Yuck, a Love Story

by Don Gillmor, Marie-Louise Gay (Illustrations)

Austin Grouper thinks he has it all--a dog named Fresco, a best friend named Sternberg, and a red bicycle--until yucky Amy moves in next door and invites Austin to her birthday party, and it seems then that the only suitable present for Amy is the moon itself.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Love, Friendship

26 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Author and journalist Don Gillmor was born in Fort Frances, Ontario in 1959 and presently lives in Toronto, Ontario. Don possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Calgary. He has worked for publisher John Wiley & Sons, and has written for a number of magazines including Rolling Stone, GQ, Premiere, and Saturday Night.; where he was made a contributing editor in 1989.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The seven year old hand 2 good stories at school so he asked me to borrow from the library. This has a sticker indicating it won some award. Fun story. Easy read. Decent illustrations and lots to talk about afterwards. Would recommend but likely not re-read. He asked for 3-4 stars and then said 4 ⭐️

[Kirah Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Austin is happy with life until a girl moves next door. YUCK. He thinks girls are YUCK. His mother insists he goes to her house and welcome her to the neighborhood. He goes but isn't really nice to her. He goes to see her every day and tells her random facts and thinks she's gross and stupid when she doesn't know what he's talking about. Then Austin is invited to Amy's (the girl neighbor) birthday party. He decides that he is going to get the moon for her for her birthday. He catches it with a rope but the rope gets caught on many things like a train, a boat, a truck, etc. He has traveled to 22 countries by the time he gets back, but he makes it in time for Amy's party. He shows her his gift, and she says it's so big. Then they discover the moon is stinky and made of blue cheese and take a bite of it. It is YUCK, so they decide to go inside and have cake instead.
2. This book is really cute. I think my summary of it doesn't do it justice. It would be good for 2-5th graders because at this time I think they are still thinking boys/girls have cooties and are gross. It has a high interest level.
3. I would read this book to my students when they were expressing that the opposite gender was yucky or had cooties -much like how Austin acts in this book.
4. I think many students would love this story, boys and girls.
5. You could use this in a literature circle and have the students discuss how they feel about students of the opposite sex. I think it would be a good way to explain that it's okay for girls and boys to be friends.
6. I would definitely read this book aloud. It's fun, and I think the children would like it. You could even ask them before hand questions like who thinks girls are yucky? Who thinks boys are stinky? etc.
7. Related book are Any Questions?, Summer in the City, and Rainy Day Magic.
8. This book doesn't come in other formats, however there are videos of it being read aloud online.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to a preview on the front jacket flap, this book will "strike a familiar chord with anyone who has ever survived that earth-shattering first crush."

True confession: Am I qualified to read or review this book? I have never had that "earth-shattering first crush." None for me as a child. No successful crushing as a teen. Yet, as an adult I've had some magnificent love relationships, especially the current one with the love of my life -- and my husband for over 30 years. Yet even with him, I didn't have an "earth-shattering crush."

So let's get one thing straight: Some folks have those crushes. Sometimes. This drama of certain romantic kind, if it occurs, bears little relationship to....

* Whether you're capable of sharing your life with somebody you love. That is, in the real world.

Although you wouldn't know this from all the crazy-spooney, earth-shattering stories in fiction, romance novels, and romcom movies.

Meanwhile, sure, let's learn about little boy Austin Grouper.

* Ha! He and little girl Amy manage to meet cute.
* Then comes the "fighting it" stage. Because this crush of Austin's is sooooooooo very big.
* As for the totally improbably plot that follows?

Romantic readers can chalk it up to love, earth-shaking love.

I gave this book FIVE STARS, just for you. (Certainly not for me, or readers like me.)

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect story for Valentine's Day! We have been focusing on friendship and so this one worked well too. My students were captivated by the story. It made total sense to them that one could lasso the moon and that it would taste terrible like blue cheese. After all, it has been around for a long time.

The jacket claims it is a romance. It is pretty subtle, if it was meant to be a romance. I'd say it's more simply focused on friendship. The trip around the world didn't phase them either.

I got to hear Marie-Louise Gay speak once. She was a lovely woman and I am always interested in anything she illustrates!

[Timm Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story of friendship. Written from a little boy's perspective perfectly. Bright and wonderful art. A favourite read of dad's at storytime.

[Andy Verschoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a rare one. deals with a crush in a cool way. how can you explain them? impossible - they just happen. feels grown up to me and its written for 6 year olds.

[Allyson Goose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice pictures. Plot was so strange that I was convinced I’d skipped some pages.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ex gave it to me as a Valentine's gift. I love the story but despise the ex, so to be fair I give it a four.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story for the month of February. The story got a little strange at near the end but I thought it eventually came together. I enjoyed the illustrations.

[Lisa's Book Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favourite love story for kids! Hilarious and touching.

[Vanessa Peavy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boys and girls alike think love is just gross at an early age. But somehow even though its yucky, love just happens. I liked this beacuse of the simpleness of it. I was able to connect to this book because I enjoy love in the simplest ways. Like my students in my placement that who tell me they like my earrings, my children drawing me a picture or my husband getting a milkshake on his way home. For Austin Grouper, he showed his love for Amy by going through high and lows to bring her the moon, literally then decided to taste the moon since it was made out of cheese and decided together that cake taste way better.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, it was ok. Nothing to write home about. My nephew spent a lot of time trying to figure out how in the world you could lasso the moon with a rope, and my niece spent a lot of time being offended that Austin was rude toward Amy. I don't know, do little boys still act this way toward little girls that they like? My niece has a lot of friends who are boys, and they don't seem to be offensive when expressing themselves to her, which is great!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Austin’s life was full with his best friend Sternberg, his dog Fresco, and his red bicycle. When a new family moved in next door, Austin met Amy who was his age. Austin went from being unsure of girls to crushing on Amy, and wanted to give her a very large and unusual birthday gift. This is a funny and sweet story with great illustrations.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My FAVOURITE book to read to kids of all ages!!!

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

A girl, Amy, moves in next door to Austin. He tries to impress her, when she isn't impressed he insults her. I thought it contained unrealistic behavior for children.

[Jamie Forrest · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book. It is a cute premise, but the trip around the world seemed totally out of place to the rest of the story.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so sweet. I would have liked it more if they had specified that Austin imagined that he lassoed the moon for Amy, but it was still cute. Really cute.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple but funny story about Austin who has a new neighbor; a girl. he tries to impress her although he is not sure why because he does not like girls.

[Zina]

Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

[Christina Potter Bieloh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute funny book. Great for Valentine's Day. Loved it.