Tillie Lays an Egg
Seven chickens live in a small hen house at Little Pond Farm. Each hen lays one egg a day in nesting boxes. There are only three boxes so the hens must take turns. Tillie doesn’t wait for her turn! Follow Tillie on each day of the week as she explores the rest of the farm laying her eggs in unusual places.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
Before reading, point out the name of each hen on the front end pages or the back cover of the book. Ask the children to count the hens, and describe each hen. How can you tell them apart? While reading the story, ask the children to be on the “look out” for where Tillie has laid an egg on each day of the week. After reading, ask children what they think would be other good hiding places for an egg on the farm.
Share with families that using a book like this is a perfect way to talk with children and help them to understand concepts like counting numbers (including ordinal numbers that tell first, second, third, etc.,) the days of the week, rooms in a house, and places on a farm yard. Provide several copies of the book for families to sit together and practice reading and talking about the book.