Is this your egg? Animal life cycles on the beach

Henry the Hermit crab is on a mission. He finds a small egg and must travel through the mudflats, the hot sand and the tall grass to find it a home. Where will it belong when it hatches?

Is this Your Egg? by Ella Kris is one of 12 Stories for Little Queenslanders picture books published by State Library of Queensland as part of  the Queensland Government funded First 5 Forever initiative. Each book uses local language and content to promote early literacy and inspire a love of reading for children 0-5.

Why this is a good book to share

Research shows that information books are appropriate for young children and have many benefits. Books with facts are just as important as picture books for young children in their early literacy journey (Information Books in Early Childhood by National Association for the Education of Young Children).

This book about eggs and the creatures they come from is a fun way for children to learn about lifecycles, differences and animal life on the beach. 

About the book

Set on a Queensland beach a young crab encounters a range of animals including terns, snakes, crabs, crocodiles and goannas in his search for the owner of an egg. The beautiful drawings of the different animals and their eggs will encourage children to learn more about animal habitats. There are Meriam Mer words such as Kerkeri and Kebi Baug for each animal for children to try.

Ideas for sharing this book at home

• Start with the beautiful end papers and how the story begins there.
• Enjoy sharing the words from the Miriam Mer language out loud and talk about languages and how they work.  
• Use different voices for different characters when sharing this story with your child. Which one does your child like best?
• Don’t skip new words like sand dunes, goannas, hatch and mudflats. Talk about the images to support the understanding of new words for children.
• Encourage children to join in the refrain: “Is this your egg? No...!”

The Corner at Home activity ideas

Paperclip trains: join Tom as he creates a paperclip train as impressive as it is long. We will encourage children to explore and construct their own designs in this fun and friendly open-ended play activity.

About the author

Ella Kris was born and raised on Thursday Island. She grew up without technology and enjoyed having time to listen, read and create. Now she paints words to tell stories.

About the illustrator

Emma Cracknell was born in Boonah, a small country town in Queensland, and now lives in Ipswich, west of Brisbane. A self-taught artist, she works mostly with traditional media such as watercolour, gouache paints and pencil sketches. Her niche as an illustrator is in Australian flora and fauna.