Whose Egg Is That?

by Darrin P Lunde, Kelsey Oseid (Illustrator)

A nonfiction guessing game that explores the connections between an animal, its eggs, and its habitat.

Written by a mammalogist at the Smithsonian, this clever preschool page-turner pairs seven eggs with information about the animals' survival mechanisms, asking kids to guess which animal laid which egg. Whose Egg Is That? reveals the animals--ranging from penguins to platypuses--in their own habitats.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Birds, Childrens, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 31, 2023

Reviews

[Star Gater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Charlesbridge for accepting my request to read and review Whose Egg Is That?

Author: Darrin Lunde
Published: 01/31/23
Genre: Children's Nonfiction

A humingbird's egg is smaller than a dime. While surprised by the humingbird egg, the fictitious Happy Feet led me to the correct answer in this book with no surprises to the egg truth of a penguin. This nonfiction children's book may have a fact or two on your favorite species and their eggs.

I found this entertaining and educational. The illustrations are nice. They are colorful and smart representative of nonfiction, not a comic.

I would gift this.

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book, from the series 'Whose is that?' describing eggs from different animals. The format was engaging, with use of large illustrations and simple text. The book would be ideal for use in Early Years education. The language was not technical but descriptive and felt accessible for young children.

Towards the end of the book, there is an additional page of extra egg facts. This has a little more substance to it , introducing slightly more complex, scientific language than seen in the main text: murre, cavity, dime (would need adjusting for audiences from a different country) fossilised, saliva. It did feel like the two sections of the book were aimed at different aged children. I think a small glossary would have been effective here to unpack this language in a simple way that was still appropriate for younger children.

Overall, a lovely book to introduce young children to animals that lay eggs.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This simple picture book shows a variety of eggs and then reveals the type of animal that layed the egg. The eggs are described using a variety of adjectives, including colours, size and texture. The font is large and there is limited text on a page. The text is appropriately placed and easy to read, making this book very accessible. The beautiful illustrations help tell the story and encourage readers to examine the egg for ideas of who it could belong to. As a grade 3 teacher, I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 3-7 range. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun book! After I read it to my 3-year-old two or three times, she tried to “read” it to me and nearly accomplished that feat. Both she and my 7-year-old loved guessing what kind of creature laid each egg. There is just the right ratio of text to pictures to make this great for very young children. Any little child who loves animals will enjoy this book.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that does a wonderful job appealing to broad age-range of readers. If I were a children's librarian or a classroom teacher, I would definitely put this book on display for young readers to thumb through on their own.
It's easy for pre-readers to "read it," for new readers to review what their teacher read aloud, and provocative for confident readers to start thinking deeply about biology, nature, and the complex reasons behind untidy matters of classification. And the artwork is simple yet sophisticated. That's a tricky tightrope that Kelsey Oseid walked in support of Darrin Lunde's text!

Readers engage in a guessing game as they turn the pages. First there is a full page (recto/verso) that shows an egg and a tiny portion of a creature. They are asked, "Whose egg is it?"

Then they turn the page to see a full page (meaning two pages open recto/verso) of the creature to whom the egg belongs. If the reader is expecting only birds as the answer, they will be in for a delightful surprise after surprise! Spoiler: The first creature is a robin, but then the category for "who lays eggs" gets challenged further and further as the book progresses. Great job by Lunde in selecting a progression of eggs among hundreds of possible candidates.

I read this to sisters ages 5 and 3, and they had a great time guessing and then laughing and being awe-struck when they were either right or wrong.

Oseid's illustrations are surrounded with a lot of white space, which makes it easier for readers to focus on the images central to the "lesson" being taught (in an entertaining and sneaky manner).

I personally am obsessed with problems of definition and classification. (I wrote my MA thesis in rhetoric about the problem of this particular rhetorical trope.) Consequently, this type of thinking exercises engages me even as a "grown up" reader.

This book is a great introduction for young people to nature, geography, and classification systems.

Back matter includes "Excellent Egg Facts," that introduces some general concepts about the study of eggs but primarily points out interesting details about nine types of eggs--seven of them being creatures not included in the set of seven within the main text. Voila! Readers learn about 14 creatures who lay eggs if they read the main text and the back matter.

Oh, I really like this book. Do not underestimate it because it's brief (only 31 page). It invites a lot of critical thinking, and it's contents (text and image) are memorable.

[Rebecca Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whose Egg is That? by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Karen Oseid (Charlesbridge, January 2023), is the perfect guessing book for a young reader learning about animals. I almost wrote “birds,” but since this book includes the platypus, labeling this a “bird book” would not be accurate! Only a few animals are covered, but it is just the right length for a young reader, as evidenced by my 7-year-old requesting repeated readings, despite the fact that I read a digital review copy of this book. (Picture books in digital format are not usual a preferred favorite medium for my young children.)

The simple, repetitive format of Whose Egg is That? nicely matches the attention span of the young listener. There are few words, yet it includes nonfiction facts. One two-page spread asks “Whose egg is that?” with a simple clue illustration (such as a feather, a wing, a foot-print in the sand). Then a detailed illustration of an egg (and plenty of white space) and give a single fact: it is blue, it is buried in sand, it looks like a rock. The next two-page spread names the animal, with an illustration of the animal in its habitat. The somewhat proportional picture of the egg is accompanied by a brief sentence or two explaining a fact about the egg, the animal, or the environment in which it appears.

As I mentioned, Who Egg is That? does not limit the eggs to birds’ eggs. Also included are a fossilized dinosaur egg and that of the platypus. I loved learning about the platypus, which is so often forgotten. I don’t remember learning about the platypus as a child. End matter provides two simple pages with another dozen facts about these and other eggs.

