The Odd Egg
by Emily Gravett

Release Date: 7th Mar 2008
Publisher: Pan Macmillian
ISBN: 978 0 230 01491 6
RRP: £10.99

A beautifully illustrated, whimsical book aimed at younger children, The Odd Egg is a gloriously simple and deliciously mischievous story about a duck who feels left out when everyone around him/her lays their own egg and the wonderful twist that comes snapping out at the end!

Its cut pages remind me a little of The Hungry Caterpillar, which, I think it is safe to assume is intentional by the author. It plays into the delight children have in discovering something hidden, although those pages might be a little tricky for small hands to manage by themselves.

What I like about this book – apart from its keen sense of humour and gorgeous illustrations that bring more to the story than if it were just words – is the fact that on a subtle level, it is trying to show you that being different is fine. The duck is quite happy with its enormous and oddly speckled egg, and despite the ridicule from others, it waits patiently for the egg to hatch. I can’t ruin the surprise (it wouldn’t be fair), but rest assured that it will make your children shriek with laughter and I can’t see any child tiring from this shock ending... they’ll want to hear it again and again.

A classic children’s book that you will want to keep forever – you will not regret buying this.

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