Early one morning by Mem Fox and Christine Davenier

With Mem Fox's succinct words forming a gentle refrain across each double page, small children will delight in the adventure of finding something for breakfast on the farm. It is early morning and the child is seen waving goodbye to his mother standing on the verandah. He wanders around the farm, looking for something that has been laid. The haystack will not do, neither does the tractor or the pig, as he strides on, confidently pursuing his quest. He checks out a range of farm implements and animals, followed the whole time by a most attentive rooster, until he finally arrives back at the farm, with a chook house nearby. Here, of course, he finds exactly what he is looking for. And he brings the eggs into his mother and they sit for breakfast, eating their boiled eggs.

This understated story sings with the sights and sounds of a farm and its environs as the lad walks around the place, pointing out the features of his farm. Young children will love seeing the different aspects of farm life, see a family during the morning routine, eating breakfast.

The charming illustrations reflect the minutia of farm life: the boy's overalls, the farm trucks, its many animals, the land it is on, the boy's relationship with the animals he sees. And all bathed in a warm morning glow of sunrise and soft hued clouds.

Children will delight in predicting what object or animals the boy will visit next, and call out that the rooster is behind him, following in his tracks, Small children will know from the word what he is looking for and offer suggestions about where an egg might be found on the farm.

For city kids this book will be a revelation of country life, and encourage their questioning about what happens there.

Themes: Family, Farm life, Rural Australia, Eggs, Breakfast, Adventure.

Fran Knight