The Egg Tree

The Egg Tree started a new tradition in my household. The children loved to create eggs and place them on the branches.

We use this book as a basis each year for an Egg Tree in Kindergarten. We read the story, then water color 2 dimensional construction paper eggs, and I paint the trunk on a bulletin board. The result is so cool--it is wonderfully colorful. I also have some Czech decorated real eggs to show them. This is a great book. For those worried about a religious setting for Easter (I'm not), this story has no mention of Easter as a religious holiday. It is an old story, but sometimes the old stories are the best. I wish the pictures were a little more colorful. I have never seen a publication of this book with more than 3 colors. Maybe it's because I'm a grandma, but I often wish that the older books would be republished. The kids like colors and gravitate toward those books that have newer graphics. But, some of the authors from the 40's, 50's and 60's are wonderful books, such as Margaret Wise Brown, and this one.

Easter egg trees just haven't caught on to the same extent their Christmas tree brethren have. In today's high tech, fast-paced, Internet age it's a calming thing to stop a think a little bit about Easter eggs, and the trees on which they hang. "The Egg Tree" won its Caldecott medal in 1951 and became the selection of choice of the Institute of Graphic Arts. Here, author Katherine Milhous has taken the lively colors and sweeping designs of the Pennsylvania Dutch and applied them to a tale of Easter discoveries and mild fame.Siblings Katy and Carl are spending their Easter seasons with their Grandmom and cousins. This being their first Easter with such relatives, they are woefully unprepared for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Katy is disappointed when she cannot find any eggs, but discovers a cache of beautifully hand-painted eggs tucked away in the attic. This leads to Grandmom teaching all the kiddies how to paint their own eggs, culminating in an egg tree that displays their work (and garners widespread fame as well). Children unfamiliar with the Pennsylvania Dutch lifestyle will undoubtedly wonder why the characters in this tale look Amish. Some simple explanations (always assuming the parents themselves understand the distinction) may be in order. After that, expect to be fielding requests for egg painting as well. Helpful instructions detailing how one goes about egg painting are included on the back of the book jacket. Certainly the book and the instruction make egg blowing seem to be the simplest thing in the world. Just don't be surprised if you have a mighty difficult time blowing egg yolks out of tiny tiny holes. On the whole, the book is strong. The colors are a little more muted than those of books today. And apart from Katy's initial fears that she would not find a single egg, there's not much in the way of dramatic tension. But that's all right. This book's a class act through and through. It may seem a bit dated, it's true. Just the same, it's nice to see a book looking at one of the less lauded holidays once in a while.

The Egg Tree is a great story about a little girl's Easter morning egg-hunting experience. Though she is unsuccessful, she does uncover a wonderful Easter suprise. The little girl, and the reader, is introduced to the Pennsylvania Dutch technique of painting eggs, when she finds a cache of her grandmother's beautifully decorated eggs. The examples of folk art throughout the book are wonderful, and easily accessible for children. This book will prompt your family to begin their own egg decorating tradition.