Daisy and the Egg (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "How many eggs now?" asked Daisy..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mama Duck, Aunt Buttercup

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

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316797472
• ISBN-13: 978-0316797474
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #900,583 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

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 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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my daugher's continuing favorites, April 25, 2004

By	"grumphyc" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a beautiful book, fun to read, and my daughter enjoys it immensely. She even "reads" along, reciting all the parts she remembers, and looks so proud of Daisy when she sits on the egg. At three, my daughter is doing as many things as she can her "very own self" and I think she identifies with Daisy wanting to do something on her own. This book is definitely worth having in your kids' library.