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The Egg
Introducing Modern Gems--classic, keepsake editions of modern picture book favorites.
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Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
5 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
M.P. Robertson
25 books4 followersMark (M.P) Robertson was born in Parsons Green, London in 1965.
At an early age he moved to a dormitory town where he did his best to sleep through most of his education.
He narrowly managed to acquire the minimum number of 'O' levels to study graphic design at Hounslow Borough College.
After three years he left disillusioned, took a year to ponder his own navel, then returned to take a degree in illustration at Kingston polytechnic.
After leaving in 1988 he was amazed to find people willing to pay him money to do what he enjoyed. He has been capitalizing on this ever since.
His first picture book Seven Ways to Catch the Moon was published in 1999.
He currently lives in Bradford on Avon, near Bath, with his partner Sophy Williams (Also an illustrator) and two boys. He works in his garden shed where he worries about losing his hair.
At an early age he moved to a dormitory town where he did his best to sleep through most of his education.
He narrowly managed to acquire the minimum number of 'O' levels to study graphic design at Hounslow Borough College.
After three years he left disillusioned, took a year to ponder his own navel, then returned to take a degree in illustration at Kingston polytechnic.
After leaving in 1988 he was amazed to find people willing to pay him money to do what he enjoyed. He has been capitalizing on this ever since.
His first picture book Seven Ways to Catch the Moon was published in 1999.
He currently lives in Bradford on Avon, near Bath, with his partner Sophy Williams (Also an illustrator) and two boys. He works in his garden shed where he worries about losing his hair.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 19, 2023
Stunning illustrations and charming story. I know it's an "old" book, but I wish the parenting responsibility wasn't described as solely the mother's. A female character would have been nice too.
September 23, 2011
My 3-year-old came home from school yesterday babbling on and on about the kid who was on his bed and had a giant egg and there was a green eye peeking out of the egg and out came a dragon and he took care of the dragon. It was clearly library day at school, and this was her choice to borrow. My gal doesn't need no stinkin' princess books!
It's a cute tale, shows a male being nurturing, and has dragons. What more can you ask for?
It's a cute tale, shows a male being nurturing, and has dragons. What more can you ask for?
January 12, 2014
The Egg by M.P. Robertson – Older – 2001 – Cute little book about a boy who hatches an egg and then raises a dragon. Special story showing responsibility and caring, especially the portion when the character learns how to say goodbye. I love randomly finding books that catch my eye… This book had that appealing cover that made me immediately open the book.
Perfect pairing with Horton Hatches The Egg by Dr. Seuss!
Perfect pairing with Horton Hatches The Egg by Dr. Seuss!
September 22, 2019
Not sure how I feel about this one. Lola the sheep had perfect straight hair. Then she gets sheered and the hair grows back scraggly. She hates it. She doesn't notice when an egg falls on her head. The baby bird hatches and makes itself a nest on her head. She bonds with the baby bird. The bird grows up and flies away. The next time she's sheered Lola hopes her wool grows back scraggly to be home for the next generation of birds.
I have unmanageably curly hair, so the beginning bit about perfectly straight hair struck a nerve. The thing is, even though Lola comes to like her curly hair because its function. But there's no point where she or anyone else says something positive about her looks when she has curly hair.
The thing which makes me like this book overall is the dedication: "To ... Andy, who once told me my hair would make the perfect nest." I love when someone takes an insult or a joke and says "You know that's a positive, right?"
I have unmanageably curly hair, so the beginning bit about perfectly straight hair struck a nerve. The thing is, even though Lola comes to like her curly hair because its function. But there's no point where she or anyone else says something positive about her looks when she has curly hair.
The thing which makes me like this book overall is the dedication: "To ... Andy, who once told me my hair would make the perfect nest." I love when someone takes an insult or a joke and says "You know that's a positive, right?"
November 27, 2019
Summary: When George finds a the strangest egg in his mother's chicken coop, he brings it inside. George is surprised to find a dragon hatch, but he knows that he must teach it dragonly things. But when the dragon becomes lonely, he flies away to find his true home.
Review: This story is funny and charming. I enjoyed watching through the illustrations how the dragon grows and how George teaches him dragon lessons. This story captures the love of a young child.
