Module 11: An Egg is Quiet

a. An Egg is Quiet is a picture book filled with all kinds of eggs. The illustrations are very detailed and well placed without crowding the text. Throughout the story, the author placed small labels for eggs, insects or the parts of an egg. The reader follows a story line that is written in large script. At the same time, there are other sections on each page that the reader can stop and think about, like an illustration of the timeline of growth for a hen, salmon or grasshopper. The story concluded with a nest of Black-necked Stilts that just hatched.
b. Aston, D. (2006). An egg is quiet. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
c. This book was very informative and exceeded my expectations. I did not expect to find so much information in this story. I enjoyed taking my time will looking at the illustrations. The illustrations are delicate and colorful. I noticed that all of the eggs in the front pages have “hatched” in the back pages of the book. It was interesting to see what eggs looked like as birds. The detail was very neat and connected throughout the story. I liked that the illustrator used twigs and branches to accent some of the empty spaces throughout the story.
d. Author Unknown. An Egg Is Quiet. (2006). Publishers Weekly, 253(10), 74-101.
Like the subject matter it describes, this book packages with understated elegance the substantive matter found within it. "An egg is quiet. It sits there, under its mother's feathers… on top of its father's feet… buried beneath the sand," Aston (When You Were Born) begins, as spot illustrations zero in on a hummingbird, emperor penguin and sea turtle, respectively. The narrative then launches into a kind of survey about the characteristics of egg, which follows a simple format. In most spreads, different adjectives (colorful, shapely, textured, etc.) complete the sentence, "An egg is.…" This repetitive rhythm contrasts with the visual variety of the illustrations. Long's (Sylvia Long's Mother Goose) skilled use of contrast and compositional balance prevent monotony. For example, a border that resembles a color test pattern runs down the outer edges of a spread of nearly 40 carefully placed "colorful" examples, set against a white background, which dazzle the eye. The main text appears in large, flowery cursive, while a smaller printed typeface serves as labels and brief factual captions. "An egg is clever," in fancy script, for instance, sits alongside examples of camouflage: "An egg might be speckled to resemble the rocks around it." The letters' dramatic curlicues mimic curvy grasses and vines dappled with tiny insect egg. Long introduces breathtaking color into the final spreads, as a concluding scene "hatches from" this peacefulness, reminding readers of an egg’s purpose. This attractive volume pleases on both an aesthetic and intellectual level. Ages 5-10. (Apr.)
e. I would use this story to create individual eggs using paper mache. Students could pick their favorite egg and try to recreate it. All eggs could be held on display in the library for a time.