Session 9: Fantasy & Mystery

Grade level this book was selected for: Kindergarten

APA Citation: Dudley, R. (2013). Hank finds an egg. White Plains, NY: Peter Pauper Press.

Description: While walking through the forest, Hank finds an egg—all alone—on the forest ground. After spotting its home high up in a tree, he diligently tries to find a way to return it to its nest. First, he finds a tree stump—but it's too short. Next, he builds a ladder, but it's not tall enough. Dusk begins to fall, and he takes the egg home for safekeeping overnight. The next day—determined not to give up—Hank uses his ingenuity to come up with the perfect solution to see the egg safely reach home, and is joyfully rewarded with newfound forest friends! Hank's endearing and genuine kindness will inspire readers—young and old alike—to believe in themselves and in the goodness of others. (From the publisher.)

This book is appropriate for: Ages 0-8; Kindergarten-Second grade

Justification: Demonstrating CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear will be an excellent exercise with the photographed, hand-created scenes in this book. This wordless book would be great used to teach kiddos how to write dialogue or how to understand how stories are written by adding text to the pictures. Can also be used as a lesson in illustrations, the different ways in which artists tell stories. (English Language Arts Standards >> Reading: Literature, Retrieved from Common Core State Standard Initiatives on November 3, 2017: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/K/7/ (links to an external site.) Links to an external site.

Keywords: Egg 🥚Kindness 😊Bear 🐻Wordless

Scholarly Review: This original picture book features a fresh look, an endearing main character, and a wordless story that speaks clearly to young children. Hank , a little animal, finds an egg on the forest floor and tries to return it to the nest overhead. He rolls a log to the tree and steps onto it, but he can’t reach the nest. He makes a ladder and climbs up, but the nest is still too high. After sleeping with the egg that night, Hank returns to the tree and sees a hummingbird. Carefully wrapping the egg in moss tied with ribbon, he offers it to the bird, who carries it to her nest. Hank keeps watch nearby until three little hummingbirds hatch and fly to him. Dudley creates and photographs wonderfully detailed, meticulously crafted dioramas. Changing character poses, settings, camera angles, focal points, and lighting contribute to the illustrations’ unusually strong sense of reality. This unassuming story holds great appeal for young children, who frequently find themselves too small to accomplish what they set out to do. Hank prevails through his creativity, his persistence, and his ability to work with another to solve a problem. A quietly magical little book to share, one on one, with a small child. -- Phelan, Carolyn 

Citation: Phelan, C. (2013, May). Dudley, Rebecca. Hank Finds an Egg. School Library Journal, 109(17), 78. Retrieved from: https://www.booklistonline.com/Hank-Finds-an-Egg-Rebecca-Dudley/pid=6034538