First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards))

First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) | Laura Vaccaro Seeger | Which comes first?

books:

First the Egg (Cal...

	First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) Laura Vaccaro Seeger Roaring Brook Press, 2007 - 32 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

WHICH CAME FIRST? The chicken or the egg? Simple die-cuts magically present transformation-- from seed to flower, tadpole to frog, caterpillar to butterfly. The acclaimed author of Black? White! Day? Night! and Lemons Are Not Red gives an entirely fresh and memorable presentation to the concepts of transformation and creatiity. Seed becomes flower, paint becomes picture, word becomes story--and the commonplace becomes extraordinary as children look through and turn the pages of this novel and winning book.

for more information click here

A concept journey: egg or chicken? chicken or egg?

Which came first--the chicken or the egg? Finally, someone is here to tell us. But the answer later.

"First the egg," written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, is a Caldecott honor winner for 2008 and an honor book for the Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Award. What makes it special? Both the artwork and the story, or actually, in this case, concepts that lead from one transformation to the next. Two previous clever winners are Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book) by David Wiesner and Black and White, an earlier Caldecott by David Macauley.

I took this book from a display in our bi-annual Book Fair. I read it in just one minute. Then reread it. And reread it. Every time I pick up this seemingly simple book, I see something else I missed. Even the covers are part of the story. This book is more than clever--it is brilliant, as in illuminating.

Listen, here is the story. Get comfortable and let me read it to you:

First the EGG
then the CHICKEN
First the TADPOLE
then the FROG
First the SEED
then the FLOWER
First the CATERPILLAR
then the BUTTERFLY
First the WORD
then the STORY
First the PAINT
then the PICTURE, First the CHICKEN
then the EGG!

Well? Exactly! Without the bold colors and almost in-your-face images in the background, the words are fine, but...? A Caldecott Award is given to the most distinguished picture book of the year. Please look at the cover image with this review. That gives an idea of the power of the colors and paint technique, which is impasto on canvas, providing two layers of texture. That is what this book has--texture: layers of texture in the art and the concepts.

Art? A creative, bold enterprise that can make the chicken or the egg first. Think it, do it. Create. That is exactly what Ms Seeger did. She created a bold, creative way to examine this age-old riddle.

"First the egg" is highly recommended, not only for children, who will adore it, but also for adults, who will be reminded of the grandeur of creation in all its many forms. Great children's books belong in the collection of adults as well as in children's.

for more information click here

Which comes first?

A lovely book for young people, with die cut pages that explain some of life's mysteries in an age appropriate way.

great book

Great simple illustrations with bold colors - neat thinking - leaves age-old question unanswered, which does come first - chicken or the egg?

Fun, Fun, Fun

This is a great book...fun for both kids and adults. I love how the pages have cut outs that clue you in to the next page. Fun!

Really, 5 Stars?

I love the book. I bought it for my son last Christmas, but it's a little too conceptual for a three year old. Still, it's beautiful. I'll try this out with him in a year.

reviews: page 1, 2

products you might be interested in