An Extraordinary Egg

by Leo Lionni

This egg-splosive tale of mistaken identity from Caldecott winner Leo Lionni is perfect for springtime reading and frog fans everywhere!

For three frogs, an ordinary day on Pebble Island becomes extraordinary when one of them discovers a beautiful white egg. Although they've never seen a chicken egg, they're sure that's what this is. So, when the egg hatches and out crawls a long, green, scaly, four-legged creature, they naturally call it . . . a chicken!

Leo Lionni's colorful animal fable—one of his simplest and funniest—features a hilarious case of mistaken identity that's an utter delight.


"An  eggs traordinary treat from a master storyteller."— SLJ

"Just the thing to lighten up a picture-book hour."— Kirkus

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Friendship, Humor, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked An Extraordinary Egg, but I am such a huge Fish is Fish fan (one of my favorite books from my childhood), that I will pretty much love anything by Leo Lionni. My niece and nephew seemed to think this book was ok, but neither of them was particularly impressed with it. They were both so hung up on the fact that the "chicken" was really a crocodile, that they weren't able to see the humor in the story. I think they were mostly annoyed that the frogs didn't know a chicken from a crocodile--anyone ought to know the difference between a bird and a reptilian eating machine, after all. This is what happens when the kids you're reading to are logical and literal; sometimes jocularity is just completely lost on them.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I really enjoyed this book, something seemed off and so I gave it a 4 instead of a 5. The illustrations are typical of Lionni's work. In this story, a frog finds a "rock" which the other frogs call a chicken egg. So when it hatches, it turns out to be something other than a chicken. However, they never really realize that. This I think is the problem for me. I think for an adult it was a great joke. Need to think about this from a child's perspective.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is rather amusing and a great read to throw in while studying amphibians and reptiles.

Update: 2015

An Extraordinary Egg is a story written about 1948 I believe. It is one of several by Leo Lionni that has entertained children for decades. Now for the summer of 2015, this story returns in a Step into Reading Level 3 reader right on key for students that are getting ready to read on their own.

Reading this now, I'd say that it would a perfect one to add in when studying classifications in science.

I read a digital loan of the ISBN 13: 9780385755474. I own a vintage copy of the storybook.

This review will post: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2015/07/13/an-extraordinary-egg-by-leo-lionni-step-into-reading-level-3/

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, I thought I had already read this, but, must have confused it for yet another alligator book. Living in Florida, I've read a PILE of those. Basically, the frogs confuse an alligator egg for a chicken egg and the confusion persists even after the little alligator hatches.

My 7 year old thought the book was pretty funny. It's about a 3rd grade level, but, not too wordy so a second grader can probably get through it with some help.

[Jonathan Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about 3 frogs. One of the frogs, Jessica, finds an egg one day. Her frog friends tell her it is a chicken egg. When it hatches, it is a baby alligator, but the frogs still think it is a chicken. One day, a bird comes along, sees the "chicken" and tells him that he knows where his mother is. So Jessica and the chicken follow the bird for a very long time. They finally reach the mother, a very large alligator. Jessica returns to her frog friends to inform them that the mother called her baby an "alligator". They laugh together, because that is a silly thing to call a chicken. This is a sweet story. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, other than an entertaining story. I'm not quite sure what I would use this for, but it certainly is silly and fun.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny story about three frogs, one of which always brings home something extraordinary she'd found. One day she rolled home a big round pebble which turned out to be an egg. One frog said it's a chicken egg. Soon it hatched, so they called the little green four-legged animal a chicken. Funny ending. Great illustrations for an enjoyable read.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's such a welcome change when authors treat children like capable readers. Take a cue from Leo and leave some gaps in the story, people! The chicken mistake is never addressed, which is fun, funny and fabulous.

A forerunner to Arlene Sardine, I do believe.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little ones think it is hilarious when (SLIGHT SPOILER HERE) the two frogs keep calling the baby alligator a chicken. "THAT'S NOT A CHICKEN!" they kept interrupting the story to tell me.


