The Eggchild

by Baxter

In a country ruled by four families endowed with special powers, a boy and girl from two of the families find a mysterious Eggchild and feel compelled to protect it and discover its true identity.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Childrens

157 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1979

Reviews

[Ruby Hollyberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my first favorite fantasy novels for kids! Delightful world where the children are members of magical families with affinities for plants, minerals, sun and moon, etc. The children come together to work as a team, going on a quest, defeating the bad guy and saving the thought-to-be-lost family, the one with the affinity for animals.

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my most favorite book of my entire pre-adolescence. It was magic and age-appropriate romance and something of an epic journey. And an egg-child! What a concept! Rosemary was my hero! I wish this was available as an ebook!

[SpentCello · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly original but whimsical and fun in parts. Unfortunately, the book suffered from very poor writing, particularly in terms of descriptions, which left everything feeling vague and half-done in an indistinct world. There were other writing faults, including an altogether alarming amount of alliteration that became barely bearable and everything was just big, or strange, or both. I was also disturbed by the xenophobic undertones, especially in a book for younger readers - all the evil men were portrayed as "foreign-looking" and speaking incomprehensible languages, which at the time of writing is at best lazy and uninspired, and now is simply intolerable. Parts of this book were bordering on enjoyable, but I was left with a feeling of disappointment.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun fantasy adventure for kids with a dash of delightful weirdness.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at Powell's from an 80s fantasy rack, because of the title :)
Quick, fun fantasy read about a group of children with Powers on a quest to bring the Eggchild back to its parents.

[Leece · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very original story, one I was very fond of. Having reread it recently, I think it has stood up very well to the test of time - and I'm still very fond of it!