Inspired by cave drawings made more than thirty thousand years ago in what is now France, and the child's footprint found nearby, this book imagines a young Paleolithic artist who notices familiar images hidden in the world around him. He points out a woolly mammoth in the clouds and a bear-shaped stone to his family members, but none of them see what he does. It's not until a close encounter with an actual woolly mammoth that he thinks to outline the creature's shape later that evening on a cave wall lit by firelight. Finally others can share his vision, and although they call it magic, the boy shows them how to draw too. The final page shows a contemporary version of that first artist, telling readers "And that's how-if you'd been around more than thirty thousand years ago-you might have invented drawing. And it's still magic!" (Ages 4-8)

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.