What You Know First

What You Know First

By Patricia MacLachlan Illustrated by Barry Moser

$7.99
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...

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 ... Read More

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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...

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 ... Read More
Description

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

Details
  • Pages: 32
  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • Imprint: HarperCollins
  • Publication Date: 14th February 1998
  • Trim Size: 9 x 9 in
  • Illustration Note: f/c
  • ISBN: 9780064434928
Author Bio

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.

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

  • Pages: 32
  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • Imprint: HarperCollins
  • Publication Date: 14th February 1998
  • Trim Size: 9 x 9 in
  • Illustrations Note: f/c
  • ISBN: 9780064434928

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.