Nadine, Maud, Dora, and all of the other hens in the barnyard lay eggs. But P. Zonka is too busy wandering dreamily around the barnyard, noticing the beauty of nature, to lay an egg. None of the other chickens understand. Nadine even accuses her of being lazy. All of them encourage her to try, and try she finally does. “Flutter, flutter. Cluck, cluck. PUSH!” P. Zonka’s egg isn’t like any other egg in the barnyard. “There were patterns of sun yellow, grass green, tulip red. There were blues as bright as day and blues as dark as midnight.” It is, they all agree, beautiful. A playful picture book builds a story around the tradition of Ukranian decorated eggs (pysanka) in a highly original take on a barnyard tale. The simple yet elegant writing gives distinct personalities to each of the characters, while the gorgeous, vibrant illustrations are rendered in the style of pysanka folk-art. An added treat, and moment of wonderful discovery, is the small artist’s palette in the feathers on the side of P. Zonka’s head. (Ages 3–8)