PICK A PERFECT EGG: Just in Time for EASTER!

CANDLEWICK PRESS, 2023

 I hope you are already familiar with two titles by a talented creative pair, author Patricia Toht and illustrator JARVIS. PICK A PUMPKIN and PICK A PINE are lively rhyming picture books that are ideally suited for Halloween and the winter holidays. Now this duo has produced PICK A PERFECT EGG just in time for Easter celebrations. If that holiday isn't your jam, this is also a delightful story of creativity, nature, community, maker-activity, and family experiences, not to mention that universally appealing food- EGGS!

Toht's reliably rollicking and right-on rhymes and rhythms sustain  patterns from the first two titles, while making this a distinctly independent book of its own worth. The visuals (pastels, up-close perspectives of faces, eggs, hens, and subtle suggestions of a cadre of  bunnies busily at work in the background) ideally enhance the colorful vocabulary and language that turns short stanzas into page-turners. There are moments of a-h-h and lighthearted laughter throughout. Both familiarity and recognition allow this to be a book for every child, while specificity and surprise make it exciting and re-readable.

Author Maria Marshall, fan and cheerleader for nature and nature-related activities, offers a review and "maker" suggestions for this new title, HERE.  In a related interview with Toht and Jarvis, you'll learn even more about the making of their prior books and ways in which they develop the final products of their various talents, HERE.

I hope you'll take a look, whether before the holiday or all year long. It's smile-inducing and activity-inspiring.