Hello Little Egg!
Puffin Books
Come with me to Puffin Rock and meet some of its residents, in particular, Oona, her small brother, Baba and Mossy (he’s Oona’s best friend). One day while having a game of chase they come upon an unusual-looking rock …

They speculate but it’s not a berry; an egg of some kind? Yes, but not one they recognise and thus begins their quest to find its parents. Could it perhaps belong to some seagulls – there are certainly a lot of them around? Off go the three to return the egg to the seagulls’ nest on the cliff edge, which proves to be quite an exciting undertaking.

On arriving at their destination however, a discovery is made – it’s the wrong nest: seagull eggs are brown. As the friends ponder their next move, the egg itself moves, …
hatches and immediately adopts Oona as its mother. Time to get going; but what’s that Karr! Karr! sound?

Seemingly the new chick is eager to find out … Hurray! It’s the chick’s parents way down below and there’s only one way to travel that large distance – here goes …

Then, mission accomplished, it’s smiles all round, a thank you fish from two happy parents, goodbye hugs from the little chick and off go Oona, Baba and Mossy all the way back home.
Satisfying and fun, this story has its origins in an animated TV series and the transition to book form works well. There’s plenty to discuss and a fair sprinkling of natural history information embedded within the delightful narrative.

Hannah and Sugar
Kate Berube
Abrams Books for Young Readers
Hannah, the chief protagonist of this story has my sympathies; she’s afraid of dogs, even well behaved ones like Sugar who belongs to her pal, Violet P. This is somewhat unsettling as every day, come rain or shine, Sugar waits for Violet P. after school at the same bus stop Hannah’s dad waits for her. Her other school friends eagerly pet Sugar but Hannah is steadfast in her refusals as she clutches her dad’s hand proffering her polite “No, thank you,” each time.

One day, Violet P. announces that Sugar’s gone missing and a neighbourhood search ensues but come nightfall there’s still no sign of Sugar. After dinner as Hannah sits outside pondering what it might feel like to be lost and alone,

she hears a strange whimpering sound in the dark and on investigation, she discovers …

Hannah’s instinct is to retreat but then she closes her eyes, she draws on her inner strength and courage, reaches out her hand and …
Needless to say everyone involved is delighted, as will readers be at the happy ending.
Illustrated in ink and paints, this debut picture book is a delight. Kate Berube’s scenes have an almost child-like quality about them, making the story all the more authentic and her use of empty space –

is particularly effective in moving the concise narrative forward.

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