THE EGGBEES

On a distant but somehow familiar planet the family EGGerson welcome the MEGGañas, relatives from MEGGxico, for a visit. Young EGGelbert is initially surprised that their shells are “a beautiful brown color, not white like his”—EGGelbert and his clan are actually more of a sallow gray—but after collective playtimes, visits to the MusEGGseum and elsewhere, an introduction to the family dEEG [sic], and shared meals (“Can you think of any more round MEGGxican foods?” a sudden authorial voice enquires), all agree that “An EGGbee by any other name or color is sill [sic] an EGGbee!” Echeverria Gyorkos illustrates her sister’s bland and sketchy episode with appropriately unsophisticated scenes featuring digitally generated eggs with big-eyed human faces floating over generic, click-and-fill backgrounds. The theme’s worthy enough, but the one-note wordplay and amateurish pictures make it unlikely that children will bEGG for more than a brief EGGsposure. (Picture book. 6-8)