Hunwick's Egg

Bibliography

Fox, Mem. 2005. HUNWICK’S EGG. Ill. Pamela Lofts. Florida: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152163182

Summary

After a wild storm rolls through the dusty desert, Hunwick, an old bandicoot finds a curious egg. Hunwick calls upon his neighbors Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo, but none of them knew who the egg belonged to. Hunwick took the egg back to his burrow and began to watch over it. He talked to the egg and wondered if it would ever hatch. Eventually Hunwick’s neighbors began to worry about Hunwick because they knew that egg would never hatch. But clever little Hunwick had already guessed that the egg was not an egg, but that of a stone and he loved it anyway.

Critical Analysis

Mem Fox does a beautiful job capturing the Australian desert in this short story. The main character in this story is Hunwick, a bandicoot or bilby. The bilby is an endangered animal that burrows in the desert land and forages for food at night. This idea carries over into the story. “Each evening before he went out to find food, Hunwick covered the egg with twigs.” Hunwick’s friends, Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo, are also found in the Australian desert. These cultural markers help create this authentic Australian picture book.

Readers will enjoy reading about Hunwick’s friendship. They get to see how the friendship grows and becomes a strong bond. When Hunwick learns that the egg is really not an egg at all, but a perfect stone instead, he doesn’t mind. “I love it as it is.” This is a wonderful lesson to learn.

Lofts’ uses bright watercolors to recreate the landscape of the Australian desert. The images of the animals and plant life closely resemble the actual objects. Hunwick’s sad dopey eyes and his big ears are loveable and the image of him burrowed with the egg is heartwarming. Children will appreciate the full page view of the Emu, Echidna, and Cockatoo. Plant life and small insects crawl across the pages, while the story of Hunwick is captured on each page in a smaller illustrated box. This story displays rich colors of deep blues and purples to depict the night and the bright reds of the desert sand.

Reviews

School Library Journal review: “This slightly offbeat story with a universal message about the power of friendship is accompanied by glowing watercolor pencil illustrations in orange, pink, and violet tones that showcase the flora and fauna of the Australian landscape, adding an interesting element to this charming title. Young readers will appreciate Hunwick's loyalty and may be curious to learn more about the exotic animals portrayed in the lovely artwork.”

Booklist review: “The abrupt conclusion is puzzling, and the layouts, featuring small inset scenes surrounded by creatures and plants set against white backgrounds, don't always make the most of Lofts' striking, detailed, colored-pencil art. But children will easily be drawn to Lofts' astonishingly expressive animal characters, and Fox's gentle text may resonate with young ones who feel a magical connection or companionship with their own cherished rock, shell, or shred of blanket.”

Connection

Although this story is fictional, it represents cultural markers found in the Australian desert. This book would be great to pair with a non-fiction read on desert life. Students could pick out plant and animal life that are found in the desert. The discussion of nocturnal living could also be addressed.

Other books by this author include:

Fox, Mem. KOALA LOU. ISBN 0152005021

Fox, Mem. POSSUM MAGIC. ISBN 0152005722