Published: 12th February 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins
Illustrator: Pete Oswald
Pages: 36
Format: Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars
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.
John’s books have fast become some of my favourites. This is another one I thoroughly enjoyed, there is such a wonderful humour that comes from the combination of illustrations and the words; the play off one another and there’s often so much to enjoy in the illustrations even when the words are self-explanatory.
The story is told through Egg’s eyes and he addresses the reader from the very start and continues to tell us his tale as the story goes on. The Good Egg tries his best to be good but he is surrounded by others in his group who misbehave and it stresses him out.
The “badness” of the other eggs are things kids can relate to like ignoring bedtimes, eating sugary cereal, and breaking things or throwing tantrums. Compared to the “good” behaviour like rescuing cats, and helping other people John contrasts how the Good Egg sees himself compared to the others in his carton.
I love Oswald’s design on the egg. The large egg and small face, with the oversized glasses is incredibly adorable. I also love how he shows his progression as he becomes more stressed at he behaviour of the others – the literally cracking of his shell is clever and his dishevelled appearance, while tragic, is incredibly humorous.
I am fascinated by the sentient foods because there is a clear and present danger of being eaten in these stories and yet the personified foods go about their lives normally. This works fine if you want to have a society of sentient food, but John has twice shown us there are humans in their world who will eat them which raises a few questions.
This is a great story about being your best self, but also about not letting the actions of other people get to you. There’s a wonderful message of self care, but also about trying to be perfect can be hard and there can be some balance in life that is still satisfying.
You can purchase The Good Egg via the following
QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository
Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson
Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible
This was the first book I put on the list at the start of 2019. It wasn’t the most amazing book I had read in terms of emotions or how it moved me, but I loved it so much because it is a story that is so cleverly told it is hard not to be constantly amazed at Capin’s skill. The reflections with historical events and reimaginings of historical people is divine and each time I realised a reference, a moment, or a character portrayal I fell even further in love. This is Tudor England set in a US high school and honestly those two things are perfectly fitting with a class system, drama, and chaos. I love that era and seeing it play out in the modern era was an absolute joy.
How to Fight A Dragon’s Fury by Cressida Cowell
Book two of the Truly Devious series and it does not disappoint. It is filled with answers, new questions, a deeper descent into the mystery of this school and this kidnapping and as Johnson plays it out you can’t help but be enraptured.
Pretty sure these graphic novels will be on here every single year if they continue with their publishing schedule. From the A-MA-ZING podcast Clint has once again transferred it brilliantly into written form. The illustrations are fantastic, the humour is fantastic, and the story is wrapped up but there’s an ongoing arc to keep your interest piqued.
