THE OVEREAGER EGG

Are You My Mother? but with a significant twist.

Everything old is new again in this clever take on a familiar story. A little egg goes “Bump, bump, bump, bump” out of its nest and down a hill. At the bottom, two tiny feet pop out, as does a space for the eyes. The egg then goes walking in an attempt to locate its mother. Sound familiar? Wait. With each animal it meets—a caterpillar (who has too many legs), a horse (who already has a baby)—the egg realizes that they cannot possibly be related. Even the chicken isn’t quite right, and the magpie just wants to eat the egg. When a large swan appears, scaring off the magpie, it becomes clear that it isn’t a mother the egg has been seeking, but a father. “Can daddies hatch eggs, too?” “Daddies can do everything.” This Dutch import has a classic feel thanks in large part to gentle art resembling printmaking and the occasional alluring pattern. Within the confines of a story we’ve heard before, Praagman has crafted a marvelous fatherhood tale that upsets those old expectations in just the right way.

You don’t have to be a daddy to appreciate this stirring single-dad tale (a rarity of its kind).