That Egg Is Mine! A Silly Story About Sharing (Duck and Cluck)

Dubois (What Does a Seed Need?) centers a pair of fowl squabbling over a blue egg with white dots in this early reader series launch. Readers may initially side with Cluck, a blue-and-white-spotted hen—after all, the egg sports a pattern very similar to that of her feathers. But yellow Duck, whose polka-dot bill also matches, puts forth a compelling case for “finder’s keepers.” In the story’s most fully rendered section, Duck relates pursuing the egg as it rolls unexpectedly past, makes an improbable two-pointer at a basketball court (“It flew! It thunked! It scored!”), and ends up in a pond of a miniature golf course. The matter is settled when the duo’s argument cracks open the egg, revealing a surprising baby, whose cries of “PQUAK!” summon its real and enormous mother, shown only in shadow. The skitlike plot doesn’t devote much time to establishing distinctive personalities, despite Cluck’s “I told you so” punch line, but readers should find the spare, direct dialogue balloon text reminiscent of their own squabbles: “I believe you are mistaken,” says Duck, accused of nicking the egg; “YOU STOLE IT,” responds Cluck. Ages 3–8. (Jan.)