Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
14th out of 25 books
—
3 voters
Argus
by
Michelle Knudsen (Goodreads Author),
Andréa Wesson
From the author of the best-selling Library Lion comes a funny, heartfelt new picture book about embracing the unusual, green scales and all.
Sally’s class is doing a science project, and Mrs. Henshaw is handing out eggs for hatching. "Mine looks different," says Sally. When Sally’s egg cracks, what emerges is something green and scaly with big yellow eyes. Argus isn’t like...more
Sally’s class is doing a science project, and Mrs. Henshaw is handing out eggs for hatching. "Mine looks different," says Sally. When Sally’s egg cracks, what emerges is something green and scaly with big yellow eyes. Argus isn’t like...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
February 22nd 2011
by Candlewick Press
(first published February 8th 2011)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
252)
Argus offers a nice take on the 'different is cool' theme that is becoming so common in picture books. Sally is given an egg that looks different from all of her classmates' for a class project. The teacher brushes off her worries even when it becomes increasingly clear that Sally's egg is REALLY different from all the others. This book isn't afraid to acknowledge that being different is often lonely and arduous. But it's also a fun and lighthearted book and not at all weighed down by the messag...more
All of Sally’s class was doing a science project with eggs. Sally’s egg looked different than the other children’s eggs. When the eggs hatched, Sally noticed that her chick, who she named Argus, looked different than the other chicks, green, scaly, and with big yellow eyes. Sally’s teacher reminded her that chicks can be different. Sally’s chick continued to be very different than the chicks of the other children, growing much larger than the other chicks, attempting to eat the other chicks, dig...more
Sally’s class is doing a science project. They put eggs in an incubator and watch them until they hatch. From the start, everything is different for Sally. Her egg is bigger and has spots. Her teacher, Mrs. Henshaw, says “don’t be difficult. Some eggs just look different.” So much for that advice! When it hatches, it looks even more unusual. Her “chick” as everyone continues to call it, looks more like a dinosaur. In an irregular font, we’re told that it is “green” “scaly” and has “big yellow ey...more
When her class at school does a science project with eggs, Sally’s egg looks very different from the regular white chicken eggs. Hers is much larger and polka-dotted. When the others eggs hatch, the fluffy yellow chicks emerge. When Sally’s egg hatches, out comes something scaly and green. Argus is completely different from the other chicks. He doesn’t eat seeds, instead he’s rather eat the other chicks. Perhaps even the students! Sally finds herself longing for a yellow, fluffy, normal chick of...more
Argus by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Andrea Wesson. Sally and her class are doing a science project, hatching eggs. As her teacher, Mrs. Henshaw, is passing out the eggs, Sally’s, not cream colored and small like the rest but bigger and green with yellow spots. Mrs. Henshaw comments “…don’t be difficult. Some eggs just look different.” As the class watches their eggs hatch, Sally’s egg has something emerging, it’s green and scaly and has big yellow eyes. The students respond with “Ewww” and...more
Argus is a story about students doing a science project in class. They each started off with getting an egg and they were to raise the little chicks until they were fully grown and keep track of their growth, activities, and also what they ate. Sally received an egg that was a little different than the rest. When her egg cracked, her chick was unlike the rest; it was green, scaly, and had big yellow eyes. He didn’t like to eat seeds or bugs but rather other chicks or even students. As Argus got...more
Argus was a winner of the Maryland Black eyed Susan Book Award. This story was quite a funny one and would fit for the primary audience. It shows students how being different is okay. During a class experiment, Sally gets a different colored egg than the rest of her classmates. It later turns out when her egg hatches it hatches a green, not so normal baby chick like the rest of the class. It's not a chick it's more like a dinosaur/dragon type. Her "chick's" growth chart is nothing like the other...more
Dec 05, 2012
Diana Judd
added it
Little Sally's class is doing a science experiment where they are all hatching and raising chicks, but her egg doesn't look the same as everyone else's. After her teacher tells her to not be difficult, Sally does her best with her chick, even when it hatches, and doesn't look anything like all the other kids' chicks. This was a pretty good book about learning to love things even if they're different than the others, and choosing to be happy with differences instead of looking down on them. Howev...more
Sep 28, 2011
Kathryn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kathryn by:
Chandra
Shelves:
childrens-picture-books
4.5 STARS Soo adorable! I just loved this story about a girl who gets a very... different-looking egg for her class project of raising chicks. At first, she is disgruntled that her egg and eventual chick look so different from the others, but eventually she comes to realize that different can be good! As my friend Chandra pointed out in her review (thanks for the recommendation, Chandra!), the book doesn't shy away from showing that being different can be lonely and arduous, but there are also r...more
