Three Rotten Eggs

The Hamlet Chronicles #5

by Gregory Maguire

Spring has come to sleepy Hamlet, Vermont, and trouble is in the air. The students in Miss Earth's class are supposed to be concentrating on the charity egg hunt, but instead they're fighting with each other. The hunt is a near disaster. Then three very strange eggs -- with genetically altered, fire-breathing chicks inside -- show up, and the trouble really starts.

Can Miss Earth's class band together, right their wrongs, and save the three rotten eggs -- and themselves?

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Gregory Maguire is an American author, whose novels are revisionist retellings of children's stories (such as L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into Wicked). He received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979-1985. In 1987 he co-founded Children's Literature New England (a non-profit educational charity).

Maguire has served as artist-in-residence at the Blue Mountain Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Hambidge Center. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jen (The Jenerator) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute :)

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is some definitely silliness to this book, which is a big reason to like it for me. The trading of alliances between the kids in Miss Earth's class is well executed, and I'm not really upset that the newly-arrived baddie Thud turns out to be softer than described. The kids are generally likable, while the mutant chicks are secondary. I only wish some of Petunia Whiner's "Baby" lyrics were less painful to endure.

[Swankivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Maguire's adult work, so my friend who knew this purchased this book for me at a library book sale. Neither of us realized it was the fifth book in a series, but that didn't matter; the author writes in a really effective way for what this book is, making it clear that this town and cast of characters has history I haven't seen without relying on that history to build this story. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well I remembered who everyone was, because there were a TON of characters. I guess it probably has something to do with how well most of them were tied to their microsetting and nearly all of them had memorable names.

The writing occasionally strayed into the morbid--I honestly could have done without some of the descriptions that made me imagine things I didn't want to imagine, like a briefcase full of chicken eggs that had been struck by lightning (hey, would you like to know what that looks like? ever wanted the phrase "amniotic fluid" included in your description of chicken embryos? in a kids' book?), but for the most part it wasn't a horrific book even though there was some significant animal death in it (besides the eggs, too). There was also a decent amount of animal LIFE--the chickens certainly had personalities, especially the mother hen the characters had to recruit to help hatch some eggs. I'm not much of an animal person so it's really saying something that this author made me love them.

The characters were a special kind of caricature. Mostly they were each a pretty one-dimensional character "type," which is also probably what helped me remember them, but that didn't bother me very much. I enjoyed watching the ridiculous Queen Bee type girl, Thekla Mustard, admitting outright that she wanted to rule the world, starting with being the boss of the girls' club in school. Thud Tweed was a riot, too; he was just so absolutely shameless when it came to insulting others and making fun of them, but I love seeing characters like him find something to care about and growing as people. It was a fun little romp, but to be completely honest I wasn't that invested in what happened. How it was told was entertaining for the most part. What was happening, I just wasn't that into. I'm sure that's subjective. Tons of kids would relate to this if they've ever sacrificed to have their own pet or experienced rejection (or threat of rejection) from their group of friends. I also liked how that last was done--how the childhood rivalry between the girls and the boys in their own clubs was relatively nuanced, and how the one girl in the class who wasn't in the girls' club was quite adamant about not WANTING to be in it without you ever getting the feeling it's because they wouldn't have her. I felt like the character Salim was a teeny bit of a stereotype sometimes, but I guess since everyone else was more or less reduced to a character trait, him being the outsider Indian kid doesn't stick out that much.

I don't think I'm interested enough to go back and check out the other Hamlet Chronicles, but I think kids would probably like them. The storytelling just has its own mood, and I very much appreciate that.

[Julie Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Thaddeus Nero Tweed--self-identifying with the nickname "Thud"--moves to Hamlet, Vermont, he's happy to set himself up as a bully who doesn't need friends and has no interests (save mocking everyone else's). But he soon finds himself falling in with Salim and Lois--two other kids who have fallen out with their social groups--to care for an unexpected trio of fire-breathing chickens. With Easter Egg Hunt conspiracies raging and meddling scientists searching for answers, Miss Earth's classroom has become a hotbed of secrets, burying lies under more lies. Thud, Lois, and Salim must join together as the Three Rotten Eggs to reunite friends, repay losses, and protect their chicks.

This was a bit of a weird one for me, but overall I liked it. It reminded me a bit of Sideways Stories from Wayside School with a slightly less wacky vibe, and sometimes it got a little graphic or violent (some more sensitive kids might be put off by, say, descriptions of singed chicken embryos dripping after being struck by lightning, or animals bleeding from their eyes). The contrast of those dark images with the very offbeat humor of silly character names, over-the-top antics, and ridiculous dialogue made it a bit of an uneven read, but I think its intended audience will be delighted. I'll also note you can tell other adventures have happened in this series in the same place with the same characters, but you don't have to be familiar with them to understand or enjoy. (I wasn't.) For a book with this many characters in it, Maguire did an excellent job characterizing them and making the cast feel full even though they were sort of caricatures sometimes. And I'm a sucker for a book about a kid who finally embraces a passion and grows because of it.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler alert! There is a lovely chicken involved in this story so of course that has contributed to the 5 star rating.
This is the story of the elementary students in Miss Earth's class in the town of Hamlet, Vermont. It is part of a collection beginning with Seven Spider's Spinning, which happens to be one of my top ten children's chapter books. Maguire mixes some tongue in cheek humor (Sedaris for kids) and small town ambiance that just makes these books so much fun. Lovely Miss Earth with her "kill them with kindness" attitude and her adoring students find themselves in the strangest of situations, especially for the sleepy little town of Hamlet. Loads of fun and a perfect read aloud for 3-5 grades.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is a story for kids so I shouldn't have read it, but it was interesting. I thought some of the points addressed were valid, but overall the story was confusing, especially in the beginning when there were lots of characters and lots of action happening.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my kids. It was a fast and easy read. The kids really enjoyed the book. The plot was good, and it was defiantly geared toward a younger audience.

[Tacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious, must-read, read aloud for witty elementary kids!
There are as many jokes for adults as kids. And I noticed a theme with this story that didn't leap at me in Seven Spiders.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Three Rotten Eggs" - written by Gregory Maguire and published in 2002 by Clarion Books. A strange book of school-age adventures where bad behavior is celebrated.