Two Eggs, Please

by Sarah Weeks, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)

Eggs, eggs, eggs -- everyone wants eggs! But do they want the same kinds of eggs? NO! Some prefer scrambled, some like fried, and some even want them raw.

The only thing the hungry customers at this bustling diner seem to have in common is a desire for "TWO EGGS, PLEASE!"

At the heart of this clever new look at similarities and differences by acclaimed author Sarah Weeks and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Betsy Lewin is an age-old truth -- it's what's inside that counts.

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Kids

Library Binding

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Sarah Weeks has been writing children’s books and songs for the past twenty years. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and NYU and recently became an adjunct faculty member in the prestigious Writing Program at the New School University, in New York City.

Her first YA novel, So B. It, which appeared on the LA Times bestseller list was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and received the 2004 Parent’s Choice Gold Award. In addition to being an author, Sarah is an accomplished singer/songwriter. She has written for television, stage and screen and a number of her picturebooks include songs which she both writes and sings for the accompanying CD’s. Sarah's titles have sold well over a million copies, including several foreign editions.

Sarah is a tireless promoter, visiting schools throughout the country, serving as author-in-residence and speaking to teachers and librarians at national conferences including IRA, ALA and NCTE. She lives in New York City with her two teenage sons.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the simplicity of this book. Animals sit at a counter at the diner and order two eggs, please. One wants them sunny-side up, one hard-boiled, one poached. Hmmm, different, they all think. Not bad, or ew, or weird, or wrong. Just different, but the same, too. Love when authors and illustrators don't use sledgehammers to get a message across - and any book with layer cakes under glass covers and spinny stools at a diner counter is going to feel welcoming to me. Try this with early elementary for basic diversity discussions.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to the PreK 4s for their restaurant theme at TEC. They requested it. I enjoy the different, but the same theme. 12/9/14

Selected at PJ Story Time. Went over okay, but younger siblings were confused. (Plus book was falling apart.)

[Christina Brandsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book communicates a profound message about the nuance of what we have in common with one another and ways we differ from one another. With minimal words, the lesson stands strong.

[Cassidy Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two Eggs, please is a book written by Sarah Weeks. This book is about many different people coming into a diner and ordering eggs. People order eggs in many different ways, but in the end they are all the same because they are all eggs. This is good representation of showing how people can look different or like different things but in the end we are all the same. We are all human beings just like everyone ordered eggs just in different ways. This book was very colorful to get children's attention, but I did not like that the characters were portrayed as animals. It would've been cool to see people of different races and cultures ordering different types of eggs to really bring home the idea that though were all different, we are the same. I also did not like the fact that there was not much content to the book. I think children might get a little bored with this book. Overall, this book had a good meaning to it, but I would've loved to see a few things different about it.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book that illustrates an important social concept to young readers. All the guests who enter the diner order two eggs but in a different manner (fried, over-easy, sunny-side up, poached, hard-boiled, and soft-boiled). The cook uses one brown egg and one white egg to represent the fact that the eggs are different on the outside, they were the same on the inside.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book with charming illustrations, but don't feel like the author's intended message of "teaching an important social concept to young children" comes across. Too easy to get caught up in all the different animals and fun orders, the "different on the outside, same on the inside" message gets lost.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute way of teaching kids how items can be DIFFERENT, yet the SAME.

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delicious diner art complements a simple story about similarities and differences in food choices and the in the anthropomorphic animals who make them.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun!it teach where different and same.i wish I have an egg too!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and simple way to teach kids about same , yet different.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple picture book of various ways to order your eggs cooked. Betsy Lewin illustrations are excellent as usual.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations extend the text in really great ways, giving adults lots of opportunities to talk with kids about similarities and differences.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this books shows how many ways there are to make two eggs. I love how is shows that it's okay for people to like different things. But my favorite thing about this book is when the cook holds up and white egg and a brown egg and then cracks them and shows how they are the same inside.
Definitely one I'm sharing with my family because those are concepts that I want to sink deep into our family culture.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations.

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the vibe.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story in a diner where everyone orders eggs, but in a different way. Cute idea and cute illustrations.

[Jake Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

[backlog] this is my favorite childhood book (i used to be allergic to eggs)

[Kimiya Bakhtiari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful social commentary

[Guen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, people are compared to eggs. Like eggs, which can be prepared in many different ways, people come with many different traits and personalities. However, before eggs are cooked, they start out very much alike. They may be different colors or sizes on the outside but when you crack them open, they are all alike on the inside.

