You Go First

In the spirit of Mo Willems and Ben Clanton, this “extremely funny and spot-on sensitive” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book shows how a good friend can become even better by trying new things and putting others first.

Cat and Duck are very good friends and play together all the time, so when the new slide gets built, they can’t wait to try it out! Only, the slide is very big and curvy—what if it’s too big for Cat? As Cat and Duck move closer to the front of the line, Cat imagines everything that could go wrong until his worries start to rub off on Duck. Now Duck doesn’t want to go down the slide either.

Cat feels bad that Duck is missing out on the fun because of him. Can he find a way to make it right?

Ariel Bernstein is the author of I Have a Balloon, which received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and was a Junior Library Guild Selection; Where Is My Balloon?, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year; We Love Fishing!, which Publishers Weekly called “relatable and funny” in a starred review; and You Go First. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Learn more at ArielBernsteinBooks.com.

Marc Rosenthal is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of many books for children, including the Small Walt collection by Elizabeth Verdick, All You Need Is Love by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, I Must Have Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, We Love Fishing! by Ariel Bernstein, and Archie and the Pirates, which he wrote. He lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Learn more at Marc-Rosenthal.com.