Review by New York Times Review
IN the 1940s, children's books with holes or windows, as well as those with flaps, tabs, bumps and berms, were likened to "toys," introducing new dimensionality to the growing picture-book genre. Today's "die cuts" (a publisher's term for books with holes of various shapes) range from intricate playthings to simple tools for learning. Instructing readers in the ways of the world while moving them with magic is the method beautifully realized in the die-cut concept books of Laura Vaccaro Seeger. An Emmy Award winner for television animation, Seeger began her career in children's books with "I Had a Rooster" (2001), bringing warmth and vitality to a traditional folk song. (She is a relation by marriage of Pete Seeger, who wrote the book's foreword.) In the half-dozen years since, she has found a way to make cutout images and simple words resonate with surprising originality. "The Hidden Alphabet" (2003) makes the ordinary march of letters less regimental. A pointy gray mouse may be viewed through the window of a shiny black page, but when the page panel is lifted, the child sees that the rodent is merely a wedge of the letter "M" - and the "M" itself looks a lot like cheese. "Lemons Are Not Red" (2004) again turns a basic recipe into an irresistible treat. Seeger's introduction to the world of color becomes a game of matching. In the opening spread, a lemon-shaped window shows a bold red fruit. "Lemons are not red," we read. When the page is turned, the correction occurs; the lemon-shaped window (cut into a red page) falls upon yellow, revealing a proper lemon: "Lemons are yellow" and "Apples are red." And on it goes, with white reindeer, blue grass and so on. The playground of perception seems to be Seeger's most natural arena. Her latest feat of ingenuity, "First the Egg," is deceptively simple: It opens with an egg cutout, which, with a page turn, becomes a plump yellow chick; tadpole morphs into frog; seed grows into flower. But Seeger adds a metafictional twist: "word" segues into a handwritten draft of the story we're in the process of reading. A daub of pigment similarly evolves into a painted landscape incorporating chicken, frog and flower. Seeger's final pages bring us full circle: the chicken returns to its nest and lays "the egg! " (The book's front and back covers playfully continue the chicken-egg conundrum.) Unlike the bold graphic style of "Black? White! Day? Night!" (2006), which used monochromatic printed color and bold contrasts to demonstrate opposites, "First the Egg" highlights the texture of the brushstroke. Young readers may be tempted to sniff the swirl of pink petals or trace the caterpillar's ridged frame. Seeger's versatility (and productivity) is impressive. She has negotiated the world of friendship ("Dog and Bear," new this year) and emotion ("Walter Was Worried," from 2005). "First the Egg" arrives as an eye-catching reminder that "making it new" is always possible and that learning can be made sheer delight. Sara London is the author of "Firehorse Max" and "The Good Luck Glasses."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review
Beginning with the die cut on the cover, which completes the title and hides a secret underneath, this delivers a string of delightful surprises as Seeger crisply explores the stages of development in the natural world and, then, how a story grows. Thickly textured backgrounds provide visual energy for minimalist images that cleverly incorporate additional die cuts. First the EGG, reads the text on the opening spread, which pictures the egg through an appropriately shaped hole. When children flip the page, they'll find a fuzzy chick and its adult counterpart then the CHICKEN. So it goes through the life stages of frog, flower, and butterfly. Suddenly, Seeger turns away from nature. First the WORD, she writes, then the STORY. First the PAINT . . . then the PICTURE, accompanied by a painting that pulls the book together, showing chicken, flower, frog, and butterfly enjoying a beautiful day together. A funny finale sets up the book's beginning. Pages are sturdy enough to support poking fingers and repeated viewings, both of which are guaranteed.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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 book's 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 chicken's 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, it's an egg; on a yolk-yellow ground, it's 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. Seeger's 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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Based on the Caldecott and Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor book (Roaring Brook Press, 2007), this short film is as charming as its inspiration. Laura Vaccaro Seeger's tale about transformations, both natural and creative, comes to life through the magic of animation and irresistible sound effects; an egg hatching, a tadpole swimming in a pond, and a pencil writing on paper are almost as appealing to the senses as the chunky, saturated art. While the DVD format sacrifices the cutout effect of the book, the animated growth/transformations are equally fascinating and satisfying. In lieu of turning the page, thick squishy brushstrokes cover previous frames as chicken gives way to tadpole, frog to seed, flower to caterpillar, butterfly to page of words, story to tube of paint and, finally full circle, picture back to chicken. Gentle background music featuring guitar adds to the effect. So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Viewers can decide and then write their own "First.then." pairings. Subtitles are optional, and there is an interview with the author/illustrator. While learning about the genesis of the book and Seeger's career is fascinating, this feature is more suited for teachers and older students. Still, this little gem is the perfect introduction to a life cycle unit. Pair it with Simms Taback's Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Weston Woods, 2001), another creative transformation tale.-Barbara Auerbach, P.S. 217, Brooklyn, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) Seeger, creator of outside-the-box concept books such as Lemons Are Not Red (rev. 1/05), here presents a companion volume about the order of things. The text is minimal: ""First the EGG / then the CHICKEN / First the TADPOLE / then the FROG"" and so on with seed and flower, caterpillar and butterfly. Seeger then proceeds to more abstract pairs -- ""First the WORD / then the STORY / First the PAINT / then the PICTURE"" -- making them concrete for the youngest viewers by incorporating objects mentioned in the preceding pages into both story and picture. The ending is circular -- well, almost, because who really knows which came first, the chicken or the egg? Pages are color-saturated and as minimalist as the text; thick, practically palpable brush strokes on canvas backgrounds draw the hand to the page as well as the eye. As in Lemons Are Not Red, cleverly conceived and executed cutouts reinforce the book's tactile appeal even as they propel the page turns. The book's tidy square shape showcases the simple objects; its relatively small trim size is the perfect balance for the lushness of the art. The best picture books create a world in themselves, and this tour de force is one of them. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book 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 spread's 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. Seeger's 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) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
