Publishers Weekly
★ 01/12/2015
All of the chickens on the farm are efficient, regular egg-layers: “Maud laid one egg every day. Dora laid an egg every other day. Nadine always laid exactly five eggs a week.” The only exception (other than Gloria, who “turned out to be a rooster”) is henhouse romantic P. Zonka. Why won’t she lay eggs? “Because of the pale mornings, the soft dark moss, the stripes on the crocuses, the orange cat with one blue eye, the shining center of the dandelion, the sky at midnight,” she rhapsodizes about her farmyard surroundings. When P. Zonka finally does lay an egg, it’s as extraordinary as its poetic creator (“There were patterns of sun yellow, grass green, tulip red. There were blues as bright as day and blues as dark as midnight”). Paschkis’s (Apple Cake) curling lines form floral patterns, chicken feathers, and rooster plumes, evoking the decorations on Ukrainian pysanky Easter eggs, which she describes in an endnote (and which give P. Zonka her name). A lyrical and lushly illustrated allegory about creativity and taking time to notice beauty. Ages 4–8. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"If every picture book is a little world unto itself, P. Zonka Lays an Egg is a place where the skies are forever bright and all things radiate delicious hues." —The Wall Street Journal
★ "[A] tale of the dividends of daydreaming, beautifully enhanced by colors and designs that shout "Spring!" to a winter-weary world. Charming, unusual and sure to induce smiles." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
★ "A lyrical and lushly illustrated allegory about creativity and taking time to notice beauty." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
★ "Vibrant watercolor illustrations. . . burst from the pages to draw viewers in to share P. Zonka's delight with the colors and patterns of her world. A first-rate selection" —School Library Journal, Starred Review
School Library Journal
★ 02/01/2015
K-Gr 3—While other hens lay eggs regularly and the rooster crows encouragement, P. Zonka wanders through the farmyard observing the world around her. The hen marvels at the grass and sky and urges her friends to appreciate the flowers. After they persuade her to try to lay an egg, she produces a spectacular multicolored creation, incorporating patterns that she has seen and imagined. The artistic chicken's name is no accident. An author's note explains that a pysanka is a Ukrainian decorated egg. Vibrant watercolor illustrations bring to mind folk-art decor and Chagall paintings. They burst from the pages to draw viewers in to share P. Zonka's delight with the colors and patterns of her world. The oversize format lends itself to read-aloud participation with follow-up decoration of real or paper eggs. Although Paschkis does not mention the tie of pysanka to Easter, those who want to make the connection to another culture's Easter egg painting could also use Katherine Milhous's The Egg Tree, the 1951 Caldecott winner. VERDICT A first-rate selection for most collections.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2015-01-10
Hen P. Zonka annoys the other chickens in the yard: Instead of laying eggs, she spends her time carefully observing, and marveling at, the natural world around her. At the start, readers learn the egg-laying habits of hens Maud, Dora and Nadine. Only Gloria is exempt from egg-laying expectations, "because he turned out to be a rooster. It was his job and he did it well." When the other hens press P. Zonka to explain why she won't lay an egg, a particularly vibrant double-page spread illustrates her poetic list of reasons: "I will tell you why," it opens, ending with, "the orange cat with one blue eye, the shining center of a dandelion, the sky at midnight." Unconvinced, her feathered cohorts pressure P. Zonka to at least try to lay an egg, and she finally does—with a result that surprises and delights everyone. Every page turn reveals a stunning new composition of fowls with personality, baskets of eggs and floral design elements evocative of…of course…the beautiful folk art found on a Ukrainian decorated egg, also known as a pysanka. Even those who do not appreciate the play on words are sure to enjoy this tale of the dividends of daydreaming, beautifully enhanced by colors and designs that shout "Spring!" to a winter-weary world. Charming, unusual and sure to induce smiles. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-7)