Connect/Pair with: The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers; Boy + Bot by Amy Dyckman; Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Delicious Quote/Use: I chose the following quote as a model for writing. It can be infered from the quote that the dragon is sad. Students will notice this emotion and will use the quote as a model for writing emotion in stories or projects- "One night, as he read from a book of dragon tales, the dragon looked longingly at the pictures. A sizzling tear rolled down his scaly cheek."
Review: This story is funny and charming. I enjoyed watching through the illustrations how the dragon grows and how George teaches him dragon lessons. This story captures the love of a young child.
Connect/Pair with: The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers; Boy + Bot by Amy Dyckman; Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
Delicious Quote/Use: I chose the following quote as a model for writing. It can be infered from the quote that the dragon is sad. Students will notice this emotion and will use the quote as a model for writing emotion in stories or projects- "One night, as he read from a book of dragon tales, the dragon looked longingly at the pictures. A sizzling tear rolled down his scaly cheek."
April 30, 2023
I love a good picture book with an enticing cover and a story about a small child facing a challenge.
Little George finds an egg in his mum's henhouse. A very different egg. He takes it inside to the warmth of his room. When it hatches, George hears what the dragon is saying. And he decides he must care for the dragon and teach it all it needs to know.
The illustrations are gorgeous.
Little George finds an egg in his mum's henhouse. A very different egg. He takes it inside to the warmth of his room. When it hatches, George hears what the dragon is saying. And he decides he must care for the dragon and teach it all it needs to know.
The illustrations are gorgeous.
May 30, 2019
I honestly don't know why, but I loved this book. There really isn't anything special about it, but as I read I could imagine my sister reading it to my little nephews as they curl up in bed for the night. They would be enchanted. I'm going to try to find a copy for them.
March 19, 2022
Both the title & the cover art caught my eye. Turned out to be a cute story about a boy who hatches a dragon egg & then teaches the young dragon how to fly, breathe fire, & other dragon things. Lovely illustrations
April 9, 2018
Beautiful artwork. A simple fantasy story for younger readers.
October 16, 2018
A beautiful heartwarming story. The fun, imaginative tale would support and guide children in writing their own imaginative journey.
May 7, 2019
Great art, sort of reminded me of elevated Dick and Jane, if Dick and Jane had fire breathing dragons bent on destruction. I think it would improve the storyline of Dick and Jane to be honest.
July 31, 2019
Story is kind of cute, illustrations are beautiful
November 15, 2019
Lovely story that shows kindness and imagination with nice illustrations. Perfect for a guided reading resource for Y2.
November 29, 2019
George finds a very large egg in his mother's chicken house, and takes it to his room where it hatches a dragon, and that's when the real adventure begins. A fantastic fantasy.
February 2, 2021
Beautiful illustrations. The text is okay, but done better in other similar titles.
January 12, 2023
Very cute art and a charming story.
March 31, 2023
Started off great bit hot boring
July 2, 2023
How the author managed to take an idea so exciting and execute it so boringly I do not know. I love the art, though.
July 17, 2023
George hatches a dragon from an egg. A wild rumpus follows. Kids might like this one more than I did, but I thought it was lacking something.
March 19, 2025
nice and short. mostly great pictures. did enjoy. love dragons.
April 2, 2025
A lovely read with stunning illustrations.
May 5, 2018
I like that the male main character is shown as nurturing; this is something distinctly lacking in a lot of children's books (at least, with experience of the 800+ I've recently catalogued into my school's library, including a lot of 'diverse' titles). So that's positive. Also, dragons are cool? And it linked nicely to show a good relationship.
Otherwise, it wasn't incredibly interesting. In maintaining the damsel-in-distress stereotype for dragon stories, it also had the main character's sister tied up? Which was weird.
Otherwise, it wasn't incredibly interesting. In maintaining the damsel-in-distress stereotype for dragon stories, it also had the main character's sister tied up? Which was weird.
May 10, 2015
The Egg
By M.P. Robertson
**Fantasy/Science Fiction Picture Book
Pages- 32
Copyright- 2014
I enjoyed reading this book for a few reasons. One is I am not usually a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction books, but this short children's book kept my attention the entire book because of the detailed pictures that fit the text so well. The illustrations added meaning to text written and parts of the story the author left out. Another reason I enjoyed the book was because it had a deep theme. There was a true connection between the boy, George, and the dragon that hatched from what was thought to be a chicken egg. George believed it was his duty to raise the dragon like his mother would have done. He soon finds out the dragon is having a hard time because he is not around his own kind. The picture book has a cute ending between the dragon and George. (I won't spoil it!) I highly recommend using this book in a classroom of children from ages 5-9. Especially students who are interested in fantasy and science fiction books!
