First the Egg

by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

First the Egg by bestselling author and illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year. This title has Common Core connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596432727
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	09/04/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	93,434
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.66(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator and the recipient of a 2008 Caldecott Honor, Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors for both 2009 and 2008, a 2007 New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award, and the 2007 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Best Picture Book. Her books include The Hidden Alphabet and Dog and Bear, among others.

Raised on Long Island, New York, Seeger began drawing at two years old and never stopped. For as long as she remembers, she wanted to write picture books. She received her B.F.A. degree at the School of Fine Art and Design at SUNY Purchase in Westchester, New York, and then moved to Manhattan, where she worked as an animator, artist, and editor in the network television business.

Seeger lives in Rockville Centre, Long Island, with her husband, Chris, their two sons, Drew and Dylan, and their dog, Copper. She loves painting, surfing, tennis, playing the piano, and spending time with her family. She takes long walks at the beach every day and paints in her studio every night.

Editorial Reviews

“In another nimble page-turner, Seeger (Black? White! Day? Night!) toys with die-cuts and strategically paired words. She introduces a chicken-or-egg dilemma on her book's cover, picturing a plump white egg in a golden-brown nest. Remove the die-cut dust jacket, and a hen appears on the glossy inner cover. The eggshell, thickly brushed in bluish-white and cream, also serves as the chicken's feathers. This "first/then" pattern is repeated ("First the egg/ then the chicken./ First the tadpole/ then the frog"), with a die-cut on every other page. By flipping a page, readers see the cutout in two contexts. For instance, when an ovoid shape is superimposed on a white ground, it's an egg; on a yolk-yellow ground, it's the body of a baby chick. Seeger lines up the recto and verso of every sheet, maintaining a casual mood with generous swabs of grassy greens, sky blues and oxide yellows on canvas. Given the exuberant imagery, the occasional cutout (like the fingernail-size seed of a blowsy peony-pink flower) looks none too impressive. But if minuscule die-cuts seem barely worth the trouble, they do imply the potential in humble sources. Seeger's clever conclusion brings all the elements together in an outdoor scene that returns readers to the opening: "First the paint/ then the picture… / First the chicken/ then the egg!" Ages 2-6. (Sept.)” —Publishers Weekly

“A deceptively simple, decidedly playful sequence of statements invites readers to ponder, what comes first: the chicken or the egg? Carefully choreographed page turns and die-cuts focus on the process of change and becoming, so "First" sits alone on a yellow background, facing "the EGG"--an egg-shaped die-cut revealing a white egg against an orange-and-brown background. Turn the page, and "then" appears, the egg-shaped die-cut now forming the yellow body of a chick emerging from the shell, facing "the CHICKEN"--the white hen whose body gave color to the previous spread's egg. Tadpole and frog, seed and flower, caterpillar and butterfly all receive the same treatment, then word and story, paint and picture bring all the disparate elements together, nature being the catalyst for art. Seeger's vibrant, textured oil-on-canvas illustrations contain a wealth of subtlety, allowing the die-cuts to reveal cunning surprises with each turn of the page. Children and adults alike will delight in flipping the sturdy pages back and forth to recreate the transformations over and over again. Another perfectly pitched triumph from an emerging master of the concept book. (Picture book. 2-6)” —Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

From the Publisher

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? An egg cutout seems simple to begin with, but it soon becomes a round yellow chick. A tadpole changes into a frog; a seed grows into a flower. Then, the author adds a twist. A word becomes a draft of a story; a splatter of paint evolves into a painted landscape incorporating the chicken, frog, and flower. The voice of a child narrator and simple upbeat music bring production together nicely. This DVD includes an author interview, in which Seeger talks about how she became an artist as a little girl. She explains how the concept book was developed into something more than just a list of words through the addition of animations. She explains that while usually her words come before the pictures, imagery happens simultaneously in her mind. She advises children to look at things as if they are looking at them for the first time and to never take things for granted. This nonfiction DVD introduces science, reading, writing, and art concepts. Young children will enjoy predicting what comes next. Reviewer: Laura Backman

Children's Literature - Laura Backman

This gentle concept book is brought fully to life as a read along book plus CD. The story takes readers through various transformations from egg to chicken, seed to flower, and word to story, while die cut pages give readers a glimpse ahead to the final stage. The narration is calm, child-like and lulling, as is the music in the background. Most spreads are accompanied by additional sound effects like the crackling of an egg, the splashing of a frog into a pond, and the flapping of butterfly wings. The background music is perfect for getting children settled down for bed and complements the simple nature of this book. The only sticking point of the narration is that sometimes due to the tone used by the narrator, it is as if she is questioning the first statement, then declaring the second. A lovely interview with the author follows the narration and will inspire children to look at the world in new ways and go write about it. This set is recommended for all libraries with a busy book plus CD collection. Reviewer: Tiffany Torbeck

Children's Literature - Tiffany Torbeck