Synopses & Reviews
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 is a 2008 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year.
Review
Publishers Weekly 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 books 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 chickens 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, its an egg; on a yolk-yellow ground, its 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. Seegers 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.)
Kirkus Reviews Starred Review 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 spreads 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. Seegers 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)
New York Times Childrens Books Bestseller List at #9
Review
andquot;Created from cut and torn papers with interesting coloration and textures, Jenkinsand#39; distinctive illustrations show up well against the white backgrounds. This intriguing presentation will be an asset to many kindergarten and primary-grade classes.andquot;
andmdash;Booklist
andquot;Appealing, accessible, and accurate, this is another admirable creation.andquot;
andmdash;Kirkus
Review
"Like its subject, the rhymed text moves with grand deliberation, carrying the primeval story line to a clever transition between that ancient era and ours....Never has time travel been so easy or so immersive."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"In this companion to Tadpole Rex, a prehistoric turtle hatches on a 'primeval beach' and slips beneath the waves. Cyrus's illustrations incorporate dramatic scale, movement, and majesty: the spreads are a marvel of lighting and textureand#8230; A moving and truly epic journey."."and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The book will hook insatiable young dinosaur fanatics looking for readable, factual stories."and#8212;School Library Journal, starred review
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
Sploosh! Fizz! Swish! The prehistoric ocean isand#160;a dangerousand#160;place for a baby sea turtle. But after sheand#160;emerges from her egg, the treacherous waters are her goal. Swimming through the swirling waves and dodging larger sea creatures, she finds a resting place deep below. There she waits, until she grows into the majestic sea turtle that returns to the sand to lay her eggs and begin the cycle again.
This journey of a small creature in the oceanic world of the dinosaursand#160;is a perfect mix of scientific integrity and dramatic storytelling.
Synopsis
Paper-over-board novelty book with a non-removeable ribbon that shows Oliver the egg on one side and Oliver the chick on the other in penultimate spread. "Oliver was an egg. There was nothing he could do about it. He could roll to one side. He could roll to the other. He could even stand on his head. But he was simply an egg and that was that. Until one day, everything changed because miracles happen."
Synopsis
The Caldecott Honor-winning team cracks the code of the incredible egg.and#160;Explore how a simple, often colorful, sometimes surprisingly shaped package, reveals nature's life cycle, unusual animal defensive strategies, parenting behavior, evolution, and more, in this beautifully illustrated non-fiction picture book.
Synopsis
Hatching a plan for survival isnandrsquo;t always easy in the wild. And how animals lay, protect, and even use each otherand#39;s eggs as a food source help reveal the life cycle of the natural world. Eggs come in all shapes and sizes. The ostrichandrsquo;s is the largest, but some are so small, you need a microscope to spot them. Animals hide them and disguise them in smart and surprising ways, too. Some abandon their eggs, while others protect them fiercely and carry them wherever they go. There are as many kinds of eggs as there are animals that depend on them, because in the animal kingdom, the fight for survival begins with the simple, but extraordinary, egg.
About the Author
Sploosh! Fizz! Swish!The prehistoric ocean isand#160;a dangerousand#160;place for a baby sea turtle. But after sheand#160;emerges from her egg, the treacherous waters are her goal. Swimming through the swirling waves and dodging larger sea creatures, she finds a resting place deep below. There she waits, until she grows into the majestic sea turtle that returns to the sand to lay her eggs and begin the cycle again.
This journey of a small creature in the oceanic world of the dinosaursand#160;is a perfect mix of scientific integrity and dramatic storytelling.
"Like its subject, the rhymed text moves with grand deliberation, carrying the primeval story line to a clever transition between that ancient era and ours....Never has time travel been so easy or so immersive."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews,starred review
Praise for TADPOLE REX Oprah's Book Cluband#8212;Kids' Reading Listand#160;
Children's Book of the Month Club "The swampy greens and hard edges of the digitally colored scratchboard artwork suit the prehistoric period and rough scales of the dinosaurs perfectly, while the varying scale of the illustrations will keep readers on their toesand#8212;Cyrus is a master of the extreme close-up. Readers will thrill to the action and suspense while teachers will appreciate the subtle lesson on the life cycle of frogs." and#8212;Kirkus Reviews,starred review "The rhyming text is image-rich, informational, and fun to read aloud. . . . Cyrus's oversize artwork conveys information spectacularly, beginning with a dramatic wrap-around cover and continuing with interesting perspectives of dinosaurs and the prehistoric environment. Created in scratchboard and then colored digitally, the illustrations are luminous and striking. . . . This is an exciting blend of science and literature that children will appreciate."and#8212;School Library Journal,starred review
Kurt Cyrus is a poet, writer, and the illustrator of nearly twenty books, many of which he also wrote, among themTadpole Rex, Oddhopper Opera,and#160;andHotel Deep.and#160;He lives near Eugene, Oregon. www.kurtcyrus.com