By M.P. Robertson
**Fantasy/Science Fiction Picture Book
Pages- 32
Copyright- 2014
I enjoyed reading this book for a few reasons. One is I am not usually a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction books, but this short children's book kept my attention the entire book because of the detailed pictures that fit the text so well. The illustrations added meaning to text written and parts of the story the author left out. Another reason I enjoyed the book was because it had a deep theme. There was a true connection between the boy, George, and the dragon that hatched from what was thought to be a chicken egg. George believed it was his duty to raise the dragon like his mother would have done. He soon finds out the dragon is having a hard time because he is not around his own kind. The picture book has a cute ending between the dragon and George. (I won't spoil it!) I highly recommend using this book in a classroom of children from ages 5-9. Especially students who are interested in fantasy and science fiction books!
February 15, 2011
George finds a giant egg in the hen house and raises it on his own. Once the dragon is born, George becomes its mother. One of the themes of the book is that George understands the dragon even though they don't speak the same language. I would use this idea to talk about nonverbal communication or communicating with people of different cultures. Ideally, I would like to get my students writing pen pal notes to students of different cultures, languages, or countries. I would hope students would develop different ways, like pictures and nonverbal communication, to communicate meaning and understanding in their letters.
August 4, 2011
This book was the perfect lead in to our final storytime/party activity which was a "dragon egg hunt" Ok, so everyone played along and pretended not to notice that our dragon eggs looked suspiciously like plain old plastic easter eggs! This book starts strong and has great illustrations, is funny and sad in places...but as a read aloud, it doesn't flow as smoothly as some of the other books I have read. Maybe the book tries to cover too much in too short a time, but I almost feel like I have skipped a page here and there as the story takes an unexplained jump. Overall, it is great fun when a boy hatches a mysterious egg, which turns out to contain a dragon.
February 5, 2009
My son likes it. we found a rock in our yard that looks like an egg so this was a big hit.
It is about the right length, not too long, not too short. it has good illustrations.
I think my son also likes it because a little boy gets to be the dragon's mother. He was relunctant to accept the news that boys can't be mommies when we discussed where babies come from, so i think that is part of the appeal of this book for him. also dragons.
It is about the right length, not too long, not too short. it has good illustrations.
I think my son also likes it because a little boy gets to be the dragon's mother. He was relunctant to accept the news that boys can't be mommies when we discussed where babies come from, so i think that is part of the appeal of this book for him. also dragons.
March 22, 2016
Used this at our Eggstravaganza and had some fathers laughing. A boy finds "more than he had bargained for under his mother's favorite chicken." He moves the egg to his bedroom & reads it stories. The 3rd night a dragon hatches. George precedes to teach it dragon ways. 3/24/12
Used again at our Eggstravaganza. Had a couple precocious children, whose comments had the adults laughing. 3/27/13
Selected at PJ Story Time. Enjoyed by the older kids.
Used again at our Eggstravaganza. Had a couple precocious children, whose comments had the adults laughing. 3/27/13
Selected at PJ Story Time. Enjoyed by the older kids.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2016
Another cute addition to any little-one's library. Short and sweet, "The Egg" is the story of a mysterious giant egg a young boy finds and what hatches afterwards. As with most children's books, it ends with just enough that a child could continue the story if they wanted, carrying on the adventures and ideas that the author didn't write and the illustrator didn't draw. This would make a fun read-aloud book for nearly any occasion.
April 16, 2012
Picture Book
A boy finds a giant egg in his mother's hen house which definitely does not contain a baby chicken. The story is a lot of fun to read.
When I do fairy and folk tales in my classroom I like this one because it is updated and current without detracting from the enjoyment of the elements which make a good fairytale.
A boy finds a giant egg in his mother's hen house which definitely does not contain a baby chicken. The story is a lot of fun to read.
When I do fairy and folk tales in my classroom I like this one because it is updated and current without detracting from the enjoyment of the elements which make a good fairytale.
September 20, 2012
cute short children's book about a boy who finds a dragon egg in the chicken coop, takes care of it in his bedroom until it hatches and raises the dragon teaching it all the ways of the dragons, finally the dragon takes him to where all the other dragons live, far far away, and says goodbye to the boy and thanks him for all he's done.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews