繪本大師李歐．李奧尼經典《一顆奇特的蛋》An Extraordinary Egg

　　在卵石島住著三隻小青蛙，其中的Jessica最喜歡撿拾小石子，每個小石子都是那麼那麼特別，雖然其他同伴覺得實在不怎麼樣。但在一個不尋常的日子，Jessica發現了一顆又大又圓亮的卵石，這一次，其他青蛙果真眼睛一亮，自稱萬事通的Marilyn大聲說：『這不是卵石，這是一顆雞蛋』。幾天後雞蛋孵出一隻生物，他的名字當然就叫『小雞』囉！雖然這隻小雞有著長長的利嘴，以四隻腳爬行，喜歡游泳，還有尾巴，跟大人對『小雞』的認知顯然有點差距。故事最後由雞媽媽口中得知，『小雞』好像叫『鱷魚』，但這只是個名字，一點也不影響與青蛙的友誼。

　　作者藉由這則簡單的小故事，凸顯小朋友的一個發展特色。大人世界中，名稱與實物有種緊密的連結關係，但小朋友的想像力天馬行空，名詞在他們的世界中可以有多重巧妙的意義與連結。

It''s an extraordinary day on Pebble Island for three frogs when one of them discovers a beautiful white egg. They''ve never seen a chicken egg before, but they''re sure that''s what this must be. So when the egg hatches and out crawls a long green, scaly creature, they naturally call it . . . a chicken From award winning-artist Leo Lionni, here''s a hilarious case of mistaken identity that children are sure to delight in.

Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books: Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as ＂a master of the simple fable＂ by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89.