First+the+Egg

Written and Illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger Reading Level: Preschool to Second Grade Hardcover: 26 pgs. Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2007, New Milford, Connecticut Price: $14.95 Language: English ISBN: 13-978-1-59643-272-7
 * First the Egg**

This story posses the age old question of what came first, the chicken or the egg without actually asking the question. This is a book that shows which things come first. The book starts with the egg and how it leads to the chicken. It then goes on to show things that come first like tadpoles and seeds and shows what they turn into over time. The author shows these object turning into frogs and flowers, respectively. The book ends with a chicken resulting in the egg. The question is never asked but both can be interchanged.
 * Summary**

In this book the illustrations are so important to the flow of the book. It was written as though the words were for the pictures and not the pictures for the words. The book doesn't ask or answer the question of which comes first but it does show what came first in every other situation. It uses and teaches association very well. The reader is taught to associate objects to the things that they become over time. Tadpoles turn into frogs and Seeds turn into flowers. In the begining the egg is associated with the chicken and in the end the chicken results in an egg leaving the student to ask themselves questions that they might ot have thought about before.
 * Analysis of Literary Elements**

This book was great for children in the preschool and kindergarten age groups. It asked a question that kids in those age groups that many seen trivial but is put into the perspective of the smaller children. There are great illustrations used and help to carry the book along. Children do not have to be able to read inorder to understand this book. This is great because the theme and purpose of the book is to get that age group thinking. The question of which came first may be trivial to a child but this book targets more of the question: "What object resluts in soemthing else over time. I think it is great for the age group and help to posse a question.
 * Review**

Laura Vaccaro Seeger grew up in Long Island, New York. She went to SUNY Purchase in Westchester, NY and moved to Manhattan to be an animator and designer. She worked for NBC and ABC winning an Emmy award for her work. She became a writer later on and has written many books such as: //Dog and Bear: Tricks and Treats, Bully, Green, What If?,// and //One Boy.// She has won many awards such as the Caldecott Honor (2013), Wall Street Journal Best Book Award (2012), and New York Library Best Book Award(2012). Today she lives on Long Island with her husband and two sons.
 * Author Bio**

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