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The Food Group #2

The Good Egg

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In this follow-up to Jory John and Pete Oswald’s popular picture book The Bad Seed, meet the next best thing: a very good egg, indeed!

The good egg has been good for as long as he can remember. While the other eggs in his carton are kind of rotten, he always does the right, kind, and courteous thing. He is a verrrrrrry good egg indeed! Until one day he decides that enough is enough! He begins to crack (quite literally) from the pressure of always having to be grade-A perfect.

36 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 2019

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About the author

Jory John

58 books469 followers
Jory John is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor recipient.

Jory's work includes the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Good Egg, and the #2 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed, both illustrated by Pete Oswald. He is also the author of the popular picture books, Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems, both illustrated by Lane Smith, the award-winning Goodnight Already! series, illustrated by Benji Davies, the New York Times bestselling Terrible Two series, the recent picture books Quit Calling Me a Monster! (with Bob Shea), Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? (with Liz Climo), and the international bestseller, All my friends are dead, among many other books for both children and adults.

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5 stars
6,751 (57%)
4 stars
3,124 (26%)
3 stars
1,383 (11%)
2 stars
340 (2%)
1 star
226 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,257 reviews
Profile Image for Kendall.
128 reviews47 followers
March 20, 2019
This book teaches kids that you don't always have to be perfect, but doesn't teach them that they don't have to put up with being bullied and taking loads of shit from their "friends". Seemed to me like Egg settled because he was lonely and kids need to know they don't have to settle or give in. Loved the illustrations.
Profile Image for Calista.
3,792 reviews31.2k followers
August 12, 2019
We loved this book in our house. There were lots of things to laugh at. All the eggs in a carton had some funny faces and the niece and nephew laughed and laughed at all the rhyming names. There is also a picture of the egg escorting an old granny bacon across the street and they laughed at that. Eggs were in the toilet and sliding down stairs. I kept pointing out all the things happening in the book that both kids do. We laughed.

The good eggs lives with 11 other bad eggs and they stress him out to the point that his shell cracks and he has to go to the spa and take care of himself. He figures out some things in life and he goes home a different egg; a little looser and a little less uptight.

The Niece loved this book and gave this 4 stars. She wanted to read it to her brother on her own, which is a big deal. She wants to do a book review of this on youtube. I might try and make this work. We’ll see as school is about to start. The nephew loved all the eggs in the toilet and other things. He gave this 5 stars. They want to get this again from the library.
Profile Image for Dez the Bookworm.
167 reviews42 followers
January 6, 2023
Excellent Story! Or should I say Eggcelent?

Wonderful story about an egg who learns to let go and not put so much pressure on himself to control others. My son giggled the whole way through. Love this series!
Profile Image for sAmAnE.
459 reviews72 followers
March 31, 2022
کاش این کتاب وقتی کوچک‌تر بودم می‌خوندم، اینکه لازم نیست با دل همه راه بیام و برای همه خوب باشم تا من بپذیرن، گاهی خوبی بیش از انداره به دیگران مساوی ضربه‌های عمیق و جبران‌نشدنی به خودمونه! افسوس!
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books31.2k followers
November 16, 2019
My family reads all the Goodreads-award-nominated picture books every year. This is book #6 (of more than 20) of 2019, and we were all over the map on this one, from 1-4.5 stars. A sequel to The Bad Seed?

Lyra (12): 4. Treat people the way they want to be treated! Yeah! I like the cute eggs.

Hank (13): 1. The "good," unrunny eggs.

Tara: 4. Cute. But he should not have gone home.

Harry (14): 4.5. Good drawings, and I agree with Mom. [sure, because he's the oldest!]

Dave: 2. I thought it was just okay, though the eggy art I liked pretty well. Okay; it asks the eternal (?) question: Can you be "too good" or "too nice"? Sure you can be helpful and nice, but make sure you take care of yourself. . . and then, sure, treat people the way they want to be treated, but what if they are jerks and you "have to" live with them? The author has a title I like, All My Friends are Dead (a book about dinosaurs), but neither that book nor this are as edgy as I would like.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
4,952 reviews164 followers
November 8, 2019
Goodreads Choice Awards Project: Read as many of the opening round Best Picture Book nominees as possible. 11 to go!

