The Enormous Egg

Young Nate Twitchell is surprised when one of the hens on his family farm lays a giant egg. After a painstaking wait, Nate is even more surprised when it hatches and out pops a baby triceratops that he names Uncle Beazley! But when Nate decides to keep the dino and raise it on his own, he has no idea what he's getting himself into. As Uncle Beazley grows, Nate and his family realize they are not equipped to take care of a full-sized dinosaur, and so with the help of their scientist friend, Nate and Uncle Beazley set off for the NationalMuseum in Washington, D.C., on the hunt for the perfect home for a modern-day dinosaur---then the real trouble begins!

Extremely funny story about a boy who finds a chicken has laid an enormous egg which turns out to be a triceratops. A friendly palaeontologist advising him on raising it, and when it is given to the National Zoo, a senator offers a bill in Congress to get rid of it, but the boy goes on TV and makes an appeal, and the firestorm of response saves the dinosaur --surprisingly sophisticated politics for a children's story, Very nice amusing illustrations which catch the triceratops' [personality well.

Who knew I'd be recommending a children's book--LT has truly broadened my reading interests. I learned about The Enormous Egg from a recent article on "comfort" books on the NPR website.

Oliver Butterworth (love the name) wrote The Enormous Egg in 1956. It's the story of Nate Twitchell, a twelve-year old boy living on a farm in New Hampshire whose chicken lays a huge egg that hatches out as a baby dinosaur (a Triceratops, to be exact), which Nate names Uncle Beazley. With the help of Dr. Zeimer, a vacationing paleontologist from Washingon, DC that Nate meets while out fishing, Nate cares for Uncle Beazley and navigates the media frenzy that develops when word leaks out about the birth of a live dinosaur. Uncle Beazley doubles in size show more almost everyday and, with the approaching winter, Dr. Zeimer convinces Nate that moving him to the National Museum in Washington, DC is in his best interests. Once in Washington, government funding is required to pay for Uncle Beazley's care and Nate goes up against Senator Granderson who wants to outlaw all dinosaurs from the United States.

This is definitely a comfort book, probably best read with milk and cookies, and contains words like "jeepers", "fooey" and "slidy" (to describe how the dinosaur's skin felt). It's very well-written and while dated in some ways (the important people are all white men), it's eerily current in other ways (the media frenzy and the political posturing in Washington).

Recommended for kids of all ages. 4 stars. show less

I enjoyed the early parts of this book - quaint farm life turned upside down when an unusual egg is found in the hen house. We lost some steam for the plot towards the end. I would recommend it as a read aloud to anyone who has a dino fan among their listeners as I am sure it would spark some interest.

One of my childhood favorites. I was fascinated by dinosaurs and the idea of hatching your one of own was the ultimate fantasy. "The Enormous Egg" inspired me to fill a plastic garbage full of paper and keep it near the radiator in the hopes it would somehow "hatch." Alas, I was crushed when my by feeble experiment disappointed, but luckily the book didn't.

Great fun! An old fashioned children's story. I loved the way he fit in a trip to Washington DC and how the congress works. Fun how mom was always concerned about the orderly running of everyday life over the chaos around her. This might be a good one for my Vintage Book Circle when we can finally meet again!

Young Nate Twitchell is surprised when one of the hens on his family farm lays a giant egg. After a painstaking wait, Nate is even more surprised when it hatches and out pops a baby triceratops that he names Uncle Beazley! But when Nate decides to keep the dino and raise it on his own, he has no idea what he's getting himself into. As Uncle Beazley grows, Nate and his family realize they are not equipped to take care of a full-sized dinosaur, and so with the help of their scientist friend, Nate and Uncle Beazley set off for the National Museum in Washington, D.C., on the hunt for the perfect home for a modern-day dinosaur---then the real trouble begins!

The Enormous Egg was originally published in 1956 and has been a classic in show more children's literature ever since. show less