Citation: Aston, D. (2006). An egg is quiet. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Impressions: This is a lovely and beautiful book that is perfect for elementary aged children. It is interesting and yet informative about eggs. This information book would be great for any school library. This book could be read casually or be used in a science class.
Reviews:
"The succinct text will draw young fact hounds, particularly fans of Steve Jenkins' Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1995) and his similar titles. Long's illustrations are elegant and simple, and the gallery of eggs, as brilliantly colored and polished as gems, will inspire kids to marvel at animals' variety and beauty. A spread showing X-ray views of young embryos growing into animal young makes this a good choice for reinforcing concepts about life cycles. "-Gillian Engberg
Engberg, G. (2006). Book Review: An egg is quiet. Booklist, 102(16). Retrieved from Children’s Comprehensive Literature Database.
“The title of this book is the first sentence of what passes for a story line, which ends with "an egg is noisy!" accompanied by a drawing of hatchlings of the "quiet" egg illustrated on the first page. (This ending line really should have been rephrased, since it's the newborns that are peeping, not the broken eggs.) In between, some characteristics of eggs are noted (e. g., they are colorful and textured), and adaptations, such as being speckled or "pointy," are briefly explained. The hand lettered text is richly garnished by over 100 ink and watercolor illustrations of eggs (and many of the adults that produce them) of a rather eclectic array of species, all identified by common names. As is to be expected, birds make up the majority (75%) of the animals pictured, but insects (1,586), crustaceans, fish, reptiles, and amphibians are represented as well. No part of the book has gone unillustrated; even the front and rear endpapers (pastedowns) are decorated with the shell pattern of one of the eggs. This book is visually pleasing, educational, and utilitarian—destined to be a "keeper" in many homes. A child who might have had it read to him or her as a preschooler could use it several years later to identify an unknown egg found on a field trip.”-Robert E. Knowlton
Knowlton, R. (2006). An egg is quiet (book review). Science Books and Films, 42(4). Retrieved from Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database.
Library Setting: During the Spring this would be a great book to start off a series of several library programs. The programmer could read the book and the patrons could make their own eggs out of paper and watercolors. In addition, using the names of the eggs, the programmer and patron could learn about the animals from which the eggs come from.
