Daisy and the Egg [Hardcover]

Jane Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

Mama Duck and Aunt Buttercup are sitting on a new egg, and Daisy is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new brother or sister. Days pass, and Daisy waits and waits . . . until she is finally awakened by a "Pip! Pip! Pip!" A story full of anticipation to which every older sibling can relate, "Daisy and the Egg" will surely be a hit with fans of this endearing duckling. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fans of Jane Simmons's celebrated read-aloud Come Along, Daisy! will be happy to see the endearing duckling back in this sweet picture-book companion. This time, Aunt Buttercup is sitting on an egg for Daisy's mom, and young Daisy can't wait for her new brother or sister to be born. But when all three of Aunt Buttercup's eggs hatch, Mama's green egg doesn't! "'Some eggs just don't hatch,' said Mama Duck. 'Come and play with your cousins, Daisy.'" But Daisy doesn't want to leave Mama's egg, and helps keep it warm even when night falls, and she is cold and tired. Finally, Daisy and her mom wake up in the morning to a Pip! Pip! Pip! It was her little brother! "And together they watched the sun rise on Little Pip's hatching day." Young children will love the irresistible ducks (just look at that face!), and of course the fact that Daisy doesn't give up on the egg no matter what. Each of Simmons's soft, artful pictures offers an intimate perspective on Daisy's family... from the close-up comfort of the warm, feathery nest to an unusual cattail-high view of the ducks gathered around the future Pip. (Baby to preschool) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

In this sequel to Come Along, Daisy!, the winsome duckling is eagerly awaiting a sibling: Aunt Buttercup is sitting on an egg of Mama's as well as three of her own. But even after Daisy's cousins make their unprepossessing appearance ("Yuck! He's all wet!" Daisy exclaims when the first one hatches), Mama's egg remains intact. Daisy takes on the task of keeping it warm and is eventually rewarded: with a "Pip! Pip! Pip!" her younger brother struggles from his shell. Simmons's softly hued marsh is an uncommonly inviting venue, rendered in perspectives that suggest both the expansiveness of nature (Mama and Daisy rush across an open stretch of water toward Aunt Buttercup) and the intimacy of family life (reeds and cattails provide a cozy enclosure for the eggs and the drama of their hatching). And Daisy's engaging energy, optimism and affection shine through her actions, expressions and very posture. However, at points Mama seems oddly detached from her own egg ("Some eggs just don't hatch," she says casually, agreeing to join Daisy's vigil only "until morning")-a discordant note that diminishes the tale's overall childlike sensibility and warmth. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316797472
• ISBN-13: 978-0316797474
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's about Ducks, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Daisy and the Egg (Hardcover)

The illustrations of this book are beautiful--they make me want to cup Daisy and her cousins (and little Pip) in my palm--and the story is lovely. Despite one reader's feeling that there's no message (or an inappropriate message), I think children have the right to literature that's more than didactic, that represents dramatic or emotional or natural situations for their amusement or wonderment or pondering. And ducks sit on eggs for other ducks. And sometimes, eggs don't hatch. True to character, though, Daisy is curious, determined, and sweet--this is why she sits so diligently on the egg and is able, through her own determination, to win over her doubting Mama. By the last page, when Daisy and Mama and Pip watch the sun rise on his "hatching day," I had a tear in my eye, and my nine-month-old was still interested in the bright and duck-filled pictures.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Special Book for Infertility Sufferers, August 4, 2010

By 

April S - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daisy and the Egg (Hardcover)

This book by Jane Simmons has a special place in my family history. In 1999, I was in my late 20s and suffering from endometriosis and primary infertility. My husband and I had tried for a year to have a baby, but it wasn't happening for us. Around Christmastime, we were shopping together downtown and I happened to open a copy of Daisy and the Egg that was part of a table display in a shop. As I read through the story, tears came to my eyes. I shut the book and left the store.

At Christmas, guess what one of my gifts was? My husband had returned for the book, and inside he wrote, "I love you. I have faith that if we wait and pray, we'll get one, too. Thanks for wanting to be Mama Duck with the faith of Daisy. - Your Loving Husband" - and along with it, this Bible verse, Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

The book was a little something for me to hold on to. Our first "keeper" came within a year. 10 years later, we have three boisterous boys. We did have trouble getting all of them, including "eggs" that didn't hatch (miscarriages). But they are here and it's great.

I hadn't thought about this book in years, but tonight I was talking on the phone with a girlfriend who is going through similar problems. After I hung up the phone, I thought about the book and I went to my closet and found the place where I had carefully placed it out of the way of little hands. I immediately called her back and read her the book from cover to cover, including my husband's inscriptions. Both of us were in tears by the time we finished.

Whatever you think about this as a children's book (and I think it's sweet), it is a very touching book for grown ups facing infertility or miscarriage.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My kids loved it!, August 5, 2000

By 

B. Johnson-Young (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daisy and the Egg (Hardcover)

This book not only has beautiful illustrations, but also has an engaging story that young children will sit quietly to hear. As a preschool teacher I have watched my 3-5 year olds ask me to read it again and again. The message of perserverance is a good one and that's what the children seem to focus on when they hear it. "Daisy did it!". I can't wait to read the first book about Daisy. I plan on purchasing this book to add to my personal library for when I have children of my own.