An Egg Is Quiet is the latest book we've read from this stellar author/illustrator team, and we found it just as informative and packed with details and lovely pictures as the last two (A Seed Is Sleepy -- review; and A Rock Is Lively -- review).

So many eggs have such interesting patterns and beautiful combinations of earth tones with the occaional bright color, and the illustrations here capture it all so beautifully. My children and I enjoyed just looking at the double-page spread before the title page that features pictures of different eggs, seeing how they compared to each other and reading which animals each would hatch into.

I tend to think of eggs as belonging to the domain of birds, and the majority here do, but we also see the ways that insect eggs, amphibian eggs, and reptile eggs compare to these. A nice chart at one point shows gestation times for a few different kinds of animals, with a few pictures of the insides of the eggs at different stages. 

I like the page that contrasts the shapes of eggs, and how each shape works best for the type of environment the egg is in -- for example, the oblong seabird egg that's wider at one end than the other, which helps prevent it from rolling off the edge of the cliff if it's bumped.

I love how the poetic language feels simple and gentle, yet communicates so much! Definitely a keeper.

Scrounged From: Amazon

Format: Paperback
Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Sylvia Long
Pages: 36
Content Advisory: None

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Ollie is a really cute book for preschoolers, all about Ollie -- who is still in his egg and won't come out. Gossie and Gertie try different ways to get him to hatch out of there, but every time the response is "I won't come out!"

By the end, these resourceful birds figure out that sometimes all it takes is a little reverse psychology! I like how this book is repetitive in a way that will draw young children in, but not to the degree of driving the adult reader insane. Plus, the little birds (goslings, I assume?) are totally adorable.

This is one of a series, and we've also enjoyed Ollie the Stomper, in which Ollie gets a lot more actual "face time."

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Olivier Dunrea
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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