Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
In children’s picture books like this, often the pictures take centre stage with the text stating what the illustrations show. I don’t believe that is the situation in Sofie Laguna’s publication, The Last Egg. The water-coloured illustrations by Jess Racklyeft are beautifully presented and support the story rather than dominate it. The colours are muted facing a white page on which the story stands out making it easy to read and follow.
Having said that, there are a couple of pages with darker colours but they either have no text on them or the words are coloured appropriately so that they stand out from the background.
The storyline is educational as well as whimsical. It has a message of duty, loyalty and compassion.
This story is about birds and their nest in a tree. It explains how the parents look after their eggs until they hatch, and the young birds are mature enough to fend for themselves. It also shows the patterns in the life of birds as they respond to the seasons.
However, in this story, the parent birds cannot join the migration to warmer places because they have a responsibility to the strange large egg in their nest to keep it warm till it hatches.
Fortunately for the reader all ends well for these dedicated parent birds, but in this review I will not disclose how.
This is a lovely story with a strong message, easy to read with appropriate supporting illustrations.
Many books for young people by this author, Sofie Laguna, have been published worldwide and her work has been recognised here in Australia. Jess Racklyeft has also won several accolades for her illustrations and writing. She creates a variety of works such as picture books, paintings, pins and cards, mainly in watercolours.
The Last Egg
(2025)
by Sofie Laguna & Jess Racklyeft
Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 978-1761 180330
$24.99; 36pp