Last One in Is a Rotten Egg! (Gilbert the Opossum) by Diane deGroat

Last One in Is a Rotten Egg! (Gilbert the Opossum) Reviews

• 
  Melki

  It seems as though Gilbert's overbearing cousin Wally may ruin the egg hunt unless Gilbert can find a way to teach him a lesson in humility.
  
  An okay entry in the series.
• 
  Christine L. Henderson

  Each time I read one of these “Gilbert and friends” books, I’m always amazed how a children’s writer can give such a lovable characterization to an opossum – one of the least friendly looking creatures. In this book, once again Gilbert is showing his friends what it means to be a true friend. As the book deals with the traditional yearly Easter egg hunt, the book is aptly titled with a phrase that has often been used by children and fits in with the book’s seasonal intent. The “last one in” phrase is then continually repeated throughout the book.
  
  In this story, Gilbert’s cousin, Wally has come to visit. The book’s title are the first words he utters as he comes barreling into the scene. Quickly the reader sees that Wally likes to be the center of attention and he likes to have things go his way. He participates in the Easter egg hunt but not as a fun group effort. It's all about him. Wally always wants to do one better than any of the other children.
  
  While Wally is only in it for himself, Gilbert shares his eggs with a smaller child. Wally ends up doing something extremely self-centered and thoughtless. But like all good children’s books, he doesn’t win in the end. The one thing missing in the telling of the story is any kind of remorse on Wally’s part. He’s embarrassed about not winning and might be a little humbled when Gilbert shows him an act of kindness, but nothing more.
  
  Children’s books usually teach a lesson. This one seems to say that it’s OK to be bad, people will still want to be your friend even if you cared little for their feelings or concerns. It’s more about the little guy being forgiving than the big guy offering any form of repentance.
  
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• 
  Aimee

  If you're looking for a book about Easter to read to your students, this one would work for that. The cousin in the book is not the nicest kid, and he does learn a little bit in the end about being nicer, but if you're looking for a book to demonstrate how much better it is when we're nice to each other, there are probably better ones out there. As far as an Easter book goes, it's not the worst one you could find.
• 
  Celia Buell

  I enjoyed this one a lot more than the Thanksgiving Gilbert one.
  
  Gilbert and his sister Lola are excited that their cousin Wally is coming for Easter. But when he arrives, Gilbert and Lola are annoyed at how competitive Wally is. When they go to the town's egg hunt, Wally, who originally says egg hunts are for babies, runs ahead to find all the eggs.
  
  Wally is seen as a bully in this one, and Gilbert as the upstanding and more responsible one. I like this in contrast to some of the other books (or at least what I've come to expect from the titles and synopsis on most of them) because it shows a main character as a good person. I especially like the scenes where Gilbert is being a good big brother to Lola. I love seeing realistic and good sibling relationships in children's literature (I find a lot of them are pretty cringe, so seeing the well portrayed ones always makes me happy). I guess if readers are following the Gilbert books chronologically through his year, as the books are set up to do, you might see Gilbert learning from his actions and becoming a better person - er, opossum - as the year progresses and he learns from his mistakes. I certainly like his character more in this one than in the Thanksgiving one.
  
  One thing I liked about this one is that Easter itself is never actually mentioned. While the egg hunt and the images definitely depict this aspect of the holiday,
  Last One in Is a Rotten Egg! would definitely make more sense in a secular or multicultural classroom than some of the other children's books available for Easter. Not everyone celebrates Easter, but anyone can participate in an egg hunt.
  
  *Read for:
  Children's Book group (Picture Book Club) - April 2023 Holidays Scavenger Hunt - Easter
• 
  Gwen

  Storytime Theme: Easter
• 
  Jennifer

  A little too long for my preschool crowd, this story is fun and teaches some great lessons about friendship and manners. I would recommend it for young elementary school kids.
• 
  sb

  another gilbert story i found in my stack about sharing is caring on an easter egg hunt. i really like the illustrations and brings back fun family memories of easter egg hunts at the lake 🪺
• 
  babyhippoface

  Gilbert & Lola are expecting fun when their cousin comes to visit, but he turns out to be a bit of a bully who takes over everything, including the Easter Egg Hunt, with his repeated refrain of, "Last one in is a rotten egg!" The tables turn, though, with a little cleverness on Gilbert's part. But just as in all the other Gilbert & Lola books from DeGroat, a lesson is learned and everyone is a little happier.
  
  I read this because I have enjoyed some of the Gilbert & Lola books and I needed a new Easter book. It was okay, but I didn't like it enough to read it to any classes at school.
• 
  Dolly

  This is a good book that displays good and bad behaviors and attitudes, competition and cooperation. I'm not sure where our girls picked up the title phrase (probably from their cousins), but they say it fairly often and that is what attracted me to this story. It has a good moral and is easy for children to understand.
• 
  Yapha

  When Gilbert's older cousin Wally comes for Easter, he makes everything into a competition. At the Easter egg hunt he doesn't play quite fairly until Gilbert and Lola teach him a lesson. A nice spin on Easter books. For fans of the series, grades K-3.
• 
  Samantha

  I felt this book had some really good morals in it. It teaches kids how to share, how to play fair, and also about forgiveness. Sharing and playing fair are good qualities that everyone should have.
• 
  Tiffany

  This was a cute book. My son loved it. We also play the rotten egg game sometimes, but of course I am always the rotten egg :) I'd give it another half star if I could.
• 
  Allisa Zamarripa-Garza

  Fun Easter book! My students loved this book!!
• 
  Gail

  A book with a lesson about playing fair and not being pushy.
• 
  CLM

  
  http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/201...
  
  Gilbert learns that his much-admired older cousin does not always play fair.
• 
  Kim

  cute story, cute illustrations
  
  themes: Easter, egg hunt, family, sharing, winning
  
• 
  Deanna

  Such a great story, for all ages.
• 
  Jill

  Appreciated the lesson in the story. A great way for kids yo learn.
• 
  Stefanie Burns

  Gilbert and Lola star again in this book about fairness and telling the truth. Their cousin Wally comes to visit in time for the big Easter egg hunt. Wally is very competitive and not very nice. During the hunt Lola finds the coveted golden egg, but can't reach it. Wally can and gets it down, but keeps it for himself! In he end a nice lesson in sharing is given. Not overly preachy, but a nice message for kids. Great for 1st grade.
• 
  Maddie Grace

  boring. Are class also had to read it with us