The story takes place in a diner where many very different diners (in this story they are actually depicted as animals to highlight their differences) come in and order "Two eggs, please." But they each order their eggs prepared in different ways, over-easy, hard-boiled, even raw. The diners notice the similarities and differences between themselves and their meal choices. The chef then notices the differences between the exteriors of two eggs and the similarities between the interiors of the same eggs.

The story itself is actually very simple and has very little text. But there are two levels of meaning contained in the story. The obvious message of differences and similarities will be easy for young readers to grasp. When viewed from just this superficial level though, the book feels slow-paced and simplistic. You have to read the book more carefully to get the deeper message of acceptance in a community of diverse individuals. Children will probably need an adult's help to understand this difficult concept.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two eggs, please. by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, depicts hungry customers who all want eggs, though each prepared a bit differently.

Lewin's colorful, humorous illustrations have a cartoon look that will appeal to children. The animal characters are varied and appealing, as is the diner setting. This takes the idea of a foxy waitress to a new level. My favorite images are waitress and cake, rat & diner, policemen order, ram and gator order, patron shot, eggs coming up, and final picture.

The repetition and seventy word text make this a good choice for beginning/transitional readers. This should be a good read-aloud choice as well. The simple message of everyone being different but still very much the same is well communicated. This message encouraging diversity and tolerance is a good one for children to receive. This is recommended for school and public library collections.

For ages 3 to 7, animals, food, friendships, humor, eggs, sameness and differences, cooking, tolerance, diversity, and fans of Sarah Weeks and Betsy Lewin.

[Arsenio Richardson]

I really like this book because it is one those classic children’s book. It has lots of great colors, animals being depicted as people and easy literature. There was not much literature in this book but when it was there you could tell exactly what was going on. When it came to the art I like how the book seemed like a cartoon. Children normally enjoyed cartoons so they would have an easy time following the book it also had different animals in the book and I think that is important because children need to identify many other animals as they grow, not just the ones who are household pets.

[Ruhama · Rating 5 out of 5]

A late night diner gets a lot of traffic in the wee hours of the morning. Everyone that enters orders two eggs, but how they want their eggs prepared is different. The fox waitress serves a rhino two sunny-side up eggs (and coffee—I noticed everyone gets coffee), a stork two scrambled eggs and a python two raw eggs, plus many of the other varieties of prepared eggs. The illustrations are fun and colorful, the text is easy to read and simple, and the story itself is a good springboard for discussing eggs, differences, eating out or breakfast. A cute addition for any library.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this wordless book for more than half of it, but as I got closer to the end I began to see what the author was doing. This would be a great book for preschoolers to third grade. This book allows you to relate eggs to people. It does so by having different animals all order eggs, but in different ways. This relates to people because we are all made with the same organs(besides the differences between boys and girls), but each person has a different look, and personality. We're all the same, but different.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Eggs, Please features a wide audience of critters who visit a diner and order eggs. Each egg order is different, but the eggs themselves are the same. Different and same are highlighted in this brief story. It's fun and bright and offers the reader an opportunity to play with a wide range of voices for each character and their order.

Theme: Bacon & Eggs
Additional themes: food, restaurants, the number two, same/different

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entertaining picture book is about how things can be the same but also be different. The setting is a late night diner where all the animals are getting together to order two eggs each. But the style of eggs that each animal orders is different. (Snake ordering two eggs "raw" is a surprise!) Sarah's use of words is imaginative and humorous. She also gets her point across. When Fox (the waitress) is yelling all the orders to Bear (the chef) it is like an energetic poem! Great tale!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very simple picture book that provides a visual on how some things may seem very different on the outside, but on the inside it is really the same. Each customer that comes into this diner, is looking to place an order for two eggs. Some want it scrambled, others raw, hard boiled, soft boiled, etc. Great way to start a conversation with young kids about how some things can be very different, yet the same at the same time.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book comes from one teacher's idea--pass around a brown and white egg, have class discuss what they see. Then she cracked the eggs--the idea being looks different (and similar) on the outside, very much the same on the inside. Great lesson here. I love the teacher's idea, and I liked the book.

[Shaley Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very short. It was all in dialouge. It was showing how you can have eggs in so many different ways. Showing that even people who live in the same place they can always want something a different way. It would be for the younger grades in school.

[Victoria Dimmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, and would be used in first or second grade classrooms. This book has all kinds of different characters who come together in a diner to order eggs. The concept of this book is that everyone likes their eggs different, but no matter how you cook them an egg is an egg.