The Talking Eggs (picture book)

Last updated
The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South
The Talking Eggs A Folktale from the American South.jpg
First edition
Author Robert D. San Souci
Illustrator Jerry Pinkney
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's picture book, folklore
Published1989 (Dial Press)
Publication place United States
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages32 (unpaginated)
ISBN 9780803706194
OCLC 18873666

The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South is a 1989 children's picture book by Robert D. San Souci and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is an adaption of a Creole folktale about a young girl who is mistreated by her mother and older sister, meets an old woman in the woods, and receives some eggs that contains treasures.

Contents

Plot

An impoverished widow has two daughters and runs a farm that raises chicken and grows beans and cotton. Rose is the oldest and mean. Blanche is the youngest and kind. The mother favors Rose more and forces Blanche to do all the work while Rose and her mother sit on the porch and fantasize moving to the city.

One day, Blanche meets an old woman at the well who asks for some water to quench her thirst. Blanche gives her some water. This makes her late when bringing the water to her mother and sister. Blanche is scolded and beaten and she runs off into the woods where she meets the old woman again.

The old woman takes Blanche to her house deep in the woods to live with her for a while. As the branches open the path to the old woman's house, she advises Blanche not to laugh at anything there. When they entered the old woman's property, Blanche finds that the old woman owns a two-headed cow with corkscrew-like horns that brayed like a mule. There were also multi-colored chickens that whistle like mockingbirds with some of them hopping around on one leg, some having three legs, and some having four legs.

There, Blanche behaves well and follows the old woman's orders. As she went to get firewood, the old woman removed her head in order to brush her two long braids. After putting her head back on, she gave Blanche a beef bone to put in the pot which soon filled with stew. When Blanche was given a single grain of rice to grain, the mortar overflowed with rice. The day is closed out by a night dance from rabbits in clothes.

The next morning, Blanche milks the two-headed cow which produces sweet milk. Before sending Blanche home, the old woman takes her to the chicken house and tells her to take the eggs that say "take me" and to leave the eggs that say "don't take me". Once she is close to home, Blanche is instructed to throw them over her shoulder and she will get a surprise when the eggs break.

Blanche goes into the chicken house and finds a collection of eggs, some plain and some jeweled. All of the plain eggs say "take me" and the fancy-looking ones say "don't take me." Blanche only takes the plain eggs, as she was told, and when she tosses them over her shoulder, to her surprise, gems, money, and dresses come out of them, along with a horse and carriage which she rides the rest of the way home.

When she arrives home, her mother and sister help Blanche carry the riches inside and pretend to show kindness towards her. However, the two ladies are extremely jealous of what has happened to Blanche. Her mother hatches a plan for Rose to find the old woman, get her own set of riches like her sister got, and come back. The mother, while Rose is out, plans to abandon Blanche at the home while she and Rose move to the city.

The next morning, the old woman is accosted by Rose in the field, who mentions her sister to her. The old woman takes her back to her house, where Rose does the exact opposite of everything Blanche was told to do which disappoints the old woman. After going to bed hungry because she did not believe in the rice or beef bone trick and getting sour milk from the two-headed cow because she laughed at it, a frustrated Rose picks up the old woman's head after she takes it off and demands the same things Blanche got. The old woman, convinced Rose is wicked, sends her to the chicken house with the same instructions she gave Blanche.

As before, the plain eggs said "take me" while the fancy eggs said "don’t take me". Rose immediately is drawn to the fancy eggs and grabs them all, then leaves the house. Rose eventually reaches the spot where she is supposed to throw the eggs and does so, expecting to be showered with riches. Instead, since she disobeyed the old woman again, she receives the exact opposite and is chased home by a bunch of attacking snakes, hornets, frogs, toads, and a wolf. Rose makes it home but the animals attack her mother as well, chasing them both from the home and deep into the woods.

By the time they returned home angry, sore, stung, and covered with mud, Rose and her mother found that Blanche had left for the city to live like a grand lady. Blanche remained kind and generous as always. For the rest of their lives, Rose and her mother have not been able to find the old woman's cabin and the talking eggs. They were unable to find that place again.

Characters

Reception

Common Sense Media in its review of The Talking Eggs, wrote "Robert D. San Souci captures the reader's attention with simple language that brings the country setting to life: "They lived on a farm so poor, it looked like the tail end of bad luck." And Jerry Pinkney's watercolors convey the sharp contrast between Blanche's difficult home life and the hilarious celebration at the old woman's home." [1]

Kirkus Reviews , wrote "A lively retelling of a rather hard-hearted Creole version of a widely collected folktale." [2] and the School Library Journal called it "a unique contribution to the American folktale repertoire" [3]

The Talking Eggs has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly , [4] and Booklist . [3]

Awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baba Yaga</span> Slavic mythological figure

Baba Yaga is an enigmatic or ambiguous character from Slavic folklore who has two opposite roles. In some motifs she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is a nice old woman who helps out the hero. She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a wooden mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut standing on chicken legs.

