An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston

Module 7/ SLIS 5420/ July 18-25

Bibliography

Aston, Dianna. (2006). An Egg is Quiet. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books.
ISBN: 978-0-8118-4428-4

Summary

Dianna Aston introduces children to the artistic and scientific world of eggs with style and whimsy. Illustrating the shapes, sizes, textures and many details of eggs, An Egg is Quiet, is a non-fiction, informational book that will pique children's interest in biology. The soft pastel colors and swirly, mischievous text add a perfect visual element to the bite-size, but poignant facts.

My Impressions

I know I should 'never judge a book by its cover,' but this one is oh-so lovely. The whirly, twirly text and soft pastels called out to me. Then, to my delight, the facts and beautifully written text perfectly matches the gorgeous and whimsical illustrations. Aston has turned the possibly dry topic of eggs into a page-turner. Some of my favorite text/illustration pairings are on the "An egg is shapely" page. Aston writes about the "tubular" egg of a lesser-spotted dogfish. Her vocabulary usage is peculiar enough to get kids asking, "what does that word mean?" without being too complicated. I loved everything about this book!

Reviews

School Library Journal: Kindergarten-Grade 2–"An exceptionally handsome book on eggs, from the delicate ova of the green lacewing to the rosy roe of the Atlantic salmon to the mammoth bulk of an ostrich egg. Aston's simple, readable text celebrates their marvelous diversity, commenting on size, shape, coloration, and where they might be found. The author occasionally attributes sensibilities to eggs (An egg is clever, for example). Still, her quiet descriptions of egg engineering and embryo development (no mention of mating) are on the mark, and are beautifully supported by Long's splendid watercolor depictions of a wide variety of eggs. (One teeny carp–Steller's jays are not spelled with an ar, though they are stellar performers when wheedling for your lunch at a campsite!) A beautiful guide to the unexpected panoply of the egg."–Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Booklist: PreS-Gr. 2. "This beautifully illustrated introduction to eggs resembles pages drawn from a naturalist's diary. The text, scrolled out in elegant brown ink, works on two levels. Larger print makes simple observations that, read together, sound almost like poetry: "An egg is quiet. . . . An egg is colorful. An egg is shapely." On each spread, words in smaller print match up with illustrations to offer more facts about bird and fish eggs across the animal spectrum. The illustrations are too detailed for read-alouds, but there's a great deal here to engage children up close. 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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Suggested Library Use

There are so many great uses for this book. This could be used during a biology program, a bird program, and Easter program, etc.