September's Book of the Month--You Go First

September’s Book of the Month, YOU GO FIRST, written by Ariel Bernstein and illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, stars Cat and Duck, two friends whose fondness for each other forms the heart of this active, funny, caring story.

When Cat and Duck, “two very good friends,” go to the playground, they find that the slide they want to play on has been replaced with a new slide, one that’s bigger, curvier, and “the MOST fun!” according to Duck, but possibly “too much fun?” according to Cat. Cat uses plenty of stalling techniques in trying to persuade Duck that they should play on something else, instead. When, finally, Duck agrees not to go on the slide, Cat now worries that Duck will “miss out on something she wanted” and, because Cat is “a very good friend,” a solution is found. It turns out that Duck is “a very good friend,” too!

The text is clever yet uncomplicated, uses uses well-placed repetition, and is never preachy. Illustrations are in colored pencil with digital color in a pitch-perfect, expressive, cartoony, kid-friendly way and, if you love picture books, you really shouldn’t miss it.

--Lynn