<i>Ellen Foster</i> 1987 novel by Kaye Gibbons

Ellen Foster is a 1987 novel by American novelist Kaye Gibbons. It was a selection of Oprah's Book Club in October 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Frog Princess</span> Fairy tale

The Frog Princess is a fairy tale that has multiple versions with various origins. It is classified as type 402, the animal bride, in the Aarne–Thompson index. Another tale of this type is the Norwegian Doll i' the Grass. Eastern European variants include the Frog Princess or Tsarevna Frog and also Vasilisa the Wise ; Alexander Afanasyev collected variants in his Narodnye russkie skazki, a collection which included folk tales from Ukraine and Belarus alongside Russian tales.

The Golden Crab is a Greek fairy tale collected as "Prinz Krebs" by Bernhard Schmidt in his Griechische Märchen, Sagen and Volkslieder. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Pinkney</span> American writer and childrens book illustrator (1939–2021)

Jerry Pinkney was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addressed diverse themes and were usually done in watercolors.

<i>East</i> (novel) 2003 novel by Edith Pattou

East is a 2003 young adult novel by Edith Pattou. It is an adaptation of an old Norwegian folk tale entitled "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and was a 2003 ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults. West, a sequel to East, was published in October 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovely Ilonka</span> Hungarian fairy tale

Lovely Ilonka is a Hungarian fairy tale published in Ungarische Märchen by Elisabet Róna-Sklarek. Andrew Lang included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Feather of Finist the Falcon</span> Russian fairy tale

The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. It is Aarne–Thompson type 432, the prince as bird. Other tales of this type include The Green Knight, The Blue Bird, and The Greenish Bird. Variants of the tale are primarily known in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)</span> Italian fairy tale

"The Love for the Three Oranges" or "The Three Citrons" is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. It is the concluding tale, and the one the heroine of the frame story uses to reveal that an imposter has taken her place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bawang Merah Bawang Putih</span> Indonesian folk tale

Bawang merah dan bawang putih is a popular traditional Indonesian folklore from Riau involving two siblings with opposite characters, and an unjust step mother. The folktale has similar themes and moral to the European folktale Cinderella.

"The Greenish Bird" is a Mexican fairy tale collected by Joel Gomez in La Encantada, Texas from a seventy-four-year-old woman, Mrs. P.E.

Sun, Moon and Morning Star is a Greek folktale collected and published in 1864 by Austrian consul Johann Georg von Hahn. It is related to the folkloric motif of the Calumniated Wife and classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children".

The story of the Princess Arab-Zandīq or The Story of ‘Arab-Zandīq is a modern Egyptian folktale collected in the late 19th century by Guillaume Spitta Bey. It is related to the theme of the calumniated wife and classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children".

The Tale of the Woodcutter and his Daughters is an Egyptian folktale related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom. It mostly follows subtype ATU 425D, "The Vanished Husband", which segues into tale type ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch", with the heroine's tasks for the supernatural husband's mother - subtypes of the more general type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband".

The King of the Snakes is a Chinese folktale published by John Macgowan in 1910. In it, a father gives his youngest daughter to a snake spirit, who turns out to be a human. Out of jealousy, the girl's sister conspires to take her place and kills her. The heroine, then, goes through a cycle of transformations, regains human form and takes revenge on her sister.

The White Wolf is a French-language fairy tale collected from Wallonia by authors Auguste Gittée and Jules Lemoine. It is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, wherein a human princess marries a prince under an animal curse, loses him and has to search for him.

The Man and the Girl at the Underground Mansion is a Danish folktale collected by theologue Nikolaj Christensen in the 19th century, but published in the 20th century by Danish folklorist Laurits Bodker.

Again, The Snake Bridegroom is a Serbian folktale collected in the 19th century by Serbian philologist Vuk Karadžić, featuring the marriage between a human maiden and a husband in serpent guise.

The Youth and the Maiden with Stars on their Foreheads and Crescents on their Breasts is an Albanian folktale. It is related to the theme of the calumniated wife and classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children".

Little Nightingale the Crier is a Palestinian Arab folktale collected by scholars Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana. It is related to the theme of the calumniated wife and classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children".

References

  1. ↑ Sally Snyder. "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale From the American South". www.commonsensemedia.org. Common Sense Media Inc. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The talking eggs : a folktale from the American South". Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. October 1, 1989. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Claire Gatrell Stephens (2000). Coretta Scott King Award Books: Using Great Literature with Children and Young Adults . Libraries Unlimited. p.  50. ISBN   9781563086854.
  6. ↑ "The Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature". ucalgary.ca. David K. Brown. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale from the American South, 1990 Caldecott Honor Book". ala.org. ALA. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.