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Title: The Egg by M. P. Robertson, Phyllis Fogelman ISBN: 0-8037-2546-9 Publisher: Phyllis Fogelman Books Pub. Date: 15 January, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Mystical Wings
Comment: In all the books I have read, there has only been a few that have captured my attention and actually held it. But I have found what I have come to call a books soul or in simpler terms a books meaning. Yes this book was probably written for a young person, to put them to sleep or to just keep them occupied. But to a dragon lover this book is much more. It is in a way a ticket to another world. A world in which the imagination can be free to explore the deepest and darkest corners of the universe without being restrained by reality.
In this remarkable book there is a young boy, whose name is George, who discovers a large egg. After the egg hatches he and the dragon become great friends and they teach each other the importance of having a friend. While George teaches his new found friend all he could about being a dragon he couldn't give his friend one thing, another dragon to play with. If you want to find out what happens to this special young boy and his mystical flying friend than you want to read the book The Egg, by: M. P. Robertson.
Rating: 5
Summary: Un-Stereotypical Behavior in The Egg
Comment: Robertson, M.P. The Egg. New York: Phyllis Fogelman, 2001.
In The Egg, a little boy named George finds an enormous golden egg in his mother's chicken coop. He takes care of the egg until much to his surprise, it hatches into a dragon! George takes good care of the dragon until one day it leaves to find its own dragon kind. The little boy is sad and misses his good friend but receives a great surprise in the end that helps him deal with the fact that the dragon has to leave.
The Egg conveys a breakthrough in modern stereotypes. The big issue in this story that breaks through is the fact that a male character is doing the stereotypical "mothering." Starting at the very beginning of this story, the narrator stresses maternity and nurturing. Most of this is done through text but some through illustration. Most of the action pictures in this story take place on the right side of the page, setting up the anticipation of action on the next page. George finds an egg that a hen has laid, sits on top of, and keeps warm and protected in the hen house. In the full-page spread when George takes the egg inside, he immediately sits on top of it to keep it warm in his bed. In addition, the integral parts of the story, in which the dramatic action takes place between George and the dragon, and is very important for the flow of the story, appears as a full page of color with no white showing. When the author is trying to get a reader to focus on one thought or sentence, which is not as important or outstanding, he puts a small, colorful picture in the middle of a white page in order to draw your attention. George mimics the hen and takes care of the egg like he thinks a good mother would do with her young. The series of four pictures on the next page shows the egg hatching and George being pleasantly surprised that it is a dragon!
The first main time in the book when George obviously breaks through a modern stereotype is when the egg hatches, and the dragon says his first word to George: "mommy." This is taken to mean that the dragon wants the boy to be his mother, and George proceeds to take care of him like he thinks mothers do. George has obviously only ever been exposed to the traditional type of female mother figure; therefore these experiences shapes his behavior with the dragon. This is a prime example of how George breaks down traditional stereotypes because he is exhibiting a behavior that he has only learned, but does the job of "mother" so well that the dragon thinks that he is a mother. The narrator comments, "George had never been a mother before, but he knew that it was his motherly duty to teach the dragon dragony ways." Another series of pictures shows and describes how George teaches the dragon to fly, breath fire, help a damsel in distress, and defeat a knight. These lessons are synonymous with the integral and important things for dragons to know, and each one is taught to him by his "mommy." Again, George is "mothering" the dragon the only way he knows how; a way he learned from a woman, the central caregiver he has observed, and it makes no difference that he is male because he is only coping a behavior pattern. If George is the example, gender has nothing to do with good parenting.
The point in the story when George makes the largest noticeable break in stereotypical behavior, is a line that comes toward the end of the story. On a full color page, which makes it seem important, appears a night scene of the dragon and the little boy in a tree. It reads, "Every evening, as all good mothers should, George read the dragon a bedtime story." This is a great example of the proof that the behaviors he is exhibiting are stereotypical to female mothers. This indicates what a "good mother" does, but George, a male, does the "natural" things that mothers do, only he is a male. The great thing about this book is that a non-traditional character plays a traditional role. A male can be just as good a mother as a female simply because he has learned to reproduce mothering behavior. This book does a good job of showing that you do not need to be a female in order to be the picture of motherhood, you only need kindness, care and unconditional love associated with good mothering and learned rather than innate behaviors. All in all, this was simply a good, easy picture book for children, but it has a certain deeper context that we may not even notice until a child thinks it odd that a boy is doing the "motherly" jobs.
Rating: 5
Summary: George and the Dragon
Comment: George knew something special was about to happen when he found a gigantic egg in his mother's henhouse. He carefully took it back to his room, kept the egg warm and read to it until it hatched. The dragon inside took one look at George and made a sound of happiness. George didn't speak dragon, but he knew the sound meant, "mommy" and he was determined to teach the dragon dragony ways just like any good mother would. They worked on flying and breathing fire, distressing damsels and defeating knights and every night George read his dragon bedtime stories from a book of dragon tales. But soon, George realized that the dragon was sad and lonely and missed being with other dragons..... M P Robertson has written a gentle fantasy of love and friendship that will delight youngsters with it's simple text and beautifully expressive artwork. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Egg is a charming bedtime story, full of imagery and colorful detail, kids will want to read again and again and a wonderful addition to all home libraries.
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