The Strange Egg - Hardcover

Depalma, Mary Newell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618095071 ISBN 13: 9780618095070

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001

Synopsis

A little bird tries to hatch a strange egg before a monkey tells her it is an orange, in a simply told, whimsical tale of wonder, curiosity, and friendship.

About this title

About the Author

Mary Newell DePalma’s illustrations have appeared in newspapers, books, and magazines. Some of her assignments have involved drawing giraffes, cans of shrimp, mice, matchsticks, and pork chops. The Strange Egg is the first children’s book that she has both written and illustrated. She lives in Boston with her husband and their two children.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-This multilayered story starts out very simply. A small, black bird finds a round, orange egg and tries to open it. She pecks at it, squawks at it, and finally sits on it. A nearby monkey watching her knows what the "egg" really is, and uses his fingers to peel it. After they share the orange, the bird uses her beak to plant the seeds, beginning the whole cycle again. The plot is deceptive in its simplicity, and yet it underlines issues important to children: cooperation, friendship, using your individual talents, cause and effect, and nature. The mixed-media illustrations are as unique as the plot. The perspectives vary-first readers are looking at the whole scene, then examining the orange through the bird's or monkey's eyes. Text is scattered throughout the pages-sometimes below the delicate snippets of art, sometimes centered on its own page. The text is simply constructed: one or two lines per page, with vocabulary that is easy enough for beginning readers. An endearing story for young readers and listeners.-Susan Marie Pitard, formerly at Weezie Library for Children, Nantucket Atheneum, MA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

DePalma's (Giraffes Aren't Half as Fat) mixed-media illustrations add a quirky, postmodern flair to this tale of an unlikely friendship. Spying a round orange curiosity on the ground, a little bird determines that it is an egg and sits on it. A monkey laughs at her, takes it from her and, to her horror, proceeds to peel it. The monkey explains that this is not an egg but an orange, which he then shares with her. The bird in turn teaches the monkey a new trick when she plants one of the seeds, which they water and tend together, eventually yielding "many, many oranges." Just two dozen sentences sketch the tale, but DePalma's carefully chosen words vividly evoke each scene (the bird "peeked, pecked, poked, and lightly pat-pat-patted;" "They slurped, munched, squirted, crunched, and spit out the seeds"). Her artwork relies on a streamlined palette comprised largely of green, blue, orange and touches of black. Spare, piquant images float on pillows of airy white space; scraps of newsprint and maps add textural interest; and whimsical perspectives reinforce the humorous elements, as in an aerial shot of the bird perched on the orange, spindly legs splayed out as the monkey looks on, only the curl of his tail visible. This offbeat riff on the joys of the unexpected as well as the give-and-take of friendship is eggs-actly right. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618095071
• ISBN 13: 9780618095070
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32