Grades K-3
When Sally's class begins an egg-hatching science project, her egg looks different, and sure enough, the chick that hatches is green and scaly with big yellow eyes. Argus grows quite a bit faster than the other chicks, and while the chicks are learning to eat seeds and beetles, Argus is more tempted by the chicks and the students. Sally tries to make Mrs. Henshaw aware of the situation, but her teacher tells her that some chicks are just different and that she should make the best of...more
When Sally's class begins an egg-hatching science project, her egg looks different, and sure enough, the chick that hatches is green and scaly with big yellow eyes. Argus grows quite a bit faster than the other chicks, and while the chicks are learning to eat seeds and beetles, Argus is more tempted by the chicks and the students. Sally tries to make Mrs. Henshaw aware of the situation, but her teacher tells her that some chicks are just different and that she should make the best of...more
Sally's class is hatching baby chicks. Sally's egg looks different and hatches differently. It is a dragon, but the word is not mentioned in the book. Sally's teacher tells her not to be difficult whenever she complains. When Argus, Sally's "chick", escapes, she thinks it would be good because he would no longer try to eat students or the other chicks, but she really has become attached to him. Soon, the teacher and the other students are helping Sally look for him and all ends well.
A lot of wor
...more
When Mrs. Henshaw hands out eggs for a science project, Sally is concerned because hers looks different. When beaks start poking through the shells of incubated eggs, Sally's comes out green and scaly. The teacher tries to pass off Sally's hatched creature as a chick that looks different. Sally names him Argus.
Argus grows faster than the other chicks. He doesn't look the same or eat the same. When the other chicks peck, Argus chews a hole in the ground. When Argus eventually disappears, Sally is...more
Argus grows faster than the other chicks. He doesn't look the same or eat the same. When the other chicks peck, Argus chews a hole in the ground. When Argus eventually disappears, Sally is...more
I have been getting a lot of requests lately for dragon books and there aren't that many. And unlike dinosaur books, when you run out of dragon fiction, there isn't much--if anything--in the non-fiction.
This is one book I will be handing out to answer that request. It's funny and the art echoes the humor well. There's also a little underlying message about it being okay to be different, but kids will ignore that as they enjoy Sally's dealing with her unusual "chick". Will pair well with Jerdine...more
This is one book I will be handing out to answer that request. It's funny and the art echoes the humor well. There's also a little underlying message about it being okay to be different, but kids will ignore that as they enjoy Sally's dealing with her unusual "chick". Will pair well with Jerdine...more
The comical story of a girl and her dragon told in the classic ugly duckling format. Everyone gets to raise a chick at school, but one girl ends up with a dragon egg! She raises the dragon at school, and some pretty funny situations occur. In the end it teaches that being different is ok, everyone is special in their own way! Good read aloud for k-2nd grade, good illustrations too. Could be used in a class that will be doing science experiments or raising animals to go with the lessons.
Argus is a funny and touching story that celebrates being different. I loved the watercolor-like illustrations. The characters and story are well developed.
I like how on one of the pages the font changes to a bolder and bigger font (to match the title font). I wish there were even more font changes! I think young kids would enjoy seeing different fonts, and maybe even different colors.
While the recommended age is 4-7, I think kids of all ages would love this book!
I like how on one of the pages the font changes to a bolder and bigger font (to match the title font). I wish there were even more font changes! I think young kids would enjoy seeing different fonts, and maybe even different colors.
While the recommended age is 4-7, I think kids of all ages would love this book!
Argus is adorable with a capital A. This is a wonderful picture book for children who enjoy outrageously silly stories. There is a message there about how being different is okay, to be welcomed at times, but generally this book is just for fun. It’s so over the top that nobody, no matter how young, is going to take it completely seriously. Very cute! The names of the chicks are great. The teacher is a hoot; I really appreciated how she “told off” the adults as much as the children. And, the ill...more
4 likes · like · see review
"Don't be difficult," says Sally's teacher when she complains about how her egg looks different then her classmates. When the egg hatches surprise surprise it's not a fluffy little chick like all the rest. Any grumble Sally may have about the large scaly green "chick" is answered with "Don't be difficult." What a nuisance Argus is. Why can't he be cute and cuddly like Izzy or Butter? However, when Argus disappears relief is not the emotion that Sally feels.
