Simple, warm hued animals elegantly drawn. I've worked with babies to pre-K and it would be a book they'd like - especially for the gradated pages that gradually reveal more of the story. Kids this age like the suspense and task of page turning, and of course, a good punchline.I like the theme that mothers wait with anticipation for their child's birth and that each child is similar to their Ma, yet unique from the other children. I like the animal of choice for the big egg as scary animals sometimes get a bad rap and I like that the duck is a 'he' as there's no reason to assume nurturing is only female. The story starts out with Duck watching all the animals lay their eggs and waiting for them to hatch. Duck is very sad that he doesn’t have an egg, so he finds one but it looks a little different than everyone else’s. Everyone makes fun of Duck’s egg because it looks so different. All of the illistrations in this book show so much detail and are so cute! The book is very interactive and will keep everyone who reads this entertained. I gave this book 5 stars because it teaches such a valuable lesson. It teaches students to not judge a book by its cover. It also shows them that even if someone is different it doesn’t mean you should make fun of them because they will become sad just like Duck. I loved that Duck found an alligator egg because it was the last thing I was expecting! For this book you could do a bunch of different lessons. You could do a science lesson and look at the different eggs of animals. You can read the story to them and ask them to write about what they would have done to make Duck feel included. Grade level: K-3
*Virginia Reader's Choice book*Classroom use: Matching mother to childMaking predictions
—boogs
Simple and funny story with beautiful illustrations -- can't wait to try in storytime!
—sindy
Sweet and funny. The PandaBat guessed, but she still really liked it.
—Stephen
Fun! Perfect length for younger children.
—Curt
