Two Amish girls find an unusual egg and add it to the clutch under the family hen, unwittingly causing an event that they later fear will bring shame to their family - the birth of a bird that is definitely not 'plain.' A lively story in a nontraditional setting that is depicted faithfully in both text and illustration.

K-Gr 3-- Polacco's clear, lively, watercolor/pastel crayon illustrations play with varying perspectives in a way calculated to draw children into a world of order and simplicity: the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Readers are introduced to Naomi and Ruth, Amish sisters, aged about ten and four. One day, while searching for mislaid eggs, Naomi tells Ruth that she longs for something fancy'' in her otherwiseplain'' life. Her wish is fulfilled when the girls discover an unusual egg. When it is hatched, a very special chick emerges, appropriately named Fancy. Fearing that he will be considered an outcast because he is too fancy to be Amish, the girls keep their pet a secret for nearly a year. Finally, at a summer working bee, the bird can be contained no longer. He spreads his glorious plumage across two whole pages, and readers and the elders discover that he is a very handsome peacock. One of the elders calms Naomi's fears, telling her that a peacock is God's handiwork and that there can be no shame in their pet's being what he was meant to be. Brimming with details of Amish farm life, the illustrations are bound to inform as they entertain. The characters' expressive faces, the energy of the drawings, and the appropriateness of composition to mood and content of the story all unite to make this a picture book that's sure to tickle readers' fancy. --Carey Ayres, Port Washington Public Library, NY