The Strange Egg

Rating:
Summary: The Strange Egg
Review: In Mary Newell DePalma's book The Strange Egg, a high-flying little bird spots a beautiful object below that she believes to be an egg. She attempts to hatch the egg until a monkey begins to laugh at the little bird, telling her that her "egg" is actually an orange. They enjoy the juicy orange together, and when the orange is gone, the little bird plants an orange seed and nurtures the seed until it becomes a fruitful tree. Now the new friends will be able to enjoy many more juicy oranges together.
The Strange Egg blends wonderful illustrations with a delightful plot to create a picture book that is no less than charming. Text excerpts and single letters add a sense of whimsy to the life-like appearance of the vibrantly colored illustrations. DePalma adds variety to the book by stacking the text and illustrations down the page instead of always having them proceed from left to right. And on each page, the illustrations appear in different sizes, in different places, and in varying numbers, which gives each page a unique format, in terms of the amount of white space or color, and in the amount of text and illustrations. The delightful feeling created through the enchanting illustrations and the whimsical plot surely comprise the best part of this picture book.

DePalma, Mary Newell. The Strange Egg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001

Rating:
Summary: The Strange Egg
Review: In Mary Newell DePalma's book The Strange Egg, a high-flying little bird spots a beautiful object below that she believes to be an egg. She attempts to hatch the egg until a monkey begins to laugh at the little bird, telling her that her "egg" is actually an orange. They enjoy the juicy orange together, and when the orange is gone, the little bird plants an orange seed and nurtures the seed until it becomes a fruitful tree. Now the new friends will be able to enjoy many more juicy oranges together.
The Strange Egg blends wonderful illustrations with a delightful plot to create a picture book that is no less than charming. Text excerpts and single letters add a sense of whimsy to the life-like appearance of the vibrantly colored illustrations. DePalma adds variety to the book by stacking the text and illustrations down the page instead of always having them proceed from left to right. And on each page, the illustrations appear in different sizes, in different places, and in varying numbers, which gives each page a unique format, in terms of the amount of white space or color, and in the amount of text and illustrations. The delightful feeling created through the enchanting illustrations and the whimsical plot surely comprise the best part of this picture book.

DePalma, Mary Newell. The Strange Egg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001