Margo's Musings: Can an Egg be Too Good?

We are still getting curbside pickup at our local library. This week we asked our favorite librarian to surprise us with a few books she thought we'd like. It's exciting to have a bag of books that you might not have found on your own. My little sister, Margo, and I couldn't wait to dig in and start reading.

We were thrilled to discover The Good Egg written by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald.  We've read a lot of books by Jory John, so we knew we were in for a treat. When we looked at the cover Margo was obsessed with the eyeglasses.  She kept saying, "Glasses. Oh- big glasses." I have to admit the egg on the cover does look pretty cute with those spectacles on.

In the story there is an egg. He's a very good egg. It seems crazy to him that the other eggs are so reckless and misbehave all the time. No matter how much he tries to get his friends to behave, they will not listen. This causes him a ton of stress, and he starts to crack. The good egg realizes he needs to go away and be by himself. While he is gone he starts to take care of himself; even pampers himself. Being away, he misses his friends and starts to learn that he can't be responsible for their behavior. Trying to control them wasn't making anyone happy. When he rejoins his friends in the carton, he has a new attitude. Of course, he still wants to be good—but he realizes it's possible to be too good and not enjoy life.

The book has some really great messages. Sometimes we need reminders that we can't control other people and what they do. We can only control ourselves. I also think it's important to take care of our health, so that was a point that hit home with me.  The illustrations are awesome. The facial expressions on some of the eggs is priceless.  Of course, the main character wormed his way into our hearts with those big blue eyes and enormous glasses. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good picture book. I can see it being used in school to help students learn lessons about behavior, self-care, and finding the balance in life.

The Good Egg is part of a series of books with similar titles (The Bad Seed, The Cool Bean, etc.). We look forward to checking those out as well.

Has anyone else read The Good Egg? Or have you read another book written by Jory John or illustrated by Pete Oswald? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
~F