Picture Book: Esme's Egg – Neil Griffiths (Author) & Christine Grove (Illustrator)

Picture Book: Esme's Egg – Neil Griffiths (Author) & Christine Grove (Illustrator)

Recommended for: Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Esme's expression on the front cover should give you a hint as to what this is about. A disgruntled hen, fed up with having her egg stolen every day, decides to hide it from the farmer. A battle of wits ensues, as the farmer still manages to get the egg for several days, until Esme decides to follow the farmer to where he keeps the eggs, and ends up sitting on it all the way to the supermarket. It's fair to say she ruffles a few feathers...ahem.

Now, sometimes a picture paints a thousand words, and for me the best part of this story is the grumpy expression that Esme wears on her face for most of it. For some reason, I find the idea of a grumpy hen hilarious, and in all fairness, if i'd spent all that time popping out an egg I'd be pretty grumpy if someone came along and took it off me. It's nice and brightly illustrated, and I really do like that grumpy hen. The story itself is fun, and wordier than most of the picture books that I've reviewed, so if it's one you're planning on getting your children to read it's a good way of challenging them once they've been reading for a little while.

Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're children even wonder where their boiled eggs come from.

9/10