In this animal kingdom comedy sketch, first published in France, a frog, snake, eagle, and lizard try to lay claim to an orphaned egg, in hopes of enjoying it as a tasty treat. Each contender successfully uses the advantage of its bigger size to intimidate the previous owner (the snake cheats by balancing on its coiled self). But the egg's desirability plummets when a struggle sends it flying straight into an elephant's noggin, who demands, in full (and fully recognizable) angry parent mode, "Whose is this?" Van Zeveren, a genial cartoonist with a knack for expressive eyes, composes the action along a single plane with minimal propping and background, emphasizing the shifting ownership and progressive size of the combatants. He ties up his story with two nice comic ribbons: after the frightened animals tell the elephant that the egg belongs to the frog, the elephant returns it to him with a kindly, "Well then, here you are." The closing gag, meanwhile, underscores the timeless wisdom of "Be careful what you ask for." A slight entertainment, but a durable one. Ages 3-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Exactly what's inside that little egg left unattended in the mighty jungle? A small green frog peeks out from some leaves at a white egg about his own size. "That's mine!" he declares. A split second later, a long brown snake hisses its way into the picture from above, claiming the egg for himself. Then an eagle flies down with the same assertion. Before he can fly away with the egg, a lizard comes to take it. They fight, and the egg flies through the air. It bounces off the head of an elephant, miraculously not breaking. The elephant reacts with an enormous "Ouch!" When the angry pachyderm turns to ask to whom the egg belongs, each animal passes the buck, the lizard to the eagle to the snake and, finally, back to the little frog. The elephant politely returns the egg, to the chagrin of the others, who leave. Readers may find themselves chagrined, too, at the sudden deflation of tension. What gives? A second later, the egg starts to crack; inside is not a baby frog, but a crocodile. She does look like the frog and rushes towards him with open arms, crying "Mine!" With the exception of the cute little frog, Van Zeveren's text and pictures are both eminently forgettable. A long, drawn-out setup that leads to a punch line so understated many kids won't get it. (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-K-A frog claims that an egg he finds in the jungle is his. Along comes a snake, "...ssssmine," he says. One after the other, animals of increasing size lay claim to the egg, but the eagle fights back when the lizard wrestles it away. During their tussle, the egg goes airborne and lands on an elephant's head, giving him a painful lump. When he enquires as to the owner of the object, the blame goes back down through the chain of animals. The elephant graciously returns the egg to the gleeful frog, much to the consternation of the others. And then a crocodile hatches. "Mine!" she cries, and the frog is on the run. The illustrations are the best part of this book. Everything is outlined in a thin black line, the animals have expressive faces, and the background is mainly white space with a bit of ground and greenery. The pictures make the book look attractive to young children, as does the repetition of "mine," but the ending can be alarming if one knows that crocodiles eat frogs.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.