Yo! Yes? - Softcover

For Chris Raschka, the first step in his creative process is thinking about his audience - a single imaginary child who is a blend of myself, the students in my wife's classroom - and the students from two classrooms I visit regularly." Raschka, a Caldecott Medalist for The Hello, Goodbye Window and a Caldecott Honoree for Yo! Yes?, draws from any number of images or events - a poem, personal experience, or childhood recollection. He then pulls these ideas into book form. Once the story's complete, he shows it to his audience to gauge their reaction. "And then I may make some changes," he concedes. Raschka lives with his wife and son in New York City. For more information about Chris Raschka, visit: scholastic.com/tradebooks

PreSchool-Grade 2-- An effective, unusual 34-word story of the beginnings of a friendship, accompanied by wild and wonderful illustrations. Against pastel backgrounds, in vibrant, colorful images, an African-American boy and a white boy meet on the street. "What's up?" "Not much." "Why?" "No fun." "Oh?" "No friends." These one- and two-word exchanges on each spread lead to a tentative offer of friendship, sealed as both boys jump high in the air and yell "Yow!" The succinct, rhythmic text and the strong cartoonlike watercolor-and-charcoal illustrations are perfect complements. The feelings of each child run the gamut from loneliness, curiosity, fear of rejection, and hopefulness to, finally, joy; the illustrations do a particularly fine job of limning each boy's emotions in very simple images on the oversized pages. With a beautifully balanced, economical style, the book illumines the peaks and pitfalls of getting acquainted, and puts in a good word for brotherhood as well. Amusing for story times, or for use in discussions of feelings, it is fun to read and look at, and appealing to the eye, ear, and heart. "Yow!"-- Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library , LA
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