An Egg is Quiet

An Egg is Quiet
Author: Diana Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Sylvia Long
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN-10: 0811844285
ISBN-13: 978-0811844284


An Egg is Quiet is a glorious feast for the eyes. The book is an illustrated introduction to eggs of amazing diversity. The simple and poetic text just adds a quiet drama to the whole book.

“An egg is quiet It sits there, under its mother's feathers... On top of its father's feet ...Warm. Cozy."

The book displays eggs in all their glory with different textures, colors and themes. There are lacewing eggs, salmon roe, ostrich eggs, etc. Each egg portrayed is gorgeously painted in rich, layered watercolors of such depth and color that they seem to be real. You can almost feel the depth of texture. The endpapers of the book are pale blue and speckled giving the feel of an eggshell. The attention to detail is simply amazing. What a labor of love this must have been!

The book talks about the shapes of eggs – the tubular eggs of the Dogfish Shark or round like a sea turtle’s. It talks about size – the mammoth eggs of the ostrich. It goes on to discuss egg embryos, egg habitats, etc.

The colors! Oh, the colors used are wonderful! Pale blues, mottled greens, light browns, oranges that ache with their beauty, butter yellows, stunningly simple brown ink text that adds to the lushness of the colors used in the gallery of jewels called eggs. What a lovely way to teach children (and adults) about nature and its diversity. An Egg is Quiet is instructional, arty and simply beautiful. An absolute must for any library and a book that is sure to be pored over lovingly for years to come. A masterpiece!

Book Description from the Publisher:

Award-winning artist Sylvia Long has teamed with up-and-coming author Dianna Aston to create this gorgeous and informative introduction to eggs. From tiny hummingbird eggs to giant ostrich eggs, oval ladybug eggs to tubular dogfish eggs, gooey frog eggs to fossilized dinosaur eggs, it magnificently captures the incredible variety of eggs and celebrates their beauty and wonder.

The evocative text is sure to inspire lively questions and observations. Yet while poetic in voice and elegant in design, the book introduces children to more than 60 types of eggs and an interesting array of egg facts. Even the endpapers brim with information. A tender and fascinating guide that is equally at home being read to a child on a parent's lap as in a classroom reading circle.

About the author and illustrator:

Dianna Aston spends a lot of time in her backyard hoping to find new eggs. She often enlists the help of her husband, children, and their assorted pets. She lives in Texas.
Sylvia Long is the illustrator of many books for children including the best-selling Sylvia Long's Mother Goose, Hush Little Baby, and Snug As a Bug, all published by Chronicle Books. Ms. Long's detailed paintings are inspired by her love of animals and the outdoors. She lives in Arizona.

Dragonology: Tracking and Taming Dragons: A Deluxe Book and Model Set

Dragonology: Tracking and Taming Dragons: A Deluxe Book and Model Set
Author: Dr. Ernest Drake
Editor: Dugald Steer
Publisher: Candlewick Press

The latest in the Dragonolgy series, Tracking and Taming Dragons has a wonderful little guide that has all you need to know about finding these magical creatures. The model is fun and easy to put together. My grandchildren and I had a blast doing it. The lovely green dragon with golden scales now hangs proudly in my bedroom so that when they come over it’s the first thing they see.

The accompanying handbook is wonderfully illustrated and as usual packed with interesting facts about dragons. We loved the section that showed how to make casts of dragon footprints. I’m sure it will prove very useful in our jaunts to the park. I had to promise to buy the stuff and I expect we’ll be spending some time making casts of the various neighborhood dog and cat paw prints this summer.


I think this set is very educational, whimsical and fun as well as a wonderful addition to the Ologies series.

Pirateology: The Pirate Hunters Companion

Pirateology: The Pirate Hunters Companion
Author: William Captain Lubber
Editor: Dugald A. Steer
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763631434
ISBN-13: 978-0763631437

For ages 9-12

The fourth in the Ology series and purported to be written by Captain William Lubber, a pirate hunter, Pirateology is an information-packed early18th century log of the Captain’s hunt for the pirate Arabella Drummond.

The book documents Captain Lubber’s travels and is filled to the brim with letters, codes, maps, charts and much more. There are both color and black and white illustrations and the drawings are detailed and informational. Pirateology, like the other Ologies is very tactile and fun for young children. There are envelopes to open, gold dust to examine, a compass on the front cover. The book offers instruction on how pirates dressed and the weapons they used as well as tons of pirate facts and stories.





I loved the little nautical dictionary that is set into one of the pages, a booklet within a book as well as the nautical knots instructions complete with leather to knot. The story is fun and readers will eagerly follow Captain Lubber on his hunt for the dangerous and vicious Arabella. My grandson loved the drawing of a pirate ship with the flap that lifts up to show what the inside of the ship would look. My granddaughter loves the gold dust.

Pirateology has something for everyone in the family and it’s an education in history and lore. The book will definitely fascinate even adult readers and will be sure to send both young and older readers hunting more books on pirates.

I always love when books lead to other books and ignite that passion to read. Pirateology does this in a fun and exciting way. My grandchildren’s shining eyes as they pore over the pages and their excitement as they find yet another treasure say it all.

I love the Ology books for so many reasons, the ones listed above as well as many more and this one on pirates is a worthy addition to the series.

Book Description from the publisher
Aar! Hoist the sails for a lavish new discovery filled with treasures — a magnificent resource for pirate lovers everywhere. The eagerly awaited new title in the best-selling ’Ology series — more than 5 million sold worldwide!

Step lively, pirate foes and fanciers! Mysterious booty found inside a long-lost sea chest, hidden for hundreds of years off the coast of Newfoundland, has just been uncovered for your enjoyment. Within these covers is the fascinating eighteenth-century journal of Captain William Lubber, an earnest soul who sailed the seas in search of the vicious female pirate Arabella Drummond. Prepare for a mesmerizing tale of the golden age of piracy — from storm-tossed sailing ships to tantalizing treasure islands, from pirates’ flags and fashions to their wily weapons and wicked ways. An extraordinary find for pirateologists, here is a true and complete companion for the dedicated pirate hunter.

Pirateology’s special treasures include:
— a stunning cover bearing a working compass and glittering gems—treasure map with a missing piece — for the canny reader to find
— multiple flaps, maps, charts, and booklets harboring codes and clues
— intricate drawings of ships’ interiors
— a packet of gold dust — a pocket sundial
— a cache of pirate letters, pieces of eight— and a jewel as a final reward


PIRATEOLOGY offers adventurers and treasure hunters, landlubbers and sailors alike heretofore hidden knowledge of the exploits of one wickedly daring woman pirate and the lore of pirate ships, weapons, dress, customs, codes, and pirate routes..