Eggs From Red Hen Farm: Farm To Table With Mazes And Maps by Monica Wellington

I am just wildly in love with Monica Wellington’s American folk art style throughout the pages of this wonderfully interactive children’s book. It can sometimes be a struggle to get my younger kids to sit with me for the duration of an entire tome, but my youngest especially was thoroughly engaged by the clever art and fun mazes and search puzzles of this delightful picture book.

The story revolves around Red Hen Farm, run by Ruby and Ned, on a typical day. They collect eggs, then go about selling and delivering them, whether it be at the farmer’s market or in town. We follow Ruby in the farm’s little red truck as she drops off Ned at the market, then goes to the businesses that need her wares, before heading back to collect Ned and end the day on a pleasant surprise back at the farm with their animal friends, with a sweet gift from one of their clients.

The text of this engaging book meshes perfectly with the illustrations, as readers map Ruby’s journey and look for the different locations and routes. I had loads of fun matching the text to the pictures with my kids, and that’s even without appreciating the artwork as an adult lover of aesthetics. The maps and layouts are just astonishingly beautiful, with a predominant palette of orange and green, which combination has no business being as visually appealing as it is. Ms Wellington is truly gifted in both art and design.

I sometimes wonder whether there were never books like this around when I was a kid, or whether I just never truly appreciated art back then, so absorbed was I in devouring the text. Regardless, this book is a treasure trove for readers of all ages, depicting a modern story of egg-farming and -selling with some of the most outstanding, engaging art in a children’s book I’ve yet had the pleasure to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Eggs From Red Hen Farm: Farm To Table With Mazes And Maps by Monica Wellington was published today March 1 2022 by Holiday House and is available from all good booksellers, including