Kip Is Going to Be First
For the grown-up reading along
Being line leader is a very big deal when you are four, and this book takes that seriously. Kip tries the sneaky ways first, and it is only when he walks up and asks that anything changes. Oona answers him with an about-face instead of a speech, so he gets a real turn at the front, not a lesson about why he should not want one. What he finds there is plain snow, and he misses the wiggles and hops he used to watch from the back. He decides for himself to hand the front to Gus, who had never been first either. Nobody tells him the back is better. The circle at the end is the joke and the gift at once, a line with no last place in it. If your child is waiting on their own turn at the front, the about-face works in any hallway.
Kip Is Going to Be First, in full
Every morning, five penguins walked down to the sea for breakfast.
They always walked in a line, and they always walked in the same order.
Oona. Norbert. Flo. Gus. And Kip.
Kip was always last.
Oona was the oldest, so Oona went first. Every morning she stood at the front and called out the morning words.
"Flippers in! Beaks up! Waddle, waddle, GO!"
And off they went. Waddle, waddle, waddle.
From the back of the line, Kip could see everybody. Gus's short tail, going wiggle, wiggle. Flo, doing a little hop every few steps. Norbert, humming the same song he hummed every day. And far, far away, the top of Oona's head.
"Tail feathers," said Kip. "Every single day, tail feathers."
Kip did not want to look at tail feathers. Kip wanted to be at the front. Kip wanted to be the one who said the morning words.
"Tomorrow," said Kip, "I am going to be first."
The next morning, Kip waddled faster.
Gus heard him coming and waddled faster too. So did Flo. So did Norbert. So did Oona.
Waddle-waddle-waddle-waddle-waddle!
"Are we racing?" puffed Norbert. "I love racing!"
They reached the sea in no time at all, huffing and puffing. Oona. Norbert. Flo. Gus. And Kip.
Kip was still last.
The next morning, Kip had a sneaky idea. A slippery idea.
Halfway down the snowy hill, he flopped onto his tummy and SLID.
Whoosh, past Gus! Whoosh, past Flo! Whoosh, past Norbert! Whoosh, past Oona!
Past the front of the line. Past the big blue ice rock. Then round and round the big blue ice rock he whizzed. Once. Twice. Three times.
Bump. Plop. Kip landed in a snowdrift.
"Good morning, Kip," said Gus, right in front of him. Kip was still last.
The next morning, Kip did not waddle faster. He did not slide. He walked all the way to the front of the line and looked up at Oona.
"Oona," he said. "Can I be first?"
Oona looked at Kip for a long time. Penguins can look at you for a very long time.
"Hmm," said Oona.
Then she faced the sea. "Flippers in! Beaks up! Waddle, waddle, GO!" And Kip went back to the back.
Oona. Norbert. Flo. Gus. And Kip. Kip was still last.
At the edge of the sea they had breakfast. Breakfast was fish. Breakfast was always fish. Nobody ever asked what was for breakfast.
Then Oona stood up very straight. "Home time," she said. "Everybody. About... FACE!"
Every penguin turned around.
Now the line went Kip. Gus. Flo. Norbert. And Oona.
Kip was first.
"Well?" said Oona, from the very back. "Say the words."
Kip took the biggest breath of his whole life. "Flippers in! Beaks up! Waddle, waddle, GO!"
It was very quiet at the front.
It was very windy at the front.
There was nothing at the front but snow, and more snow, and one small cloud.
Kip looked back. "Still there?"
"Still here," said Gus.
Kip waddled on. He looked back again. "Still there?"
"Still here," said Gus and Flo.
He looked back one more time. "Still THERE?"
"STILL HERE!" said everybody.
Kip faced the front again. Snow. Snow. Cloud.
He missed Gus's wiggly tail. He missed Flo's little hop. He even missed Norbert's song, which was always the same song.
Being first was very nice. But from the front, Kip could not see anybody at all.
Halfway home, Kip stepped to one side.
"Gus," he said. "Do you want to be first?"
Gus had never been first either. His short tail wiggled so hard he nearly fell over. "Flippers in! Beaks up!" said Gus. "Waddle, waddle, GO!"
So Gus went first, then Flo, then Norbert, then Oona, and Kip waddled along at the very back.
Wiggle went Gus. Hop went Flo. Hum went Norbert. And Oona, who had been watching the show from the back all the way home, did a small, surprising skip.
Kip watched the whole show. "Tail feathers," said Kip happily. "Best view on the ice."
The next morning, Oona called, "Line up!" and something strange happened. Nobody went to the front.
Everybody hurried to the back. Everybody wanted to watch the show.
But somebody always ended up at the front. First it was Norbert, so Norbert hurried round to the back. Then it was Flo, so Flo hurried round to the back.
Round and round they shuffled, until the back of the line bumped right into the front of the line.
It was not a line anymore. It was a circle.
"Now nobody is last," said Kip.
"And nobody is first," said Oona.
"Flippers in! Beaks up!" they all shouted together. "Waddle, waddle, GO!"
Round and round they went. Wiggle, hop, hum, skip, and Kip.
They were very late for breakfast. Nobody minded one bit. It was fish.
