Review of “What is the Shape of My Egg?” by Lisa Weckbacher

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

What is the Shape of My Egg? by Lisa Weckbacher is an excellent children's book that teaches kids the difference between different round shapes, specifically circles and ovals. The book accomplishes this in a fun, humorous, interesting, and entertaining way by presenting this topic from the perspective of several hen sisters living on the same farm: Silkie, Dreeka, Henrietta, and Dottie.

This book centers around Silkie, one of the smaller and less learned hens, as she proudly discovers and announces that she has laid her first egg. She erroneously claims that her egg is a perfect circle, something that the other hens are quick to correct and admonish her about, albeit in a friendly and helpful way.

Dottie is the first to let Silkie know that despite her egg being “perfect” in some ways, it's actually not a circle at all. The reason, as Dottie and Henrietta explain, is that Silkie's egg has longer (elongated) sides and has points. Circles, they explain, are even and equally round on all sides. Silkie is still a little confused and wants to find other examples of circles and ovals.

And so begins the fun of the book! Children can join Silkie and the other chickens in finding other circle and oval-shaped objects around the farm. For example, it is pointed out that ceiling fan and night light are circular while the watermelon is oval-shaped. We do wish that the illustrator did a little more to put some “easter eggs” (hidden circles and ovals) in the backgrounds of these pictures, but it's fine for what it is.

Silkie, Dreeka, Henrietta, and Dottie are lovable and magnetic characters. Silkie apparently gets her name because she's from a type of chicken (silkies) who are smaller. Her innocence and naivety are welcoming traits. Dottie comes across as one of the older and more experienced chickens, using her wisdom to help Silkie to come to a better understanding of how things work.

We very much enjoyed this book, especially having had pet chickens in the past. The illustrations are surprisingly sufficient, reflecting the art style of something like Goodnight Moon or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The chicken characters are cute and distinct. Yes, backgrounds are reused a few times, but it's fine. Having just reviewed another children's book that emphasized geometry, we were especially impressed by this one.

Check it out on Amazon!