*What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan (1995) is a stunning book. It’s one of those very special treasures I sometimes find at library book sales. This copy was actually on the free shelf because it didn’t sell at the sale a few days prior. The dark silhouettes on the cover don’t attract like the brightly colored digital art so common nowadays, I guess. The enigmatic title invites only the thoughtful to open the book. Barry Moser’s illustrations are engravings based on photographs from Patricia MacLachlan and Barry Moser’s family albums. The copyright page reads “The images in this book were engraved in Resingrave, a synthetic wood engraving medium manufactured by Richard Woodman in Redwood City, California. They were printed from the blocks by Vance Studley at the Archetype Press, Pasadena, California.”
The story is about a child’s resistance to her family's move move off a farm on the prairie. There’s an emphasis on the people and the special landscape of the child’s home. We never do find out out why the family is moving, but we know the parents are sad about it. Mama cries about selling the farm. “And Papa took a long walk when they came to take the cows away after he whispered good-bye to Bess after she leaned against him the way she always does.” The message is not to forget; remember what you first knew.
