The First Drawing

by Mordicai Gerstein (Author)

The First Drawing
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Imagine you were born before the invention of drawing, more than thirty thousand years ago.

You would live with your whole family in a cave and see woolly mammoths walk by!
You might even see images of animals hidden in the shapes of clouds and rocks.
You would want to share these pictures with your family, but wouldn't know how.

Who would have made the world's first drawing? Would it have been you?

In The First Drawing, Caldecott Medal winner Mordicai Gerstein imagines the discovery of drawing...and inspires the young dreamers and artists of today.

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In this playful account, Caldecott Medalist Gerstein (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers) suggests how and why drawing was invented, imaginatively drawing from an archeological find of cave drawings and a nearby child's footprint. Second-person narration immediately pulls readers in: "Imagine... you were born before the invention of drawing." A shaggy-haired modern boy, colored pencils in his back pockets, and a dog stand in front of a blank canvas. Opposite, the boy is transported. It's 30,000 years earlier, and he has a wolf at his side. When he encounters a woolly mammoth, the boy shares the experience, using a burnt stick to depict the giant animal on a cave wall. Gerstein's mixed-media spreads feature a mostly blue and brown palette, and thin, rainbow-hued brushstrokes add texture and vividness. The power and intrinsic reward of making art is revealed as the boy animatedly draws his mammoth over several panels--to the fear, then fascination, of his family. Artists see the world differently, but Gerstein suggests their true gift lies in allowing others to share in their visions. Ages 3-6. Agent: Joan Raines, Raines & Raines. (Sept.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

K-Gr 3--In this compelling picture book, Gerstein invites children to travel back in time more than 30,000 years to a cave in what is now southern France. Using thickly applied acrylics and rough strokes of black ink, he creates a prehistoric setting complete with a community of early humans, giant woolly mammoths, and one inquisitive caveboy. Told in second-person narrative, the text asks readers to put themselves in the mindset of the boy surrounded by wide-open skies, plush drifting clouds, and a great diversity of flora and fauna. A true artist, the child sees more than the surface appearance of his world. Gerstein's illustrations of rocks, clouds, and shadows cleverly conceal animal shapes that both readers and the protagonist are compelled to discover. At first, the other cave dwellers are dismissive. Then the youngster does something unprecedented: he picks up a burnt stick and begins drawing on the walls. For his fellow early humans, this first taste of art is scary and disconcerting. "Magic!" the boy's father exclaims. It is, in fact, the world's first drawing. An author's note provides background on the real-life drawings in the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave and the discovery of a human footprint belonging to an eight-year-old child. Pair this title with Emily Arnold McCully's The Secret Cave (Farrar, 2010) to extend the lesson and learn about the 1940 discovery of the caves in southern France.--Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Mordicai Gerstein
Mordicai Gerstein is the acclaimed author and illustrator of more than forty books, many of which he also wrote. His books are frequently awarded ALA Notable status, and he is the three-time recipient of a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year honor. In 2004, Mordicai was awarded the Caldecott Medal for The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Mordicai lives in western Massachusetts.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316204781
Lexile Measure
550
Guided Reading Level
M
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
September 10, 2013
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002060 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
JUV016090 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Prehistory
Library of Congress categories
Imagination
Drawing
Cave dwellers
Prehistoric peoples
Cave paintings
Parents Choice Awards (Fall) (2008-Up)
Silver Medal Winner 2013 - 2013
Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Red Clover Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Massachusetts Book Award (MassBook)
Winner 2014 - 2014

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