Lionni, L. (1994). An Extraordinary Egg. N.p.: Alfred A Knopf.
An Extraordinary Egg is written by Leo Lionni and is about three frog friends who discover something marvelous. One frog brings home an egg. When the egg hatches they all think it is a chicken (because it came from an egg). The egg however is an alligator. The friends bring home the little alligator to it's mama and the mama is happy to see it's little alligator. In the end, the frog friends laugh because they think it is so funny that the mama called the "chicken" a little alligator.
The illustrations in this book are pleasing to children. The colors are bright and vivid and represent well the story line. The illustrations are life-like and allow the reader to jump into the book. The characters are all happy and friendly characters. Diverse populations of characters are represented. In fact, you could go as far to say that the alligator had the freedom of choice to be whatever it willed, even a chicken. However, since there was no skin colors involved, we can say that the animals were different and therefore represented a variety of ideas of characters. The illustrations do not support stereotypes.
The story is appealing to children. The story has an interesting flow to it. The story is exciting and funny, especially when the frogs are calling the alligator a chicken. The conflict in the story is that the baby "chicken" needs to get home to his mama. The frog and a bird lead the baby home to his mama. There is also small conflicts debating if the egg is really an egg or if it is a pebble. The frogs decide it is an egg when out comes the alligator that they call a chicken.
The story will encourage discussions as you can talk about different kinds of eggs. Do all eggs come from chickens? (No) What other animals lay eggs? You can also discuss teamwork, friendship, and group-effect thinking.
Literary Elements:
Setting: Somewhere near the edge of the waters and on the upper ground by a pond, beautiful flowers and crusty dirt
Mood: Bright, cherry, adventure, fun, exciting, friendship
Characters: Inquisitive, Bold, Funny, Out-going, Brave, Adventurous, Helpful
Lexile: 520L
Age Range- 5+
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