An Extraordinary Egg

It's an extraordinary day on Pebble Island for three frogs when one of them discovers a beautiful white egg. They've never seen a chicken egg before, but they're sure that's what this must be. So when the egg hatches and out crawls a long green, scaly creature, they naturally call it . . . a chicken! From award winning-artist Leo Lionni, here's a hilarious case of mistaken identity that children are sure to delight in.

Publishers Weekly

``On Pebble Island, there lived three frogs: Marilyn, August, and one who was always somewhere else.'' Like the amiable animals in Lionni's previous, inimitable fables, these anthropomorphized amphibians have a quiet but memorable adventure. In the spotlight is the roving frog, Jessica, who is ``full of wonder,'' and proclaims everything she finds--even common pebbles--``extraordinary.'' When she comes across a stone that is ``perfect, white like the snow and round like the full moon on a midsummer night,'' she lugs it home, whereupon Marilyn, ``who knew everything about everything,'' announces that it is a chicken egg. ``I was right! It is a chicken!'' she exclaims smugly when the egg hatches and a baby alligator emerges. Kids will giggle at the frogs' repeated references to the friendly newborn as ``the chicken.'' They'll be even more tickled when the frogs chuckle at the ``mother chicken'' who, finally reunited with her offspring, greets her ``sweet little alligator.'' ``What a silly thing to say!'' concludes the omniscient Marilyn. In his 40th book, Lionni is in typically fine form. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books: Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as “a master of the simple fable” by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89.