Egg by Clare Atkins illustrated by Harrison Vial

 

This is my favourite type of picture book – a book with layers of meaning which can be enjoyed by a very young child but which will also challenge older children to think more deeply about the allegorical meaning. 

Clare Atkins said: "We sat on the grass in the sun and brainstormed themes we were both passionate about: migration, dislocation, racism, colonialism, difference, climate change, culture, history, authorship and many more."

With an older group it would be good to pair this book with The Island by Armin Greder (for older readers) or Scary Bird by Michel Streich. 

There are huge themes in this book - migration, racism and discrimination, fear of the unknown, climate change and refugees. 

This is such an interesting book. It has a deeper story than the one implied by pastel colour palette and the cartoon-style eggs. I do like the tactile cover and the story clue which is revealed when the cover is stretched out in full, and we can see a tiny island covered in trees. The end papers are based on the gentle movement of the ocean, and we see this image used to bookend the story firstly with the arrival of one ‘egg’ and later when lots of seeds are on the way. 

The egg conversation, written with indented lines and no speech marks, is innovative. I like the different fonts – a formal one for the narrator and informal one for the Egg residents.

Using a simple line, the illustrator manages to give each of the central characters of Little Egg and Strange Egg a distinct personality. The way the flashback page is framed with the commentary eggs in the corner will help readers to identify these are scenes from the past. I love the character of Little Egg and the way he/she/it shows kindness. The smallest egg is a true hero, and the silence of Strange Egg speaks volumes. 

I do wish we knew why the shade trees disappeared from the island – is this meant to be about global warming?  SO much to discuss with your students. 

• What is the egg? Or did you think this was a potato from the start?
• Does this make you think about the seed of hope and new ecological sustainability? 
• Is this book about finding a source of hope and difference in a parched same-same world? 
• Is the new egg an asylum seeker washed in from afar, the same but suspected of being different? 
• Who are the other eggs? Are they closed-minded adults or environmentally irresponsible citizens or perhaps politicians or just people with fear of the unknown or fearful of change? 

Paperbark words interview with Clare Atkins: I wanted Egg to be a book that could appeal to readers on multiple levels. Younger readers might giggle at the funny talking eggs and enjoy seeing Brave Egg and Strange Egg’s friendship develop and change. Older readers might pick up on the themes of migration, racism and discrimination, fear of the unknown, climate change and refugees. Parents or teachers could whiz through reading it to kids, doing funny egg voices, or take their time and discuss the ideas behind it.

Egg is a 2023 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Notable Picture Book. 

Take a look here to see work by Adelaide illustrator Harrison Vial.

Bookseller blurb: A truly unique picture book about a newcomer arriving to an island inhabited by superstitious eggs. This thought-provoking story raises gentle questions about displacement, environment, xenophobia and climate refugees. When something strange washes up on the eggs' island, they are scared. It looks like them. But different. What if it hatches? What if there are more of them? Most of the eggs hope the newcomer will float back to where it came from, but one little egg is not afraid. Can their friendship prove there is nothing to fear?