DANIEL’S MYSTERY EGG

Daniel finds a small egg underneath a bush. His friends imagine that when it hatches, the creature may be big, loud, or dangerous, but Daniel hopes it will be small, quiet, and nice. Vowel blends and complicated consonant combinations will suit the growing reading skills of second-graders, but the handling of the subject raises important issues. Daniel removes the animal from its environment and fancies that beyond his curiosity, there is nothing else to be considered. Where the animal may have survived on its own, now it is in the hands of a young boy who wonders about nothing but what nice animal might be in the egg. (A lizard, as it turns out.) Though the text size, word choice, and smooth flow of writing combine well with Karas’s (The Class Artist, not reviewed, etc.) simple drawings, the unconscionable attitude that wild creatures are up for grabs is inhumane. (Easy reader. 6-8)