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Arthur, For the Very First Time Paperback – January 22, 2002
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Arthur Rasby is ten years old and having the worst summer of his life. His parents don't listen to him, so he writes everything down -- everything that's real -- in his journal. But when he goes to stay with his Great-Aunt Elda and Great-Uncle Wrisby on their farm, his world is turned upside down. For the first time Arthur wonders what's real and what's not.
His aunt and uncle do things Arthur's parents would never do -- like climbing out windows to sit in trees, singing to their pet pig, and speaking French to a pet chicken. Life on the farm happens much too fast to write down -- sometimes wonderful, sometimes terrible. Arthur begins to understand there is more than one way of seeing and doing and loving. And he realizes there's a whole world just waiting to be discovered.
- Reading age8 - 12 years
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level4 - 7
- Lexile measure660L
- Dimensions5.15 x 0.34 x 7.6 inches
- PublisherHarperCollins
- Publication dateJanuary 22, 2002
- ISBN-100064402886
- ISBN-13978-0064402880
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From the Back Cover
Arthur Rasby is ten years old and having the worst summer of his life. His parents don't listen to him, so he writes everything down -- everything that's real -- in his journal. But when he goes to stay with his Great-Aunt Elda and Great-Uncle Wrisby on their farm, his world is turned upside down. For the first time Arthur wonders what's real and what's not.
His aunt and uncle do things Arthur's parents would never do -- like climbing out windows to sit in trees, singing to their pet pig, and speaking French to a pet chicken. Life on the farm happens much too fast to write down -- sometimes wonderful, sometimes terrible. Arthur begins to understand there is more than one way of seeing and doing and loving. And he realizes there's a whole world just waiting to be discovered.
About the Author
Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022) was the celebrated author of many timeless books for young readers, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal. She was also the author of many beloved picture books, a number of which she cowrote with her daughter, Emily.
Lloyd Bloom is the award-winning illustrator of numerous children's books, including Like Jake and Me and Yonder. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Product details
- Publisher : HarperCollins (January 22, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0064402886
- ISBN-13 : 978-0064402880
- Reading age : 8 - 12 years
- Lexile measure : 660L
- Grade level : 4 - 7
- Item Weight : 3.21 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.15 x 0.34 x 7.6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,207 in Children's Farm Life Books
- #3,418 in Children's New Experiences Books
- #9,475 in Children's Books on Emotions & Feelings (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
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."
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2014Arthur is upset because his mother is going to have a baby and he doesn't want to share her with anyone. His parents send him to stay with relatives for the summer hoping he can get a break from the city and Uncle Wrisby and Aunt Elda live in a beautiful home surrounded by trees, a stream and a few farm animals. And best of all they have a chicken who loves to do tricks and responds to commands given in French. Arthur has a summer full of adventure that all kids will love hearing about, including the birthing of baby piglets. This book is also wonderful as a class read-a-loud.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2013I have used this book in my fourth grade classroom and so have read it many times. It is filled with warm, interesting characters and the story line is very appropriate and engaging. It's a great read for adults as well as children, a good opportunity for parents to share quality literature with their children.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2002I have seen better books that Patricia MacLachlan has written, but this book was okay. It's about a boy who was sent to his geat aunt and uncle. They are very strange. They sit on very tall trees, speak french to their chicken and sing to their pig who is pregnant. It was an okay book
- Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2014Very original characters that we liked a lot. They were funny, nice, loving and insightful. We were a little disappointed with the ending. It came too soon!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2016I really liked this book it was part of a book club i also liked Sarah plain and tall it was very touching
- Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2014Good book.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2005this is one of these books that you just have to read over the summer. there's something about the writing style that is both classic and highly orginal, and the story itself is very enjoyable.
it's one of those young adult books about a rural childhood that is so unassumingly well written that its characters and story are beyond believable. details like the uncle who plants a garden with nothing but rows of onions and roses lend a kind of surreal pleasure to the book, and still leave you sniffing the air for a ghost of summer earth and sky, even if you're reading this book indoors.
the character of Arthur is so recognizable and disarmingly bright and observant that i think young readers will instantly identify with him. there's something of an unbreakable wonder in the way that Arthur sees the world, but he's bright enough to still be somewhat guarded. all the characters are wonderfully written, really.
this is a great, well written young adult's book, and should not be missed.