The Easter Egg Farm

The Easter Egg Farm, by Mary Jane Auch, has been one of my favorite ever since I was little. I love the story of a misfit chicken with a talent for laying colorful eggs. In the begining of the story, Pauline, the main character, is being ridiculed by the other hens becuase of the colorful eggs that she lays. This part of the story upset me when i was younger because Pauline was ashamed of her wonderful talent. Pauline continues to lay and hide her colorful eggs until Mrs. Pennywort finds one. Unlike the hens, Mrs Pennywort thinks that the eggs are beautiful. Mrs. Pennywort's appreciation for Pauline's eggs always cheers me up. Pauline has a wonderful talent and deserves some appreciation for it. Mrs. Pennywort begins to exhibit Pauline's eggs on the window sills of the house. The colorful eggs catch the attention of an old woman who is helping with an easter egg hunt. The woman converses with Mrs. Pennywort and they agree that the woman can use some of the eggs for the easter egg hunt. The eggs are to be collected from Mrs. Pennywort later in the week. Because of her deadline, Pauline begins to lay eggs constantly. Mrs. Pennywort also takes Pauline on feild trips to enspire her egg designs. I particularly like this part of the book because of the idea of a chicken at an art museum. The illustrations in this part of the book are also very colorful and add to the story. At the end of the week, Mrs. Pennywort begins to collect the eggs from around the house to give to the old woman, but when she gets to the sunny side of the house, she finds that all the eggs are hatching. Mrs. Pennywort goes into a tizzy tryin to glue the eggs back together while all the baby chicks run around the house. This illustrations in this part of the book are particularly funny. In the end, the old woman gets some eggs for the easter egg hunt and Pauline gets to keep her baby chicks. I would reccomend this stroy to children between the age of four and seven. I believe this book needs such a wide age range because it is detailed, yet easy to understand. The acutal story is too detailed for young children to read but the illustrations tell the story by themselves. Because of this, older children will appreciate the words in the story and younger children will appreciate the the illustrations. This book is enjoyable for children of all ages.

What a fabulous book!! Everyone in the family enjoys reading and hearing this book again and again. It is so full of fun and imagination. Read it and see...you won't be disappointed.

Our daughter has taken this book out of her pre-school library 5 weeks in a row. We all love the wonderful, lively illustrations. Most of all, we love the message -- different can be absolutely beautiful! With Mrs. Pennywort's encouragement, the especially talented Pauline can produce any egg she wants. A great story on all levels.

It has become a tradition in my home to read this book before painting our Easter eggs. The story and illustrations are so comical, colorful and exciting that we can't wait to turn the page and see what happens next. Then we pick our favorite egg. What fun! You won't be disappointed.

I teach school, and I love to read this book to my students every year at Easter time. It is a great book to encourage creativity. I also use it to have the students sequence different egg patterns. My students love the story as much as I do.