Last One in Is a Rotten Egg! (Gilbert and Friends)

Diane deGroat
HarperCollins (2011)
ISBN 9780060892968
Reviewed by Madison (age 4) and Hailey (age 2) Schlarman and Mom for Reader Views (3/11)

When Gilbert and Lola’s cousin Wally comes to visit, the children all learn a lesson in sharing and being kind.  Wally is all about winning!  Everything is a race.  When Gilbert tells Wally about the Easter egg hunt they are going to attend, Wally makes fun of it and says it won’t be any fun.  As soon as they arrive, however, Wally takes off in search of eggs, without noticing any of the other children he was being introduced to!  Soon Wally has the most eggs in his basket!  When Lola finds the special golden egg she has a problem to overcome!  Lola cannot reach the egg.  When Gilbert tries to help her, but is not tall enough he asks for Wally’s help.  Wally reaches the egg but keeps it for himself.  Lola is very upset as are all the other children.  Soon Gilbert gets an idea that solves all the problems and teaches Wally a lesson in being a good sport and sharing with others!

Madison:

“Wally comes to visit.  He burst open the door!  Last one in is a rotten egg!  Then they ate.  Mommy didn’t mind being a rotten egg.  Wally said ‘Last won in is a wotten egg’ with his mouth full.  They went to the park for the Easter egg hunt.  Wally said “Last one in is a rotten egg” - then they started the hunt.  Wally’s basket was almost full.  Gilbert gave more to Lola because her basket was almost empty.  That was kind.  They weren’t winning but they found the golden egg!  It was oval and golden bright!  Wally picked it up and put it in his basket but that wasn’t right.  Lola cried and Wally called her a tattletale.  So Wally went off and when he ran down the hill, he saw that he dropped all his eggs - even the golden egg.  The little sister won a big sugar egg with scenes inside.  Big brother won a basket with lots of candy and shared it!

It was good.  I learned you can’t steal other peoples stuff.  We should share.  I learned everything is not about winning.  It’s about having fun.  That’s why Wally was in the book.”

Hailey:

“I can read it to you just one time!  One day Wally came to visit.  He eats.  Wally didn’t want to hunt eggs.  All the girls and all the boys were hunting for eggs.  Then Wally found eggs.  He almost stepped on one too.  They couldn’t reach the golden egg.  We need someone to help and then he got the golden egg.  He didn’t give to Sally [Lola] and she cried, wah, wah, wah like that!  Then they were eating the golden eggs.  The end!”

Mom:

I really enjoyed this wonderful story!  The book is targeted at the 4-8 age group; however my two-year-old (34 months) was able to understand the story and what was taking place even though she didn’t quite grasp all the names of the characters.  She was able to understand when someone was mean or helpful, happy or sad.  Both of my daughters have enjoyed reading this book.  It has given us many opportunities to talk about kind behavior, sharing, sportsmanship and more.  I loved the illustrations this book offers as well.  They played a major part in my two-year-olds’ attention to the story.  I would recommend “Last One in Is a Rotten Egg!” for children ages 3-8 years of age.  It was a wonderful story-time read!

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