I thought Humpty Dumpty already proved that eggs make lousy protagonists. Our ovoid hero has fallen in with a carton of bad eggs. He goes on a quest to become okay with the fact that you cannot change other eggs, only your attitude toward them. He then returns to the carton to eat their shit for the rest of his life. End of story.

Abusive relationships are okay? Not a moral I'd want my child to take away from any book.
Profile Image for Shaghayegh.
36 reviews39 followers
December 12, 2022
البته نذار خوبیت رو وظیفه تلقی کنن ؛ آخه اونوقت دوباره می شکنی . بعدش هم با رضایت نیمروت میکنن و تموم وجودت رو ذره ذره می بلعن =)
Profile Image for محمد شکری.
171 reviews131 followers
October 28, 2021
داستان تخم مرغی که می‌خواهد به همه کمک کند، همه چیز را درست کند، جور همه را بکشد و همه کس را خوشحال کند چون فکر می‌کند تخم مرغ خوبی است و خوب بودن یعنی همین. او و یازده تخم مرغ دیگر در جعبه تخم‌مرغ‌ها زندگی می‌کنند و تنها کسی که می‌خواهد حواسش به بقیه باشد اوست. دست آخر فشار این مدل خوب بودن کار دستش می‌دهد و پوسته‌اش ترک برمی‌دارد. پس در عین بی‌محلی و بی‌تفاوتی باقی تخم‌مرغ‌ها جعبه را ترک می‌کند. مدتی برای خودش زندگی می‌کند، تجربه‌های لذت‌بخش و آرامش‌بخشی را از سر می‌گذراند تا اینکه متوجه می‌شود ترک‌هایش خوب شده‌اند. اما حوش‌بختی با تنهایی جور درنمی‌آید. پس تصمیم می‌گیرد به جمع دوستانش برگردد و این بار با کامل نبودن آنها و «خودش» کنار بیاید و در عین خوب بودن خودش از بودن با آنها هم لذت ببرد
Profile Image for La Coccinelle.
2,241 reviews3,562 followers
September 29, 2019
Having read The Bad Seed last year, I was eager to give The Good Egg a try. I actually like this one a little more than its predecessor... mostly because I can really relate to the main character!

The good egg is verrrrrry good. He's a perfectionist... but it doesn't extend just to himself. He gets annoyed by the other eggs in his carton (who have amusing names; I won't spoil that for you) when they don't live up to his standards. So he decides to strike out on his own. After taking some time for himself, though, he realizes he's a bit lonely. When he returns to the carton with his newfound wisdom, he's a lot more mellow. He realizes he doesn't have to be good (i.e., perfect) all the time.

This will probably resonate with perfectionists and/or sticklers for the rules. I really could have used this book when I was a kid. It used to drive me bonkers when other kids wouldn't do what they were supposed to do or if they didn't do it the way I thought it should've been done. The message about just letting some things go--that not everything has to be perfect all the time--is a nice one. Some picture books with similar messages kind of hit you over the head (which I don't like), but The Good Egg is a moral wrapped up in a pun-filled story about a goody-two-shoes egg and his quest for perfection. Oswald's illustrations, simple though they might be, are just icing on the cake.

I would recommend both The Good Egg and The Bad Seed. While they tackle different topics, they're both fun to read (for children and adults alike).
Profile Image for Yousra .
686 reviews1,212 followers
December 16, 2019
يدخل بنا الكاتب عالم البيضة الجيدة والتي لم تكن بأفعالها جيدة فحسب بل هي مثالية منذ أولى لحظات حياتها ... للبيضة قرناء يعيشون معها داخل كرتونة بيض في متجر المزارع ولكنهم فوضويين ومزعجين أغلب الوقت ... تحاول البيضة الطيبة تقويمهم وتأخذ ذلك على عاتقها إلا أنها تكاد تطق كما نقول 😁😁 فتبتعد عنهم وفي بُعدها عنهم تكتشف ما يمكن أن تمارسه من أنشطة للاسترخاء وتكتشف أنها تفتقدهم وأنه لا بأس إن لم يكن الكل يتصرف مثلها بمثالية ... لا بأس إن كانت هي شخصيا تحيد أحيانا عن المثالية، ويجب عليها أن تجد الوقت لنفسها بين حين وآخر

