Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching

A chick named Peep can’t wait for her sibling to hatch, but Egg has plenty of reasons to stay in his shell. Peep tries to tempt Egg with visions of everything they’ll do together, but splashing in puddles is “too wet,” and playing hide and seek with the pigs and sheep is “too loud.” Peep tries to stay upbeat, but when she puts her wings on her hips and scowls, readers will know that she isn’t going to beg forever. “Okay, I guess you’re not ready.... See ya later,” Peep tells Egg, who promptly realizes he had better hatch after all. Gehl’s (Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel) just-enough text delivers a spot-on channeling of a coaxing parent and oppositional child, while Wan (The Whale in My Swimming Pool) blends expressive emoji-like characters (even unhatched, Egg has a vividly cranky personality) with ingeniously geometric settings. A scene in which Peep and Egg imagine watching a sunrise together is a marvelous array of shapes and lines. Ages 2–6. [em]Author’s agent: Erzsi Deàk, Hen & Ink Literary Studio. Illustrator’s agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency. (Feb.) [/em]