First the Egg
A good springtime read aloud! This is a compact concept book about change. As the reader turns the pages, animals and objects are transformed. Every other page contains a cutout that leads to the next page. The book begins with the word “First” on a yellow page followed by an orange page with the words “the egg” and a white egg-shaped cutout. Turn the page and the cutout becomes the yellow of a baby chick and, on the opposite page, a white chicken that was the white for the egg. Other changes depicted include tadpole to frog, seed to flower, caterpillar to butterfly, word to story, and paint to picture with the painted picture showing first the chicken then the egg!
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
After reading this book, talk with children about circle stories. They start over again at the end! Share other circle stories such Laura Numeroff’s If You Give A Mouse A Cookie or The Napping House by Audrey Wood.
This book is a good choice for talking to families about visual literacy and its importance in early literacy. Encourage families to have children respond to each “first” that is mentioned. For example, the parent would point to the words and say, “First the egg” and then the child would respond, “then the chicken” using the visual clues. This is a good way to reinforce turn-taking as an important skill. This book is one that children will love to look at and say over and over again.