Eggs – not just for breakfast

Did you know that there are over 100 animals that lay eggs? I didn’t. Or at least, I hadn’t really thought before about how many creatures lay eggs.

Animal Eggs: an amazing clutch of mysteries and marvels! by Dawn Cusick and Joanne O’Sullivan include lots of great photographs of animals laying eggs, protecting them, stealing and eating eggs of other species, plus pictures of newly hatched various hatchlings. For all the information that is packed into this little book the text is far from overwhelming. The small, bite-size chunks of text will appeal to new or struggling readers.

So some cool facts:
-2 types of mammals lay eggs – platypus and spiny anteaters

-eggs come in a myriad of colours, (from muted to gaudy tones), shapes and sizes

-eggs are laid everywhere depending on the critter laying them: on the ground, above the ground, on water, under water, in the open, buried in sand, nests, silk sacs, etc.

-some sharks and skates lay a special casing, a ‘mermaids purse’, where the eggs will mature.

The last few pages present a few unidentified eggs that will challenge the reader to guess who had laid this egg.

I originally read a review of the this book at SimplyScience Blog a couple of months back. That posting includes a couple of classroom ideas to use with this book.

Easy on the eyes, easy to understand and easy to get caught up with, I highly recommend this book for elementary grades. Pair it with An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston for an egg-cellent match.

Today is Nonfiction Monday, a round-up of nonfiction children's literature.  Take a look at Books Together for today's event.