What You Know First (Trophy Picture Books (Paperback)) - Softcover

MacLachlan, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064434923 ISBN 13: 9780064434928

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

The stunning picture book collaboration between Newbery Medal–winning author Patricia MacLachlan and acclaimed illustrator Barry Moser.

A young girl comes to terms with the fact that she and her family are leaving the prairie. As she talks herself into acceptance, her Mama helps her let go, commenting that the baby will need someone to tell him where he came from. So the girl gathers mementos—a bag of earth and a piece of cottonwood tree.

“As with Sarah, Plain and Tall, the subtext vibrates. So much is told in each perfectly chosen phrase. The story is deep and specific, but the pain and denial of a child leaving a known and loved place is all too universal. Moser’s finely-wrought engravings, enhanced by moody tints, record the departure.”—School Library Journal

 

1995 American Bookseller Association Pick of the Lists

About this title

About the Authors

Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022) was the celebrated author of many timeless books for young readers, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal. She was also the author of many beloved picture books, a number of which she cowrote with her daughter, Emily.

Barry Moser is the prizewinning illustrator and designer of more than three hundred books for children and adults. He is widely celebrated for his dramatic wood engravings for the only twentieth-century edition of the entire King James Bible illustrated by a single artist. He lives in western Massachusetts.

From the Back Cover

‘A child comes to terms with the fact that she and her family are leaving the prairie. . . . As she talks herself into acceptance, her Mama helps her let go, commenting that the baby will need someone to tell him where he came from. So the girl gathers mementoes—a bag of earth and a piece of cottonwood tree. . . .A novel hides in these few pages. As with Sarah, Plain and Tall, the subext vibrates. So much is told in each perfectly chosen phrase. The story is deep and specific, but the pain and denial of a child leaving a known and loved place is all too universal. Moser’s finely-wrought engravings, enhanced by moody tints, record the departure.’—SLJ.

1995 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0064434923
• ISBN 13: 9780064434928
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Moser Barry
• Number of pages: 32