First Light, First Life
A Worldwide Creation Story
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this companion to Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal, Newbery Medal winner Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis turn to the universal story of creation.
In the beginning there was only darkness. . . . There was fire and ice. . . . There was a single drop of milk.
Combining elements of the creation story from different traditions, this narrative weaves together one complete picture of how the world began. First Light, First Life is a celebration of the many and varied peoples of the earth, of their commonalities and their differences. It is a celebration of life.
Learn more about the creation of First Light, First Life:
https://booksaroundthetable.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/first-light-first-life/
http://www.paulfleischman.net/bio.htm#FirstLightArticle
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fleischman and Paschkis return to the approach they used in 2007's Cinderella-themed Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal, expertly weaving together elements from global creation myths to highlight their surprisingly similar story lines. A boxed passage from a myth appears on each page, attributed to the place it's told or the people who tell it. Paschkis's earth-and-sky-toned gouaches draw on appropriate indigenous elements while keeping the imagery smooth and visually harmonious. The universe starts from some fundamental substance ("In the beginning, there was fire and ice. In the beginning, there was a single drop of milk"), and sacred beings create earth and humans ("All was water. Then Obatala climbed down from the sky with a snail shell filled with earth, the first dry land"). After humans learn, grow, and cause trouble, the gods destroy the Earth with water or fire, and a small number of good humans are saved. The stories' references to weather and environment are specific, yet they share an essential understanding of humans as made by gods and at the mercy of events they can't control. Humankind really is one family, Fleischman suggests. Ages 6 9.
