Unclaimed Treasures [Library Binding]

Patricia MacLachlan (Author)

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Tandem Library (1999)
• ASIN: B002C797SK
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and to this day carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to remind her of what she knew first. She is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. She lives in western Massachusetts.

In Her Own Words..."One thing I've learned with age and parenting is that life comes in circles. Recently, I was having a bad time writing. I felt disconnected. I had moved to a new home and didn't feel grounded. The house, the land was unfamiliar to me. There was no garden yet. Why had I sold my old comfortable 1793 home? The one with the snakes in the basement, mice everywhere, no closets. I would miss the cold winter air that came in through the electrical sockets."

"I had to go this day to talk to a fourth-grade class, and I banged around the house, complaining. Hard to believe, since I am so mild mannered and pleasant, isn't it? What did I have to say to them? I thought what I always think when I enter a room of children. What do I know?"

"I plunged down the hillside and into town, where a group of fourth-grade children waited for me in the library, freshly scrubbed, expectant. Should I be surprised that what usually happens did so? We began to talk about place, our living landscapes. And I showed them my little bag of prairie dirt from where I was born. Quite simply, we never got off the subject of place. Should I have been so surprised that these young children were so concerned with place, or with the lack of it, their displacement? Five children were foster children, disconnected from their homes. One little boy's house had burned down, everything gone. 'Photographs, too,' he said sadly. Another told me that he was moving the next day to place he'd never been. I turned and saw the librarian, tears coming down her face."

"'You know,' I said. 'Maybe I should take this bag of prairie dirt and toss it into my new yard. I'll never live on the prairie again. I live here now. The two places could mix together that way!' 'No!' cried a boy from the back. 'Maybe the prairie dirt will blow away!' And then a little girl raised her hand. 'I think you should put that prairie dirt in a glass bowl in your window so that when you write you can see it all the time. So you can always see what you knew first.'"

"When I left the library, I went home to write. What You Know First owes much to the children of the Jackson Street School: the ones who love place and will never leave it, the ones who lost everything and have to begin again. I hope for them life comes in circles, too."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kissing Book, December 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Unclaimed Treasures (Charlotte Zolotow Books) (Paperback)

When I was in 5th grade, my cronies and I discovered this book in our school library and quickly found the 'kissing scene.' The book became instantly popular to all the girls in our class after word got out. Aside from that, I have read this book many times since then and found it to be very well written, and worthy of its award as Notable Book. I have been making a list of favourite books I read as a little girl, and this is one of the first on the list. And Since I was a complete tomboy at age 10, this book isn't just for sissies...it has humour, and a few suspenseful scenes (one resulting in physical injury...what more can you ask for?)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 13 years later, still a favorite, January 1, 2007

By 

L. Bricker "AlienEeeter" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unclaimed Treasures (Charlotte Zolotow Books) (Paperback)

I got this book when I was ten and I think I read this book two or three times a year. It's a gorgeous story with amazing characters and writing. I love the 'Ted and Wanda' storyline and 'Dr. Pepper.' Old Pepper is a great character. There isnt a single word of this book that I dont adore. I recommend it to both kids and adults. Everyone can get something out of this book. Out of all the books I've ever read in my entire life (and boy are there a lot of them) it definitely makes the top 10 list.