Yes. I know. ;]

[Robert Solar]

This book is about three frogs who live together named Marilyn, August, and Jessica. Jessica would everyday wonder off and look for things that were extraordinary from sunup til sundown when she would return home everyday to show the other two frogs what she found. Jessica would always bring back pebbles so the other frogs were never impressed. One day Jessica went out and found some amazing she didn't know what it was but she liked it. It was round as big as her and white as snow. She took it back to the other frogs and they told her it wasn't a pebble but a chicken egg. They were excited to see something new so for the next couple of days they watched until they heard a strange sound of the egg cracking and opening up and out came a chicken (which was really and alligator but they didn't know that) this chicken taught them to swim and doing amazing things in the water. One day Jessica went out and the chicken and other frogs heard something going on in the water. The chicken jumped in and came up with Jessica saving her from being caught in the seaweed. after that the chicken and Jessica became best friends they did everything together. One day they were hanging out an a red and blue bird showed up saying that the chicken's mother was looking for her. so they followed the bird to the mother and she was excited to see her child again saying welcome home my sweet alligator. Jessica and the little chicken said goodbye to each other and Jessica went home to tell the other frogs what happened. And they laughed when Jessica told them the mother called her chicken an alligator.

This was a cute book and the images were simple but nice. this would be a fun little book to read and talk about animals and what they can do.

In a class you could use this book to talk about friendship and about learning new things and talking about connections

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

KS1
Super funny book, I enjoyed reading it. I could imagine it being fun to talk about and ask questions.
How do the frogs know each other?
Why do they call the animal a chicken?

I interpreted it as the frogs are siblings, Jessica being the younger one learning new things and making discoveries. Her older siblings are underwhelmed, not excited by the small wonders and think they know everything. Perhaps they don't think they can learn anything from Jessica. They seem assured they know the baby alligator is a chicken and either they don't know out of ignorance or they are too arogant to admit it. The baby aligator and Jessica become unlikely friends.

Liked the idea for an activity at the beginning of the book for parents and teachers - going on a nature walk, collecting 'extraordinary' things and explaining why you chose them.


Reminded my of Mary Oliver's poetry:

“When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.”

― Mary Oliver

[Allie Knerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Extraordinary Egg is a funny story about how a frog finds an egg that she think is a rock but then when the other frog see the egg they know it is a chickens egg. The part that I thought was funny was the entire book they are called an alligator a chicken and even after the alligator gets get to its mother who calls the baby and alligator the frogs still laugh at the fact that the mother called her baby an alligator and not a chicken. I liked that despite the physical appearance of the two different animals they were still best friends and did everything together, this sends an important message of you do not have to look like a person or come from the same background to be someones friend. The illustrations really caught my eye because they were not over the top with details and did not look exactly perfect which I thought a student could relate to if they too were not the best drawer. This book talks about how some animals come to be by starting out in an egg and then hatching into the world, while also talking about how these creature swim and get around which could be good for students to learn if they were doing a unit on reptiles.

[Eleni Trull · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Extraordinary Egg is about a frog named Jessica who comes across an egg while looking for pebbles. She brings it back to her friends and they explain that it is a chicken egg. The egg hatches and it is an alligator. They frogs continue to call the alligator a chicken and Jessica and the alligator become best friends. Then one day a bird comes and tells the alligator that it's mom is looking for it and Jessica takes the alligator back to it's mom.

I thought this book was hilarious! I love that the frogs continue to call the alligator a chicken throughout the entire book. There might be a few issues with this book if you read it to a younger audience. They might actually believe that only chickens hatch from eggs or think an alligator is a chicken, but overall it is a great children's book!

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one does textures like Leo Lionni! What a joy to rediscover this one and fall in love with his gorgeous artwork all over again. I love the mutlimedia artwork in of all of Lionni's work, but I really liked the texture in this one which seemed to me to be done primarily in oil pastels, which not only have such a rich array of texture but also spans so many tones and hues. The sky in this book is incredible to me, alternately from grainy, to smudgy, to shiny and silky smooth. The frogs and alligators seem to have a different medium than the background pictures in this an earthy, rich acrylic green. They are collaged onto the background in a way that makes them stand out against the page. There's a subtle texture to each of their skins, as if Lionni lightly placed a thin mesh against his wet paint to dabble their surface with scales. Just a great, fun book to look at as an artist.