Having read the author's "Library Lion" aloud about 100x as part of library tours for 2nd graders, admittedly I was already warm and fuzzy before I even opened the book. But then I saw the adorable Argus--a dragon who hatches from an egg during a class experiment on raising chicks--and deem this book as a winner for early elementary audiences. While the experiment is one aspect of the book, the realization Sally has that being different is okay is the message.
2nd Grade Read-Aloud:I taped a piece of paper to the cover of the book and did not show the pictures so that the students could use the details in the book to visualize what Argus looked like. At the end of the book, I revealed the cover and we discussed if Argus looked better in our minds in order to show the power of imagination. Since they were studying fairy tales that week, we also discussed if this book met the criteria of a fairy tale.
When Sally's class hatches eggs for a science project, all the other kids get fluffy little chicks. Sally gets Argus, a baby dragon that just isn't like the other chicks. Sally struggles to accept Argus, mainly because he is so different. She is even secretly relieved when he gets lost one day. A fun story that is not heavy-handed, but addresses the issue of fitting in that kids deal with on a regular basis. Appropriate for elementary kids.
Sally is given an egg to care for and comments on how different from the other eggs it looks. Her teacher tells her to just go along with it. When the eggs begin hatching Sally immediately notices that her chick doesn't look like the others at all. In fact he doesn't eat what they eat, do what they do...Sally names him Argus anyway. And when Argus disappears suddenly the whole class chips in to find him.
This story about a young girl who has an egg and a chick that's a little different from the rest is okay. The girl learns that it is okay to be different, however it's a little too different and kind of feels obvious like why isn't this teacher doing something about this giant dragon is that really isn't a chick. I would recommend it for kindergarten and first grade.
When her teacher announces that the class will be raising chicks, Sally notices that her egg is different from the others. Instead of a chick, a green, scaly beast hatches. Sally tries to draw, measure, and feed Argus like the other chicks, but he clearly doesn't fit in with the rest. When Argus disappears, Sally discovers how much he really means to her.
This book was pretty fun to read, I liked how it shows that you can love something that is different than the usual thing. I liked how Sally learns that even though her chick Argus is different she learned to overcome that in the end she likes having Argus as a pet. I think that younger generation of children would love to read this book.
"Don't be difficult!" Being different is okay, too.
I liked this book because it didn't whack you over the head with the message that being different is BETTER than being like everyone else. Being different is fine, it's great, it's not worse, but it's not better either. We don't always have to run from one end of the pendulum to the other!
I liked this book because it didn't whack you over the head with the message that being different is BETTER than being like everyone else. Being different is fine, it's great, it's not worse, but it's not better either. We don't always have to run from one end of the pendulum to the other!
No surprise that this comes from the author of the young adult novel The Dragon of Trelian. I think the author likes dragons! A young girl despairs about having an unusual egg to hatch but is told not to cause trouble, so she hatches it and is disappointed when instead of a cute chick out of her egg comes a dragon.
well the first line that the teacher says is a turn-off! and she repeats it throughout the story. i also don't like how everyone, including the teacher, doesn't see the obvious and continue to ignore sally's "chick" even when she tries to eat everyone. in other words, it makes everyone look stupid.
I enjoyed this book very much. It promotes long term science projects that I was amazed to see maybe because I did not experiment those kind of projects it amazes me. I loved how the teacher helped promote uniqueness and how the student learns to appreciate being different without realizing it.
Nobody notices that the girl's chick is really a dragon? C'mon but it's funny what Argus does, including try to each the students, and eventually the girl learns that anybody can be different and that's fine.
PS, Love the teacher's stylish clothes and the way she says, "don't be difficult."
PS, Love the teacher's stylish clothes and the way she says, "don't be difficult."
Sally's chick is... different from the other kids' chicks in science class. Argus tries to eat the other chicks and Sally just wants a chick like everyone else! But when Argus disappears, what will Sally do?
This story celebrating differences is poignant and touching. Highly recommended!
This story celebrating differences is poignant and touching. Highly recommended!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I'm the author of 43 books for young readers, including board books, coloring/activity, beginning readers, picture books, and novels. Recent titles include the New York Times best-selling picture book LIBRARY LION (illustrated by Kevin Hawkes), the middle-grade fantasy novels THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN and THE PRINCESS OF TRELIAN, and the picture book ARGUS (illustrated by Andréa Wesson). My newest pic...more
More about Michelle Knudsen...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Sep 06, 2011 01:48pm
Sep 28, 2011 09:11am