Homeschool Friday - Darcy is Always First

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

Darcy is Always First (Good News for Little Hearts)

By: Lauren Whitman

Illustrated By: Jo Hox

Publication: September 9, 2024 by New Growth Press

32 pages

Genre: Children's, Animals, Picture Books, Christian, Manners

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--In Darcy Is Always First, children will learn how to show love and patience to their brothers and sisters, even when they annoy each other.

It doesn’t matter that Darcy Duck is only a few seconds older than Delia and Denny—Darcy thinks she should be first at everything. That means that the ducklings always end up fighting to get their turn. Hurt feelings and anger abound until one day when their grandparents fly in for a visit. That’s when Denny’s determination to be first, ahead of Darcy, almost ends in disaster.

Edited by counselor Lauren Whitman, Darcy Is Always First is part of the Good News for Little Hearts series that brings gospel wisdom and biblical counsel to families. Based on CCEF’s model of hope and help, each story focuses on an animal family’s real-life issues, encouraging young readers toward a growing relationship with Jesus during challenging circumstances.A special section at the end of the book guides parents in having meaningful conversations with their kids about putting others first and living at peace with one another.Children ages four to seven will be captivated by Joe Hox’s colorful, fun illustrations that bring the animal world to life. Teaches children and parents how to apply God’s Word to the inevitable occurrence of navigating sibling conflict.

I absolutely love the Good News for Little Hearts series. There's always a Scripture where a book dedication usually stands. Darcy is Always First features Romans 12:5, "In Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts." In my copy, this Scripture was toward the end instead of the beginning of the book. Darcy is Always First is 32 pages long, but of course, it isn't an AR book so finding an exact book level for reading purposes would just have to be a guess, but I would put these books on par with the Berenstain Bears which ranges from a level-2 to a level-4. Either way, this is a book that I've read to my kids, not a book that my kids have grabbed for supplemental reading purposes (at least so far).

The book starts with three duckling siblings swimming in Mulberry Pond. Darcy has a habit of pushing her way to the front of the line to be first at everything. A couple of examples are shown. Denny is the youngest sibling, and he seems to take Darcy's habit the hardest. That's not to say that Delia is immune to Darcy's behavior. As Denny gets fed up with Darcy's attempts to be first, he begins to fight her on the position, but his attempts only make things worse. Denny eventually takes his attemps to beat Darcy at being first so far that he puts himself and Gram and Gramps in danger. All three end up soaking wet. Mama and Papa finally take time to see what's really going on with Denny. And Mama and Papa have a discussion with all of their ducklings. Papa pulls a piece of paper from his hat that has Romans 12:5 on it. He talks to the ducklings about how important it is to take care of your siblings in the same way that you take care of your own body. If one sibling does well, all of them should be happy. If one sibling is hurting, everyone is supposed to care about that pain. Because we all belong to one another. And then he talks to them about how to make things right.

At the end of the book is a section for parents about helping children with navigating sibling conflict. And then finally, there are four "Back Pocket Bible Verses" that you can pull out and give to your child/children for when siblings fight. Mark 12:21, Romans 12:5, Psalm 133:1, and Ephesians 5:1-2.

Picture books that teach about Biblical character in a way that children can understand and apply in their lives are among my top favorite books. This entire series is great. Darcy is Always First gets 5 Stars. (Now if only solving sibling conflict went as smoothly in real life as it is presented in books, all of us parents would have a much easier job.) Have you or your child read Darcy is Always First? What did you think? Let me know!

P.S. As this blog post is publishing on September 11, 2026, I haven't forgotten this day 25 years ago. I honor those lost in my memory, and my prayers are with the family members of those who died as well as the survivors of that day. I recently listened to the audiobook I Survived: The Attacks of September 11, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis with my kids and had a visceral reaction that I wasn't expecting. I highly recommend that book and will have a full review coming to my blog in the future.