The Egg Tree
The Egg Tree is a 1950 book by Katherine Milhous that won the 1951 Caldecott Medal.[1] It is based on the author's family tradition and tells the classic tale of a Pennsylvania Dutch Easter, with its main characters being Katy and Carl. One day, near Easter, they look for Easter eggs and found eggs that their grandmother had painted on a tree. They are interested, so they ask their grandmother about the eggs. They eventually create one, and it becomes a big success the next Easter.
Description
The book is illustrated, with the image of a rooster blowing a horn standing on a decorated Easter egg on the cover of the book. The illustration goes on through the book referencing the Pennsylvania Dutch traditions of art.[citation needed]
Plot
The book tells the story of two children named Katy and Carl. They are going to their grandmothers farm in Red Hills, Pennsylvania. This is the first time the children have the opportunity to spend Easter with their relatives from this part of the country, so they get to meet four of their cousins. The next morning the children wake up early to participate in the Easter egg hunt.
Katy has trouble finding the eggs in this new and unexplored environment, so she decides to explore inside the house. In the attic looking around Katy finds six beautifully painted eggs that she takes to her grandmother immediately. The grandmother expresses her joy by saying, "Katy may not have found the most eggs, but she found the most beautiful eggs."
Then the grandmother decides to decorate a tree with the eggs using them as an ornament. All the kids get inspired because of Katy's discovery and the grandmother's joy so they all decide to put special emphasis on their own decoration of the eggs. They decorated a large tree, and the next year one that was even larger.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews wrote, "This happy tale ... is enlivened by bright four colored illustrations and black and white decorations as spontaneous and colorful as a sunburst. The story is simple and charming"[2] while Horn Book stated, "Librarians and teachers will give a warm welcome", and concluded, "Katherine Milhous’ illustrations are some of her best."[3]
References
Awards | ||
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Preceded by | Caldecott Medal recipient 1951 | Succeeded by Finders Keepers |
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- Animals of the Bible (1938)
- Mei Li (1939)
- Abraham Lincoln (1940)
- They Were Strong and Good (1941)
- Make Way for Ducklings (1942)
- The Little House (1943)
- Many Moons (1944)
- Prayer for a Child (1945)
- The Rooster Crows (1946)
- The Little Island (1947)
- White Snow, Bright Snow (1948)
- The Big Snow (1949)
- Song of the Swallows (1950)
- The Egg Tree (1951)
- Finders Keepers (1952)
- The Biggest Bear (1953)
- Madeline's Rescue (1954)
- Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1955)
- Frog Went A-Courtin' (1956)
- A Tree Is Nice (1957)
- Time of Wonder (1958)
- Chanticleer and the Fox (1959)
- Nine Days to Christmas (1960)
- Baboushka and the Three Kings (1961)
- Once a Mouse (1962)
- The Snowy Day (1963)
- Where the Wild Things Are (1964)
- May I Bring a Friend? (1965)
- Always Room for One More (1966)
- Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (1967)
- Drummer Hoff (1968)
- The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1969)
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970)
- A Story, a Story (1971)
- One Fine Day (1972)
- The Funny Little Woman (1973)
- Duffy and the Devil (1974)
- Arrow to the Sun (1975)
- Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1976)
- Ashanti to Zulu (1977)
- Noah's Ark (1978)
- The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (1979)
- Ox-Cart Man (1980)
- Fables (1981)
- Jumanji (1982)
- Shadow (1983)
- The Glorious Flight (1984)
- Saint George and the Dragon (1985)
- The Polar Express (1986)
- Hey, Al (1987)
- Owl Moon (1988)
- Song and Dance Man (1989)
- Lon Po Po (1990)
- Black and White (1991)
- Tuesday (1992)
- Mirette on the High Wire (1993)
- Grandfather's Journey (1994)
- Smoky Night (1995)
- Officer Buckle and Gloria (1996)
- Golem (1997)
- Rapunzel (1998)
- Snowflake Bentley (1999)
- Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000)
- So You Want to Be President? (2001)
- The Three Pigs (2002)
- My Friend Rabbit (2003)
- The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004)
- Kitten's First Full Moon (2005)
- The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006)
- Flotsam (2007)
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008)
- The House in the Night (2009)
- The Lion & the Mouse (2010)
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011)
- A Ball for Daisy (2012)
- This is Not My Hat (2013)
- Locomotive (2014)
- The Adventures of Beekle (2015)
- Finding Winnie (2016)
- Radiant Child (2017)
- Wolf in the Snow (2018)
- Hello Lighthouse (2019)
- The Undefeated (2020)
- We Are Water Protectors (2021)
- Watercress (2022)
- Hot Dog (2023)
- Big (2024)
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