The Talking Eggs

by Robert D. San Souci; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Book reviews Story Characters Use of Magic Country of origin & printable map Related Books

Horn Book starred, February, 1990
Adapted from a Creole folk tale, the story captures the flavor of the nineteenth-century South in its language and story line. The watercolors are chiefly responsible for the excellence of the book. Review, p. 782.

Kirkus Review, 1989
A lively retelling of a rather hard-hearted Creole version of a widely collected folktale. Blanche does all the work while her mother and older sister Rose put on airs and treat her cruelly. To repay a kindness, a mysterious old woman leads Blanche to her magical shack deep in the backwoods, where the chickens have rainbow colors, the two-headed cow brays like a mule, and nattily dressed rabbits dance. As Blanche leaves the next morning, the woman tells her to help herself to any eggs that say “Take me.” Though these prove to be the plainer-looking eggs, they yield great treasures on the journey home. Seeing her younger sister’s wealth, Rose sets out to duplicate it, but behaving in her usual high-handed fashion wins her a fair reward: her eggs hatch snakes, frogs, yellow jackets, and a wolf. Blanche moves to the city, leaving Rose and her mother fruitlessly searching for the old woman. Pinkney sets the story in an eerily tangled southern forest; his black characters glow with personality, each one distinct and believable, while the cow and chickens are rendered so matter-of-factly that it takes more than one look to discern their unusual features. Blanche’s gentle ingenuousness may seem at odds with her ready abandonment of her family, but that traditional ending does keep the thematic waters unmuddied.

Publishers Weekly, August 11, 1989
In this adaptation of a Creole folktale, Blanche is kind, loving and patient, but her older sister Rose takes after their mean, sneaky mother. One day Blanche befriends a hideous old ``aunty’’ on a path near her home and is rewarded with magic eggs. Of course, Rose and the girls’ mother are beside themselves with envy, and Rose sets out to snag some eggs of her own. But greedy Rose’s cruel nature gets her into trouble. She torments the old lady, grabs the wrong eggs and ends up “angry, sore and stung.” Pinkney’s exquisitely wrought illustrations are close cousins to those in his Caldecott Honor Book Mirandy and Brother Wind , with similar woodlands and soft farmyard settings of the rural South. When the magic begins, the witch takes off her head, dressed-up rabbits do the Virginia reel and eggs begin to chatter. There are some spectacular scenes here. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

School Library Journal, September 1989
K-Gr 3-- This adaptation of a Creole folktale contains familiar European fairy tale elements, but certainly stands on its own and is a unique contribution to the American folktale repertoire. In imagistic language spiced with Southern folk flavor, San Souci tells of a cruel mother and her two daughters, Blanche and Rose. Rose is just like her mother, while Blanche is good and kind, and consequently abused. One day Blanche meets an old woman and treats her with a “spirit of do-right.” Soon they meet again, when Blanche runs away from mistreatment and the old woman takes her back to her house. And what marvels Blanche finds there--a two-headed cow, multi-colored chickens, abundant food from nothing, a hostess who takes off her head to comb her hair (the illustrations spare readers most of this last detail), and a glorious scene of rabbits engaged in country dancing. For being obedient, Blanche is rewarded with magic talking eggs that turn into everything she’s ever wanted. As expected, her greedy family wants to get in on the action, but Rose, of course, fails to follow the old woman’s instructions, and gets nothing but a plague of snakes, toads, frogs, and the like. This lesson about virtue rewarded and greed punished is illustrated with Pinkney’s lush, detailed watercolor and pencil art, which literally interprets the story and provides abundant detail. The characters are black, the setting rural, and the themes universal. --Leda Schubert, Vermont Department of Education, Montpelier

There was a widow with two daughters, Rose and Blanche. Rose was mean, and Blanche was sweet. However, their mother liked Rose the best because they were so similar. Therefore, she made Blanche do all of the work.

One day, the mother sent Blanche to get water from the well. Here she met an old woman who asked for a drink. When Blanche returned, the water was warm. So, her mother and sister yelled at her and hit her until she ran away.

Blanche soon found the old woman again who promised to take her home if she promised not to laugh at anything she saw. When she arrived, she saw many strange things, but did not laugh at any of them. Therefore, she saw many magical things.

When she woke the next morning, the old woman told her to go to the chicken house and take all of the eggs that say take me and to leave the ones that say don’t take me. When all the beautiful eggs said don’t take me, Blanche was disappointed but she followed the instructions of the old woman. When she broke open the eggs, she was rewarded with many beautiful things.

When she returned home, her mother and Rose were so impressed with the new things that her mother made Rose look for the old woman.

When Rose found the old woman, she also had to promise not to laugh at anything she saw. However, she did not keep her promise and did not witness the magical things that her sister did.

The old woman removed her head to brush her hair. Rose stole it and threatened not to return it until she received the same beautiful things as her sister. The old woman gave her the same instructions on the eggs. Rose did not listen and she picked up all of the beautiful eggs that said don’t take me. When she opened her eggs, a swarm of things chased her. She ran to her mother who tried to rescue her, but who was also chased.

When they returned, Blanche was gone to the city. Rose and her mother never saw the old woman again.

Blanche - She is sweet and kind. She does what she is told. She is rewarded for her kindness by the old woman.

Rose - She is bad tempered and mean. She does not listen, and is punished for her actions by the old woman.

Mother - She is bad tempered. She favors Rose over Blanche. She is also punished for her behavior by the old woman.

Old Woman - She is magical. She takes care of Blanche.

The old woman’s home is full of magic. There is a cow with two heads. Chickens of every color, magical food, magical eggs, and a magical woman.

When the old woman tells Blanche to milk the two-headed cow, she does as she is told. She does not laugh, and the cow gives her sweet milk. When Rose is told to milk the cow, she laughs at it. Therefore, the cow gave her sour milk.

When Blanche sees the chickens of every color, she does not laugh. Rose pointed and mocked them.

Inside the cabin, Blanche is told to put an old beef bone in a pot and cook some soup. She was given a grain of rice and told to pound it with the pestle. She does as she is told and she receives a hearty meal. When Rose is given the same instructions, she complains and ends up going to bed hungry.

The talking eggs gave Blanche wonderful presents because she listened and did what she was told. Rose did not listen and she is given nasty creatures that try and eat her.

Go to a Printable Map of The United States from National Geographic

According to Deborah Kent, “children from poor families were not expected to learn to read or write” (Kent 28). This is eminent throughout the book in the dialect sentences such as “you got a sprit of do right in your soul” appears often in this story suggesting a possible lack of education.

Clothes were rough and homespun. Children usually wore hand-me-down clothing until they fell apart (Kent 23). This is not present in the story, itself, but can definitely be seen in the illustrations.

Most people or southern farms were isolated. Therefore, strangers were often welcomed at nearly any plantation (Kent 49). This is present when the old woman allows the children, both Blanche and Rose, to stay at her home. She has no reservations about taking in either of these children.

A roaring hot fire was used for cooking (Kent 16). This explains the meal the old woman has both Blanche and Rose make over the open fire.

Kent, Deborah. How we Lived in the Southern Colonies. New York: Benchmark Books, 2000.