First Born: Daisy Duckling's Adventure by Maurice Pledger

Daisy Duckling has just hatched. But something is missing! Where is everybody? An independent and determined little yellow duckling, Daisy sets out to find her family.

DAISY WANDERED ALONG UNTIL SHE NOTICED A NICE WHITE EGG LYING IN THE GRASS.

IT WAS JUST ABOUT TO HATCH. PERHAPS IT WAS ANOTHER DUCKLING!

In Marice Pledger's bright little board book, Daisy Duckling's Adventure (Silver Dolphin Books, 2014), Daisy finds a variety of eggs, all beneath cleverly constructed flaps, but strangely enough, none of them have another duckling like her inside.

Daisy's first find is large and leathery, but inside is the scaly Sammy Snake.  SSSSSSSS!

But Sammy is curious, too, and they set off together along the river bank in search of more eggs. There's a big one, almost covered in sand.

"ONLY ME!" SAID TIMMY TURTLE.

Timmy crawls out, ready to join the egg hunt, however, and  the next ovoid they encounter is even more surprising!

"CASEY CROCODILE! YOU'RE NO DUCKLING!"

By this time, Daisy is leading quite an egg delegation. There's a hopeful hunk of yellow fluff under that egg there....

But under that shell is Charlie Chick. And then... there are two bigger eggs, and from under their shells Daisy sees... Sally and Sydney Cygnet!

Lots of things are hatching all over, it seems, but Daisy is beginning to wonder if she's the only duckling to be found. Tired, she falls asleep with her friends until she's awakened by a new, but strangely familiar sound:

"QUACK!  QUACK!  QUACK!"

First-born Daisy finally finds her family, and introduces them to her other hatchling friends, in this jolly little lift-the-flap treatise on things that come from eggs. With touch-and-feel patches and sturdy flaps for young fingers, there's a little lesson on nature and a lot of fun in this nicely illustrated springtime story. Pair this new one with Jill Esbaum's endearing latest, I Hatched! (see review here) for a springsome twosome. Or for a hatch-batch, add Jennifer Ward's delightful die-cut egg book, What Will Hatch?  (see the review here) for an Easter egg-stravaganza.