An Egg Is Quiet
Both titles are
Written By Dianna Aston
And
Illustrated by Sylvia Long
These books are truly amazing - at least the illustrations. The illustrations are magnificent, magical, mystical. And they overshadow anything that accompanies them.
I had known that the books would be beautiful. One only has to look at their covers on any book purchasing site to know that they are beautiful. However, as an elementary librarian, I had hoped that they would also be amazing as read alouds to first and second graders; and I have doubts that they would be successful for this purpose. The illustrations while striking would not hold the attention of restless young library visitors for very long, and the text though written in elegant calligraphy is simply not that attention grabbing. I do believe that these books would work very well as one on one storytime reads. A one-on-one reading or a teacher read illustration for a classroom curricululm unit would allow the explanation of some of the language and facilitate the understanding of how many of the fascinating plants and creatures included in these books come to be.
A seed is sleepy.
It lies there tucked inside its flower,
on its cone, or beneath the soil. Snug. Still.
(a lyrical beginning - a sunflower deluge)
A seed is sleepy.
but only until it has found
a place in the sun
and it has had its breakfast
and a drink of water.
Then a seed is . . .
awake!
(a bold end - a sunflower delight)
An egg is quietI was especially fascinated by the two page spreads in the front and at the back of each book. Thirty-seven seeds become thirty-seven plants. Fifty-nine eggs become fifty-nine creatures. Gorgeous idea! However, speaking strictly as an elementary librarian, I think that young readers would be frustrated by these pages because the plants and creatures do not correspond in placement on the page to the seeds and eggs. Speaking as an adult reader, I an entranced.
It sits there, under its
mother’s
feathers . . .
On top of its
father’s
feet . . .
buried beneath
the sand. Warm. Cozy.
(shimmering hummingbird . . . stately penguin . . . sea faring turtle)
An egg is quiet. Then, suddenly . . .
An egg is noisy!
(crunching caterpillars . . . cheeping ducklings)
In my book . . . These incredibly beautiful books visually function best as picture books. They are stunning to look at. They do contain some interesting facts. For example, the seed of an extinct date palm was successfully sprouted; and a cassowarie has a rough surfaced egg. Share these books one on one or with a classroom eager to know that a seed and an egg function very similarly to nurture the life that is within them.
