In a tale of team-spirit and determination, four friends try to reach their destination, using their collective wits and skills in order to overcome the obstacles they face and complete their journey successfully as a team.
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?A Katzenjammer Kids-meet-Bill Joyce hybrid that features a 60-year-old story from a Russian poet, freshly interpreted by a contemporary American artist. The first 10 ordinal numbers provide a sinuous sequence from the simple opening ("First, I stepped out singing a song") to the convoluted 10th "event." At that point, the narrator; his friend Pete; a "man no bigger than a jug"; and a fourth companion, who is "so long we couldn't see his feet," complete their picaresque adventure with the help of some accommodating animals. Kharms's rejuvenated narrative reads like a benevolent, if goofy, uncle's tall tale, with as much singing and whistling as the seven dwarfs combined. Rosenthal's visual hyperbole is the perfect match for the absurd action. Not quite The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (Farrar, 1968) by Arthur Ransome or A Day with Wilbur Robinson (HarperCollins, 1990) by Wiliam Joyce, First, Second is an effervescent story brought to life by bright, detailed, and expressive drawings.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Ages 4^-8. With the fun of a cumulative folktale, this begins, "First," the narrator steps out singing a song. "Second," a friend joins him. "Third," they pick up a tiny man; "Fourth," a giant; "Fifth," a donkey; and so on, right up to 10. Each time, they have to work out a plan so that everyone can travel together whistling a song. How can they all cram into a car? How can they all sleep in one room? They travel and they argue and they work it out with a mixture of farce and nonsense and common sense. The text of the story gets longer and funnier as the numbers go up and the convolutions increase. First published in a Russian children's magazine in the 1930s, the story is translated here with a casual wit and illustrated with large, clear, brightly colored cartoon-style pictures that extend the exaggeration and cheerful innocence of the nonsense world. Hazel Rochman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two thumbs up...,
By Mommasaurus (North Hatfield, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: First, Second (Hardcover)
My easily-bored son finds the story engaging and loves to read it aloud. I'm tickled by the nifty illustrations. Big, colorful, kind of old-school--like a cross between TinTin and the Katzenjammer Kids. Two thumbs up from my son and me.
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Place, Second to None,
This review is from: First, Second (Hardcover)
I love this book. My children are in high school and college now, but this is one of a handful of the hundreds of picture books we read when they were small that still sticks with me. It delighted my toddlers and delighted me simultaneously, which is no small feat. More people should know this book.
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