By Dianna Hutts Aston
A hushed, gorgeously painted look at eggs of every kind, from a tiny hummingbird's to an enormous ostrich's, and all the different creatures curled up waiting inside them.
Each spread takes one simple idea about eggs and opens it up: an egg is quiet, an egg is colorful, an egg is shapely, an egg is clever. Sylvia Long's watercolors lay out dozens of real eggs side by side, labeled by species, from a speckled robin's egg to a leathery turtle's to the spiral case of a shark. There's almost no plot, on purpose. It's a browse-and-marvel book that ends the only way an egg book can, with the eggs hatching and all those different babies coming out.
It proves to a fact-hungry child that nonfiction can be beautiful and slow, not just a wall of information. Every page is a feast to look at, the science is real and accurate, and the quiet, unhurried voice makes it perfect for a child who likes to linger. It's the kind of book a child returns to again and again, noticing something new each time.