'sad". Inviting them to retell the story will encourage them to organise and order their thoughts, begin to understand sequence is important, and use their own words and language skills to express what happened - critical elements in developing early reading skills. And of course, this story is the perfect lead-in to the classic tale of The Ugly Duckling.
Brilliant for littlies but older children could gain a lot from looking at the techniques used to produce so much from so little.
40 pages 9780062408723
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations and her wisdom: https://500hats.edublogs.org and https://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
