What You Know First

Told from the voice of the child who is leaving the prairie with her parents, Everything there is familiar and special and the little girl defiantly notes that she could tell Mama and Papa She won't go; She will stay!

She doesn't want to go somewhere where the land is not familiar. The girl has a baby brother and she thinks about all he will not know when he leaves. She feels an obligation to take things from the prairie so that she can show him what it was like living there, where the snow was high and drifts high against the fences as the horses breathe the cold air in and exhale puffs of clouds in the air.

This is lovingly written, and I am a fan of this author. There is such a depth of feeling in this book that the reader can feel the show more sadness of the little girl who wants desperately to stay. As she notes familiar things and people, the reader understands why she wants to remain.

Her father tells her that what you first know, stays with you. And she notes she will take some prairie dirt, a twig from the cottonwood tree. She will try to remember the songs Uncle Bly sings on the porch of his house by the river, and the feel of the soft ear of the cow, the sound of the rooster and so many things that she will hold in her heart.

I loved the slow feel of this emotional tale and the sheer beauty of the writing. show less

I'll admit it, reading this little book and looking at the striking illustrations brought a tightness to my throat, and a dampness to my eyes. I will gift it to my granddaughters, as they will soon be moving away from their current home, and what they knew first.

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.

Told in free verse, a child contemplates leaving the farm where the family has lived for a long time. The fear of leaving and the fear of forgetting what is so familiar now is perfectly described as the child thinks of all of the aspects of home that will be missed. Lovely simple language that goes deep into the feelings of what "home" means.

Barry Moser, famed also for Moby-dick, delivers more treasured engravings to
this gentle, inspiring, and lonely tale.

"I will take a twig of the cottonwood tree..."

This is a great lyrical text, comparable to The Goodbye Walk by Joanne Ryder or Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move by Judith Viorst. It really clearly illustrates the feelings that moving brings on, and though it is set in the old midwest, it would be identifiable for readers with little or no understanding of that time in American history. What a combination Barry Moser and Patricia MacLachlan make. This book is perfect through and through.

“What You Know First” is a story about change, and how this young girl doesn’t understand why she has to leave what is familiar to her. Moser uses engravings to illustrate the family leaving the prairie to a new home. The engravings are highly detailed and fit the story perfectly. MacLachlan uses free verse writing and creates images with her creative language. The young girl telling the story tells of all the things she wants to remember about the prairie. The young girl has a baby brother who she says will never know what the prairie was like, therefore she must bring things to remind them of the prairie to their new home. MacLachlan herself grew up on a prairie, and carries dirt prairie dirt with her to remind herself of what show more she knew first. show less