An Egg is Quiet

Award-winning artist Sylvia Long has teamed with author Dianna Aston to create this gorgeous and informative introduction to more than 60 types of eggs. From tiny hummingbird eggs to giant ostrich eggs, oval ladybug eggs to tubular dogfish eggs, gooey frog eggs to fossilized dinosaur eggs, it magnificently captures the incredible variety of eggs and celebrates their beauty and wonder.

DIANNA ASTON's Writer's Note for An Egg Is Quiet

My inspiration for An Egg Is Quiet actually happened over 25 years ago, when I was a kid. My best friend's little brother, Dusty, who was three at the time, was asked by his teacher, "What's an egg like?" He thought and thought and finally said, "An egg is quiet." My mom reminded me of that story a few years ago, and the little guy's clever answer became the basis for this book. What is an egg like? I asked myself. An egg is downright amazing once you know the whys and hows of it.

Most writers have a twinge of worry and a mountain of hope when they send off their text. Although I've long admired Sylvia Long's work and was eager to see what she'd do with the text, I never dreamed she'd create such a visual feast. When I saw her illustrations, I nearly laid an egg myself, they're so beautiful. Sylvia's interpretation of the text, her exquisite details, her knowledge of the natural world, and her painstaking research truly astounded and delighted me—and made me fall in love with eggs over and over again. We don't often think of eggs as anything more than white chicken eggs or blue robin eggs. Sylvia's illustrations open us up to a new world. Collaborating was such a pleasure, and now we're at work on our next book.

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SYLVIA LONG's Artist's Note for An Egg Is Quiet

Dianna Aston's clever approach to investigating the various kinds of eggs and egg layers immediately inspired images in my head and sparked my desire to learn more about them. That's the first and necessary element in my decision to illustrate a book.

Being an amateur naturalist at heart, I loved doing the research for this book. I was amazed by the extreme diversity of shapes, sizes, textures, colors, and patterns of the eggs themselves. It's interesting to consider the many ways in which egg layers have adapted to specific environments and how their eggs have evolved to help insure the survival of each species. My hope is that the children who read An Egg Is Quiet, as well as the parents, grandparents, and teachers who share it with them, will become as intrigued as I am by the beauty and diversity of these common, yet elusive, essential elements in the reproduction of so many creatures.

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"This engrossing album pairs images of dozens of precisely detailed eggs and their diverse wild parents to basic facts. . . . A delight for budding naturalists of all stripes, flecks, dots and textures." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Like the subject matter it describes, this book packages with understated elegance the substantive matter found within it. . . . This attractive volume pleases on both an aesthetic and intellectual level." —Publishers Weekly, starred review