لا أدري لماذا وجدت تلك القصة تخاطب الأمهات بشكل ما بخاصة هؤلاء الساعيات لكمال أبنائهن والمرهقات بشدة والمتوترات دائما

قصة جميلة وصلتني كهدية من صديقة جميلة ... أحبها أبنائي وأعتقد أن أحدهم قد تعلم منها درسا وهو قبول الآخر حتى لو لم يكن مثاليا بمقاييسه
Profile Image for Prabhjot Kaur (Away).
1,030 reviews134 followers
July 19, 2021
I was cracking up ... literally!
Something had to change.
I'd had enough!


The good egg lives with other eleven eggs in a recycled carton. Whilst he always does the right thing, the other eleven eggs don't always do the right things. When his shell starts to crack, he decides to leave them and do his own thing. He does a bunch of different things and heals up and he returns to his carton as he's felt lonely whilst away. He's learnt not to stress as much as used to before.

I loved the art. It was also a nice concept and the message is pretty good in itself that sometimes you just have to let go but the text and the execution wasn't that great. I loved the first book in the series but this doesn't compare for me.

2 stars
Profile Image for melhara.
1,216 reviews53 followers
November 26, 2019
While I thought the illustrations were cute, I wasn't completely sold on the story line (or the fact that the 'Good' Egg is any good at all).

The 'Good' Egg is surrounded by bad eggs and is essentially bullied into running away from home. But he finds living alone to be far too lonely so he goes back home to find that his family misses him and that it's OK for them to continue treating him like crap because you can't control everything around you.
Profile Image for Deborah.
731 reviews47 followers
November 15, 2019
3.5. Cute. How a good egg rose above the carton of a dozen bad eggs. After cracking up, he leaves to find himself and to appreciate his fellow eggs.
Profile Image for robyn.
186 reviews3 followers
April 22, 2019
This book had the chance to really be something but instead it took the easy way out. Changing our behavior and taking care of ourselves is great, but continuing to be bullied and used by bad people for their own entertainment is not, especially if THAT is the reason you have to take extra care of yourself. The Good Egg doesn't do his fellow eggs any favors and neither does this book. It also implies that you to go away and be alone to take care of yourself. While a good option, it doesn't take into account the other "good" folks you may meet along the way. I wasn't crazy about the The Bad Seed either, so there could be some bias, but to me, this book totally misses the mark.
Profile Image for Cassie.
366 reviews4 followers
March 25, 2019
I remember a few years ago a parent asked me for books for a 7 year old about being a perfectionist and anxiety about others being less than perfect. This would have been a great story for that kid! Egg is so sweet and well-meaning and drawn so adorably.

The only thing that bothered me is that it appears that he becomes ok with being treated badly by the other eggs. They look like such jerks and I just wanted him to ditch them and find a better group of friends! Otherwise I think it's a great story and one that many adults would appreciate (and need!).
Profile Image for Krista.
79 reviews1 follower
November 20, 2019
I thought the illustrations were amazing, but something about this book left a bad taste in my mouth. I think that while I appreciate the good egg leaving, taking time for himself, and healing, I didn't appreciate him returning to the bad eggs, where he's seemingly abused all over again. Maybe I'm taking it too seriously, but it felt as though the message was twisted from "perfectionism isn't always the way; self-care is important too" to "I've changed and taken better care of myself, but I'm lonely so I'll go back to those who abuse me."
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,083 reviews173 followers
April 11, 2019
Author Jory John and illustrator Pete Oswald, who previously collaborated on The Bad Seed , join forces again in this entertaining new picture-book. The eponymous Good Egg, having been virtuous and well-meaning from the first moment of his existence, finds life with the other eleven eggs in his carton rather rough. Eventually going off on his own, when his efforts to make the other eggs be good lead only to stress, and the development of cracks in his shell, he learns to decompress and take care of himself. Eventually he returns to his dozen, willing to relax and live and let live...

