From Elizabeth Kennedy,
Your Guide to Children's Books.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

An Egg Is Quiet is a marvelous children’s book, written by Dianna Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long. It is a picture book, a science book, and one of the most beautifully designed and illustrated children’s books that I have seen in some time.

An Egg Is Quiet: An Overview

This picture book provides an introduction to eggs of all kinds – from a variety of birds’ eggs to a fossilized dinosaur egg, from a hummingbird’s tiny egg to an eight-pound ostrich egg. While the book is beautiful to look at, this children’s picture book is also full of accurate and interesting facts about eggs. Author Dianna Aston emphasizes the colors, shapes, markings, sizes, beauty, and textures of eggs as well as the many creatures that hatch from eggs, including the Emperor Penguin, the Green Iguana, the Ladybird Beetle, the Atlantic Salmon, a variety of songbirds, and more.

An Egg Is Quiet: The Artwork

Sylvia Long’s artwork, in ink and soft watercolors, illustrates the beauty and the uniqueness of each egg. Every double page spread has a handwritten heading and all of the text and labels are hand-lettered, reminiscent of a naturalist’s journal. On the “An egg is colorful” pages, there are illustrations of 38 different eggs. On the “An egg is giving” pages, the interiors of three eggs (chicken, salmon, and grasshopper) are shown at various stages of development. The illustrations and the text create a quiet sense of wonder about eggs in all their variety.

An Egg Is Quiet: The Author and the Illustrator

Author Dianna Aston is relatively new to the field of children’s books. Her first children’s picture book, Loony Loon, was published in 2003. When You Were Born and Bless This Mouse were published in 2004.

Sylvia Long is well-known for her children’s book illustrations. Her children’s picture books include Hush Little Baby, Sylvia Long’s Mother Goose, Deck the Halls, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Snug as a Bug, and Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack. According to Sylvia Long,

My hope is that the children who read An Egg Is Quiet, as well as the parents, grandparents and teachers who share it with them will become as intrigued as I am by the beauty and diversity of these common, yet elusive, essential elements to the reproduction of so many creatures.

An Egg Is Quiet: My Recommendation

An Egg Is Quiet is a good quiet bedtime story for young children who will enjoy looking at so many different eggs. Older children will be fascinated by all of the interesting egg facts. Adults will enjoy the book’s beauty and will also be intrigued by the egg facts presented. I've given the book five stars, my highest rating.(Chronicle Books, 2006. ISBN: 0811844285)