My daughter was delighted to see, on the back cover, that there are two other books in this series: Whose Poop Is That? and Whose Footprint Is That? We now are searching for those in our local library. I love it when a picture book captures a child’s attention in this way.

I read a digital review copy of Whose Egg Is That?

[Kylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️ARC CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW⭐️
⭐️ FT MY DAUGHTER ⭐️
📖 Whose Egg Is That By Darrin Lunde 📖
Pub Date ~January 31st 2023
Publisher ~Charles Bridge Publishing
RATING ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Our thoughts~ quick easy and fun read for my 7 year old she was excited to learn new information she hasn't yet been told. It's like a guessing game before you turn the page to find out we enjoyed that. Took us through the adventurers of different animals who lay eggs and there environments as well as some who are no longer around anymore. Great details in the graphics well as wording so that It was easy to understand.

We appreciate being sent an ebook copy to read thank you! @NetGalley
#NetGalley #WhoseEggIsThat
📚ABOUT THE BOOK📚
Written by a mammalogist at the Smithsonian, this clever preschool page-turner pairs seven eggs with information about the animals' survival mechanisms, asking kids to guess which animal laid which egg. Whose Egg Is That? reveals the animals--ranging from penguins to platypuses--in their own habitats.

[Samantha Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creative educational books are my favorite! The colorful and unique drawing of all the birds draw in your eyes and make you wonder what is coming next! The way the pages flow is just perfect, it gives the reader a sense of wonder and suspense goin from the feet marks to the egg to the conclusion and answer of what animal the egg and feet belonged too! My son loved seeing all the unique markings on each egg and animal! I as a mom also lived all the information that was available with every page and then the bonus information at the end just in case you wanted to learn more! All in all a lovely addition to anyone’s bookshelf! I’ll definitely be looking for more from the series as well!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the newest in a fun series of guessing game books about nature. Each page gives a photo of an egg and a few clues and asks the reader to guess who the egg belongs to. The page turn reveals the animal and a short fact about it. I think this format works well for reading aloud to a group or class as well as to one preschooler on your lap. The simple vocabulary, repetitive structure and context clues even make it an excellent easy reader for early elementary schoolers. Don’t miss the extra information about each animal in the backmatter.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this children story book. It was an interesting story of bird eggs. It had a egg and it ask a question of whose egg this came from. Then it told you who it was and a little bit about the type of bird. It also had a surprised egg in the story to.

It was a interesting story to read. I think that 2 years age and older would like this book. It had great big illustrations to.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discover different kinds of eggs and the different types of animals who lay them in this delightful book. Each egg and its parent animal is described using vocabulary terms and concepts important for children to develop key early literacy skills. The illustrations are beautifully done and supplement the format and text of the book.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this was a lovely book to read!

The illustrations were great and they really brought the story to life

It was a great way of learning as it was fun too and even though it is short it had quite a lot of content and a good variety of species. I loved that the mix was between birds and other animals too

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

[Lellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and to the point children's picture book with great information about unique eggs found in birds! It's really informative, but short and engaging for young children to learn. I think the examples used are great ones and the illustrations are lovely!

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Dylan Teut · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fine book with fine illustrations--- But the guess whose egg (and reveal by turning the page) concept has been so over-done that I'm afraid this book will be lost in the shuffle because there's no unique feature to make it stand out above the rest of the pack. We've got books with die cuts, flaps, etc. that cover this same concept and are more likely to be picked up by readers.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for a free digital copy.

A great little primer on eggs and their different, shapes, sizes, locations, etc. Gives a broad overview and some great differing examples of species that lay eggs.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids love these type books where they need to guess which animal it is. This one has such great illustrations and information about the animal that lays the eggs. It has a good mix of species of animals. The extra egg facts at the end were great, too.

[Elizabeth Mellen]

Thanks to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for the ARC of this!

Fun little guess/figure book about eggs. We liked the illustrations and eggcellent facts, even though my 9 year old knew all the answers and my 6 year old knew none 😂

[Hayli Netterlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was beautifully done. It’s a bit simple, but my children were still engaged. They liked guessing who laid each egg and it was nice to see a mixture of birds, reptiles, and even a mammal! The illustrations are lovely and we enjoyed reading it together.

[Great Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lively exchanges will be the result of sharing this exciting guessing game book with your child! Seven animals, their eggs and habitats, are featured with simple text and bright illustrations to delight to all readers. Reviewer #27

[Linda Klinedinst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this Picture Book about Animal's Eggs...it is a very interesting book to read. You learn a lot about their eggs.

I got this Book from my County Library - it is a New Release Book.

I give this Book 5/5 Stars.

[Melissa Ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

With life-size pictures of eggs, Whose Egg is That? covers a variety off creatures that lay eggs. With fun facts this simple picture book balances having meaningful text with keeping readers of all ages engaged.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those wonderful nonfiction books that can be used to spark interest during story time. Explore with the kids the kinds of adaptations different bird species have so their eggs survive. Fantastic illustrations and simple facts make this an ideal addition to story time.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, enticing guessing-game of a book about different eggs, including turtle eggs, ostrich eggs, dinosaur eggs, and more.

Themes: Eggs, Animals
Age range: Toddler-Kindergarten

[Bridget Neace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this recent addition to our nightly story time!

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/8/2023 ~ I appreciate the fossilized egg and the mammal's egg. I also appreciate that the eggs are illustrated in actual size.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect pairing of interactive questions and answers. The bite-sized facts are both interesting short, and perfect for young readers.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun guessing game book - about bird eggs.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book in a great series for preschoolers. Information without being too wordy. great illustrations.

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 2/2

A great guessing game to play with the kids at story time.