Like its predecessor, The Good Egg pairs a narrative that is both humorous and insightful with cute and appealing artwork. The central message here - that one should look to one's own personal welfare, and not take it upon oneself to police the behavior of one's peers - is a good one, and works quite well with the story structure of an individual leaving the group for a time, in order to clarify matters for himself. The idea that we have very little control over the actions of others, and should therefore not waste our time or efforts on attempting it, is an important one, and communicated here with humor. The artwork is expressive, accentuating that humor, and capturing the various emotional states through which the egg passes. Recommended to worry-wort good eggs who spend too much time thinking about what the other eggs are getting up to.
Profile Image for Sara.
227 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2019
Bad Seed was pretty good but The Good Egg was absolutely amazing!! I wish I had read this when I was a kid because I was high strung as heck and could have used the message that it's okay not to be perfect all the time.

ps. The views expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the views of Indigo Books & Music Inc. or any of its subsidiaries.
Profile Image for Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance.
5,740 reviews279 followers
October 7, 2019
An egg is always good, always helping others, always doing the right thing. After a while, he begins to notice that he is starting...to...crack...up. He takes a break and feels calm and peaceful again, and he finds he can return to his life with his other egg friends.

It's a perfect story for today's overworked, always-on-alert parents and kids, complete with tips for de-stressing.
Profile Image for Stef.
145 reviews8 followers
April 12, 2021
Good book, but not really for kids.

It's so weird how there are picture books now written for an adult audience, and cartoons and animated movies geared more for adults and tackling adult issues than just fun entertainment for children.

