In this companion to Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal, Newbery Medal winner Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis turn to the universal story of creation.

In the beginning there was only darkness. . . . There was fire and ice. . . . There was a single drop of milk.

Combining elements of the creation story from different traditions, this narrative weaves together one complete picture of how the world began. First Light, First Life is a celebration of the many and varied peoples of the earth, of their commonalities and their differences. It is a celebration of life.

Paul Fleischman won a Newbery Medal for Joyful Noise and a Newbery Honor for Graven Images. He is also the author of young adult novels including Whirligig and The Mind's Eye, and middle-grade novels including Bull Run and Seedfolks. He lives with his wife in northern California.

Julie Paschkis is a painter and award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People, Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi, and Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella. A love of pattern and of folk art shows in all her work. She lives in Seattle, Washington.