“The Cow That Laid an Egg” by Andy Cutbill,
illus. by Russell Ayto (Harpercollins, 9780061372957, 32 page, ages 2 to 6)
“The Cow That Laid an Egg” is a new favorite with the two-to-six-year-old
set at Watermark’s weekly Tuesday-morning Story Time. It’s an energy-filled
picture book that combines a whacky plot with wonderfully over-the-top
illustrations to tell the story of Marjorie, the cow who laid an egg.
To start off, Marjorie, with her black spots and big blue eyes, has a bad
case of low self-esteem. Whereas all the other cows can do handstands and
ride bicycles, she has no special talent, and this puts her in a really low
mooooooooooood.
To help lift Marge’s spirits, her crafty chicken friends hatch a cunning
plan: with a paintbrush and a little chicken-derring-do, they trick her into
thinking she has laid the world’s first spotted cow egg! (And while doe-eyed
Marge and the other prancing cows are quite funny, Russell Ayto’s renditions
of round-bodied, haughty-looking chickens are just too, too hilarious.)
Marjorie is ecstatic about her egg! The farmers are pleased as punch! The
local newspaper gets wind, and Marjorie makes the front page! The chickens
get a little smug, having made everyone so happy… everyone, that is, except
the other cows, who are feeling upstaged. Those ladies don’t believe for one
minute that Marjorie laid that egg on her own. They smell a rat: a rat that
smells just like chicken.
Everything builds to a climax when Marjorie’s spotted egg begins to hatch.
What will it be? Hooves and horns, or feathers and feet? When a small fuzzy
bundle pops out, the chickens’ ruse really seems to be up, but then
something truly surprising happens: Marjorie’s little chick opens its beak
and lets out an enthusiastic “MOOOOOOOOOOO!” A child after her own heart!
And thus Marjorie’s story ends happily with the line: “She promptly named it
Daisy.”
Review by
Mark David Bradshaw, February 6, 2008
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