Have authors and movie makers forgotten what little people need? Can't adults handle more complicated reading that speaks to them as adults? Or is it that it's too cruel to tell adults that life is hard and things do get harder as you grow older? And that all those naps you refused and took for granted when you were a child you'd be craving now as an adult?
Profile Image for Ashley Adams.
1,112 reviews28 followers
August 2, 2021
The pressure of being a good egg, and helping his friends be better, has caused the protagonist to crack up! After making a little time for self-care, the cracks begin to heal. In the end, an egg doesn't have to be perfect to be a very good egg.
Profile Image for Gabriela Kozhuharova.
Author 23 books114 followers
May 6, 2019
Досега не бях попадала на детска книга с такова послание. Особено ценна за добрите души, които винаги търсят на кого да услужат и накрая "се пропукват", защото напълно забравят за собственото си щастие. Много е чаровна :)
Profile Image for Farjaneh_.
123 reviews65 followers
December 17, 2021
《هو الحق》
تقریبا نظرم مثل جلد قبلیه با یکم تفاوت
هر دو جلد تصاویر زیبایی دارن ، خوب ترجمه شدن و حرف‌های خوبی میخوانن بزنن ، این جلد درباره‌ی اینه که لازم نیست همه رو تغییر بدیم تا مثل ما خوب باشن ، این کار به ما آسیب میزنه ، اون‌ها رو هم عوض نمیکنه، به جاش روی خودمون و آرامشمون تمرکز کنیم ،این جلد یک طنز ریزی هم داشت مثلا سِرُمی که به تخم‌مرغه زده بودن توش زرده بود ، یا وقتی عصبانی میشد میگفت مغزم املت شده اینا رو دوست داشتم🧡
راستش من با این تفکیک خوب و بد موافق نیستم ،هیچکس کاملا خوب یا بد نیست ، مواردی هم توی کتاب هست که ممکنه برای کودک باعث سوء برداشت بشه ، مثل مواردی که ما رو خوب یا بد میکنند ، و درباره‌ی این جلد تخم مرغ بعد از سفر و تغییرش خیلی بیخیال میشه ،به نظرم کودک ما باید بدونه اگر کمکی ازش بر میاد یا خطایی دید راهنمایی کنه ، اما اگر توجهی نشد خودش رو به در و دیوار نزنه ، نه که کلا نسبت به جهان بی تفاوت بشه ، میخوام بگم نه به اون شوری شور نه به این بی نمکی ، این رو نپسندیدم🌱
پ.ن: من کارشناس کتاب کودک نیستم و نظر خودم رو گفتم هرچند خیلی دوست دارم نظر یک کارشناس رو هم درباره‌ی این مجموعه بدونم
۲۶آذر ۱۴۰۰🍂🍁
Profile Image for Victoria Schmidt.
78 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2019
I don't understand how this is nominated for a Goodreads award. I guess my take on it is a lot different from a lot of the other readers who feel the message is about not worrying about others' bad behaviors and not trying to "fix" everyone around you. I might agree with that if the other eggs weren't literally attacking him. So finally the Good Egg decides to leave this abusive environment that's literally damaging him emotionally, mentally, and physically and take some time to himself and heal. Then after he recovers from the trauma they inflicted on him he decides to go back because he's lonely. But this time he's just going to sit there and take their shit with a smile on his face and not worry so much about it because it's better than living alone. And besides now they're acting a little bit better and only abusing him sometimes so it's an improvement and he should be happy about that. I literally finished this book and said "what the hell."
587 reviews
April 16, 2019
Not sure what to make of this one; it left me wondering, "what?" I don't like binary descriptions of beings as "good" or "bad"; eventually, the nameless good egg (the other eleven eggs have egg-y names or are named "Frank") decides they don't need to be perfect, just like their "friends" aren't. However, at the end, Good Egg decides they're too lonely to be away from the other eleven and returns, even though the others don't seem to treat Good Egg any better than before. Good Egg takes part in the "misbehavior" of the other eggs (caving to peer pressure? having fun without fear?) and learns that they have to take care of themself, taking "me" time, presumably to heal the hurts from the "friends." Some of the hurt is because of stress at others' behavior that doesn't have anything to do with Good Egg, so that's a positive message, but I can't really get behind this one.
Profile Image for Amy.
1,250 reviews4 followers
February 26, 2019
This is one of those titles that makes me so happy to be a children's librarian. That there are such talented authors and illustrators in the world who dedicate their time to bringing joy to children and adults through such charming works is a blessing.
Once again, I realize I am a sucker for any title with naughty characters (I love all the bad eggs in the dozen) and I adore this book. Can't wait to read it for storytime!
Profile Image for سیده فاطمه مطهری.
366 reviews108 followers
July 4, 2021
تو آدم خوبی هستی و سعی میکنی بقیه رو هم خوب کنی، ولی انقدر حرص و جوش میخوری که مریض میشی
یه مدت منزوی و سرخورده میشی
میره به خودت میرسی، کتاب میخونی، نقاشی میکشی، به پوست و سلامتت میرسی، حالت خوب میشه
سعی میکنی از این به بعد کمتر بخاطر کارهای بد بقیه حرص بخوری و حتی گاهی همراهشون بشی، از طرف دیگه سعی میکنی به اونا هم یاد بدی به خودشون برسن
به‌به چه دنیای خوبی



این کتاب، چنین مفهومی به کودک میرسونه
قضاوت خوب بودن این مفهوم برای کودکتان، با خودتان و نوع و سبک تربیت‌تان
Profile Image for Christine (Tina).
574 reviews
April 18, 2019
Being perfect is overrated...and puts one under a pressure-cooker until...crack, your shell is showing a bit of wear & tear. It was great reading this today at story time because last week we talked about how to breathe and take it easy on ourselves...which is showcased in this picture book...one good egg in a bad carton will do it to you every time.
Profile Image for Joshua Gross.
597 reviews14 followers
February 28, 2019
A good little book, entertaining illustrations. An uptight busybody of an egg gets too worked up about what everyone else is doing and forgets to care for himself. A good lesson in self care and not worrying so much what everybody else is doing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,257 reviews

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