Small, Speckled Egg

A fact-filled picture book about the life cycle of a bird, with fold-out migration map of the world (ages 4-8)

Mary Auld author Anna Terreros-Martin illustrator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Mama Makes Books

Published:15th Aug '23

Should be back in stock very soon

Small, Speckled Egg cover

From a tiny egg, follow the life of an Arctic tern chick as she grows, learns to feed and fly, and then travels from the top of the world to the bottom in one of the longest annual migrations of any animal.

This book will feed the curiosity of the youngest of readers who are:

  • keen to know how the world works
  • fascinated by nature 
  • enjoy learning new information

The story is carefully written for children learning to read, with additional factual captions for more advanced readers.

And here’s the WOW-factor – a large fold-out world map at the end with diagrams and a fun I-Spy game to take children back into the book to find and identify animals in the pictures.

Small, Speckled Egg is part of the Start Small, Think Big series of science-based picture books:

  • Aimed at children aged 4 to 8
  • Covers KS1 primary science subjects that children learn at school 
  • High-quality educational content, beautifully illustrated

Small, Speckled Egg explores the life cycle of birds, parts of a bird, how they bring up their young, sleep on the wing, and navigate in flight. It teaches us about polar regions and how our seasons affect them, and the unique wildlife that live on the ice and in the oceans and why it needs protecting.

Each book in the series is set in a different habitat and part of the world:
Small, Sparkling Raindrop (Southeast Asia/wetlands and the water cycle)
Small, Speckled Egg (polar regions and the life cycle of an Arctic tern)
Little, Brown Nut (Amazon rainforest and the life cycle of a Brazil Nut tree)
Tiny, Floating Coral (Great Barrier Reef and the life cycle of coral)
Fluffy, Flying Seed (meadowlands and the life cycle of a dandelion)
Small, Shiny Dung Beetle (African savannah and the life cycle of an insect)

Build your own life cycle library with this series, a brilliant addition to any home or school bookshelf. 

Printed on FSC paper from sustainable forests.

A thrilling and innovative book from exciting, young and independent children's publisher Mama Makes Books... With its blend of fascinating facts about the lifecycle of a bird, food chains, migration, seasons and polar regions, and the stunning artwork of Anna Terreros-Martin to bring the tern and her chilly world to life, this is a dazzling addition to any home, school or library.

-- Pam Norfolk * Lancashire Post *

With a cut-out cover and clever fold-out map at the end, this attractively illustrated book tells young children all about the Arctic tern. Not only do we learn about terns but we see the some of the other animals, birds and sea creatures they pass on their long journeys. The tern’s voice is friendly and direct, explanations are perfectly pitched for young children and the illustrations convey extra information. A carefully-thought-out and very appealing information story book.

-- Andrea Reece * LoveReading4Kids *

Beautifully written informative and gorgeously illustrated, this book is truly unique, featuring a giant fold-out map in the end and is filled with interesting facts about this incredible bird.

* @thekidsbookstagrammer *

Each page is jam-packed with detailed information and mind-boggling facts about what we can expect to occur at each life stage. The illustrations are serenely stunning.

* @lightsoutwithlouise *

Written as a narrative to support Science topics of KS1 Science, this also includes lots of extra facts to dig into on each page and a huge fold our map inside the back cover!

* @mini.midnight.reads *

Ideal for reading aloud or independently, with an I-spy game and fold-out map.

* Chris Routh, @writeaboutbooks *

Small, Speckled Egg would work perfectly for classrooms who are covering polar regions or habitats as a theme or topic. It would also fit in well with KS1 science or geography areas of learning. This is also a perfect book for sharing at home, using the text to open up discussions and questions, as well as being fantastic for learning specific vocabulary and names of polar animals.

-- Claire Tidy * Just Imagine *

The book takes on both a story and factual element. You can follow the story in bold at the top of each page as well as finding out extra factual information on every page, a feature I really liked and have read both ways. The book is beautifully laid out with exquisite illustrations from Anna Terreros-Martin and easy to follow information. I particularly liked the compass at the top of each page showing which month we are in following the egg's journey.

-- Lauren Maidman, Teacher * ReadingZo

ISBN: 9781739774875

Dimensions: 230mm x 230mm x 10mm

Weight: 337g

28 pages