Warning: There’s a beautiful fold-out page toward the end of the book. There’s very little indication that the page should be opened. Don’t miss this page...and don’t damage the book trying to open it the wrong way. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

Mother Tongue Notes: Great for Easter/Spring traditions. No religious references. The reading is fairly advanced (3rd class and up), but the pictures help earlier readers to follow several plot lines. Names and traditional egg decoration from several European cultures. I helped the students identify several flowers and trees depicted, and googled photographs to show more detail. Subplot of baby bird hatching can involve life cycle biology vocabulary.

Class 1-3: Draw a page-sized egg. Have students pick 1 word that reminds them of spring and write it in the egg. Color and decorate the egg with the illustrations from the book available for inspiration.

Class 4-6: Write haikus about spring. Students can write the haikus in the middle of a page-sized egg, then decorate the egg with the illustrations from the book available for inspiration.