[Connor Ashcraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a frog named Jessica who finds an egg while looking for extraordinary pebbles. She takes it back to the other two frogs (Marilyn and August) and they tell her it’s a chicken egg! The egg hatches and an alligator comes out. Jessica and the chicken (alligator) end up becoming best friends. The frogs continue to call the alligator a chicken and then one day a bird comes and tells Jessica and the chicken that the chicken’s mother is looking for her. They go on a journey to find the chicken’s mom and when they get there the mom says “Come here, my sweet little alligator”. Jessica goes back to her friends all still so convinced that their new friend was a chicken, they all laughed at how ridiculous the mom sounded.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requested birthday gift book. Love the art and the description of one of the frogs as "one who was always somewhere else." The scene where the chicken saves that frog from drowning is a little bit of a traumatic surprise, but so is the fact that the big chicken at the end of the book didn't pop the frog into her mouth for dinner. I thought that the reptile kind of chickens eat frogs.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three little frogs on an island, one likes to explore. She finds an egg but thinks it's a pebble. The other frogs tell her it's a chicken egg. Out hatches an alligator but they call it chicken. Then one day the mom is looking for her alligator. The frog takes the little baby back to her mom and tells her to come visit any time. Then the frog tells the others that the mom called the baby her little alligator and they thought that was the funniest thing ever and couldn't stop laughing.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Pebble Island, there live 3 frogs: Marilyn, August and Jessica. Jessica is always “discovering” excitement on the island. One day, she finds what she thinks is a chicken egg. When the egg hatches, the “chicken” (which is really an alligator) saves Jessica and they become fast friends. Until one day, the chicken discovers her mom.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly book about three frogs who find an alligator egg but assume it’s a chicken egg and call the alligator a chicken throughout the book, which Elliot thought was funny (and he kept correcting me, “No! It’s an alligator!”). We love Leo Lionni’s Swimmy, so it’s fun to read more books by the author/illustrator. This is a little long, so it’s probably best for preschoolers and up

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three frogs play together, but one of them keeps wandering off. On one of her journeys she finds what she thinks is a big rock, but it is really an egg. When it hatches one of the frogs says it's a chicken, but it's not.

[Katee Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable and cute, but it did not contain a rich lesson or moral. It would be a great book for very young readers when they are learning to read as it contains simple language, a simple plot, and very little words on each page.

[Olivia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a frog who finds a mysterious egg, and brings it home to hatch. Does that thing kids love where it gets something wrong, that kids will recognize and laugh at. A bit much text on some of the pages, so maybe 4+.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about 3 little frogs who hatch what they think is a chicken egg. Even when they find the mother, they remain convinced that it's a chicken. This is humorous for the adults, but I feel like a good number of kids will just be annoyed by it and not get the humor.

[Ren Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a great storyline that was both detailed and simple at the same time. It had a good use of irony and great images that helped the reader understand the use of irony throughout the book. The images were clear and easy to use to help them understand the book.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable and funny. Little frog Jessica finds a large pebble, which turns out to be an egg. Her friends convince her that because it is an egg, it must be a chicken egg. When her egg hatches and an alligator comes out, they are still sure it is a chicken. Humor ensures.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The right amount of silly for an early reader. Three frogs find an egg. One asserts that it's a chiken egg, even though they've never seen a chicken. And they also don't recognize that what hatches is an alligator.

[Shelby Shimono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a very engaging and fun book. The characters and commentary throughout the book is silly, fun, and kids loved it. I would recommend this book to any parents or teachers that want a simple book to engage students and offer some inferring on what might happen next in the book.

[Micaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book! Kept me giggling the whole time I read it. I loved how curious the frog was, and how he was so brave!

[Danette · Rating 2 out of 5]

7/24/17 Read with Julia.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Florida kids will eat this up! DRA 24

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frog finds an egg and shows her friends. When the egg hatches, the frogs are a little wrong about what it actually is.