The Talking Eggs

I really loved this book and the magical feeling that it invoked in the reader. ( )

Blanche is a sweet little girl who is kind and obedient but is treated like a slave by her mother and older sister, Rose. One day Blanche meets a witch in the forest and after following her every command, is given all the riches she could want and escapes her horrible mother and sister. Rose tries to get riches as well, but does not follow the witch's directions and ends up with frightening consequences.

I read this book in elementary school. Rose and Blanche were sisters who were totally different. This tells me that you should wait and be patient no matter what because the storm will not last forever. This was a great book about folk tale. ( )

Based on a Creole folktale first collected by Alcee Fortier in 19th century Louisiana, The Talking Eggs is the story of two sisters - the lazy, unpleasant Rose, and the hard-working, kindhearted Blanche - and the very different rewards they are given, for their very different behavior, while a guest in the home of a powerful old witch-woman. Blanche, who is much put upon by her mother and sister, follows the witch's instructions to the letter, politely refraining from laughing at the old woman's two-headed cow and colorful chickens, cooking the dinner just as she is told to do, and taking the magical eggs (the ones that say "take me") she has been offered. Rose, on the other hand, is pointedly rude about the witch's odd animal companions, complains about the dinner (which doesn't turn out nearly as well as Blanche's), and grabs the jeweled eggs she has not been given leave to take. Predictably, one sister is rewarded with wealth and fortune, and the other with a retinue of snakes, wasps and wolves, that pursues her home...

An example of the "Kind and Unkind Girl" tale type - number 480, in the Aarne-Thompson folklore classification system, - The Talking Eggs appears, according to Robert D. San Souci's brief introductory note, to have European antecedents, but to have been adapted by a variety of African communities in the Americas, from the Louisiana Creole to the Gullah peoples. That makes a lot of sense to me, as this tale is so strongly reminiscent of French stories like Toads and Diamonds, or German ones like Mother Holly. Leaving aside issues of comparative folklore (although I am glad that the author mentioned his source material), this is just an engaging story in its own right, and will appeal to those who appreciate magical tales, and stories of the worthy and unworthy getting their just deserts. I don't know that Jerry Pinkney is my all-time favorite illustrator, but his artwork here was very appealing, and deserved the Caldecott Honor it won, I think. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, and to fans of Pinkney's artwork. ( )

Genre: Folktale
Critiques: This is a folktale because it is an adapted Creole folktale from the American South. Furthermore, it has been passed down orally, and it states that the author is retelling the story.
The mother in this story is the static antagonist because she remains greedy and wicked to her daughter, Blanche throughout the whole story. She is an opposing and hostile character that causes trouble and distress to her daughter (the main character).
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