Hank Finds an Egg

K-Gr 2—This wordless picture book is set in Dudley's fanciful Storywoods forest. With photographs of dioramas, she tells the story of Hank, a bearlike stuffed animal who finds an egg that has fallen from its nest. He tries various means to return it to the nest but cannot quite reach. A log he rolls up to the trunk doesn't lift him high enough and neither does the ladder he crafts together with twigs and twine. So, he carries the egg off with him to his campsite and tucks in for the night. Dudley has done a particularly good job with the lighting in the charming campsite scenes. The next morning Hank carries the egg back to its tree, wraps it in foliage, and watches as the mother hummingbird flies it home. The eggs eventually hatch, and Hank has three new friends. What is most unique about this book is how the setting is constructed. Dudley uses felt, paper, stone, and a variety of other materials to create her dreamy world. This is a book that is suitable in a one-on-one setting, as readers will want to take time to look again and again at the fine detail in the photos.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA