Customer Reviews

What You Know First (Trophy Picture Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For any of you who have left home..what you knew first..this book will deeply touch you. As I read this in the bookstore, tears came to my eyes. It's a story of a little girl who struggles to understand why she and her family must leave the only place they know. Though change has its sadness,this book shows the sweetness of memories you take with you forever. This is a good book for a child going through such a change or for an adult who still recalls all those familiar things of home.

I love this book for the way the illustrations and story compliment each other so well. The story narrated by a small child facing the prospect of moving to a new home is achingly beautiful. You can feel the child's pain and anxiety about moving to a new place and being afraid of forgetting the old place and the memories therein. The child tells about all the things she will miss and then devises a plan to stay and not go with her family and baby brother. It is a story for anyone who has ever had to face a painful change in his or her life. I could read it again and again.

Great for my students as we read about the Great Plains and the move west. Very sentimental.

I was highly recommended this book and I couldn't be more disappointed. I expected a sweet goodbye to a beloved home, reliving fun memories of time spent there, helping the child emotionally deal with leaving that place. Instead, the illustrations are dark, serious, melancholy, ominous - like something bad is going to happen any minute. The people are frowning, the whole mood is very sad and depressing. If that was my home, I'd be running as fast as I could to get anywhere else. The prose is nice, but not for a young child. My 5yr old was frowning and confused through the whole book and afterward said he did not like it and didn't want to read it again. I agree. This book is for an adult who likes artistic esoteric children's books.

I bought this for my niece when my father was selling our childhood home. And then I had to buy her another copy since I couldn't bear to part with it. Gorgeous drawings, spare words, and wonderful sentiment.

I find this book to be stunning. The poetry is exquisite. Yes, it appeals to an adult sensibility and understanding of change, but my three year old loves it, too. I don't find the story or engravings to be melancholy or depressing at all; they are serious, yes, but touching and sensitive, too. The protagonist is reflective, imaginative, and ultimately, strong. I admit it does bring tears to my eyes often as I read it, but that is because there is a true depth of emotion, not because it is somber. I recommend it highly - for children and adults.