The Yes

by Sarah Bee, Satoshi Kitamura (Illustrations)

Award-winning Satoshi Kitamura's illustrations bring vividly to life this astonishing and empowering story about self-belief and overcoming fears.
     
In a soft comfy nest in a safe warm place there snoozed a great big orange thing called the Yes. He was snug, but the Yes had a Where to go to. So he left his nest and went trundling out. But the Where was an endless place of Nos. They teemed and seethed. They picked and nipped, and snipped and snicked. The Yes yessed in all his goodness and bigness and yesness. But was he strong enough to overcome them?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2014

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Yes" leaves a comfortable existence to get to "The Where" - but a swarm of "No's" will try to stop any movement forward. Great lesson for small children. Wish there were more books like this when I was growing up. Just because all you hear are 'No's' does not mean that there is not a 'Yes' out there waiting for you to find.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big orange Yes leaves the nest to explore the Where. The Where, however, is the home of the Nos. Every obstacle Yes tackles, the Nos tell him no. But one Yes can stand up against many Nos.

A story about self-confidence and optimism, this book has colorful illustrations to hold the children's attention. The text reminded me of Dr. Seuss. A story to be read aloud with an animated voice.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Astoundingly, after two years of complaints, GoodReads managed to correct one of the lists! I am truly delighted to be on the Reviewer's list (a happy, silent dance because the rest of the house is still asleep), but I am even more delighted to see so many other people are on it, people who write real reviews! To be clear, I don't fault any individual 's preference for rating or reviewing, and using the site however they like and works best for them, by "real" I only mean original text, not you know, copying and pasting the publisher's blurb.

Thanks again Melki for pointing it out: you made my day!

I don't much care for allegory, so this is only a meh for me, brought up in rating by the art.

Library copy

[Leilah Skelton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here’s what I loved, and why I would ordinarily have given this book an easy 5-star review:

This book is beautiful. Each spread is beautifully constructed. There’s a lovely flow to the language, and the use of font sizes and positioning of the text in places makes it a joy to follow on the page. As an adult, I love its message of empowerment and self-belief. The world is full of Nos and we could all use a little more of that fearless, determined, persisting-in-the-face-of-adversity Yes in our lives.

And here’s why I have to balance that with concern that it is unsuitable for the Picture Book age reader:

The Yes on his journey defies all the Nos. He climbs a tall tree (“No, you’ll fall.”), crosses an unstable bridge (“It’s too rickety.”), and jumps into a river (“No, no no, it’s much too deep!”, “No, beware!”) amongst other things. I feel that although the empowerment message is a worthy one, these Nos are the sort of Nos that we tell very young children for their own safety, and I’m not at all comfortable with the fact that this book challenges the ‘No means no’ message that is vital for under-fives.

Maybe if the journey hadn’t involved danger? Maybe if this was ‘Can’ and ‘Can’t’ instead? I think it is a wonderful book – quirky and beautiful, but I wouldn’t advise it as responsible to read to a child under 5. Sorry, but no. I can only give it 2.5 stars, on the reasoning that I find myself polarised completely, depending on the age and maturity of the child reading it.

.............

ADDITION: Picture books are traditionally aimed at the 3-5 years bracket. I have spoken with the publishers of this title and they have informed me that their target audience for this title is 6+ years. My review, I hope, fairly reflects that buyers ought to be aware of the reader age/maturity issue.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nos noed and noed and noed in numbers no one could count. The Yes only yessed in all his goodness and bigness and yesness.

Other reviewers have expressed concern that reading this book to very young children might somehow confuse them about how important the word 'no' is, especially when coming from a parent. Maybe just talk to your kids, explain the difference, teach them the lessen. Don't let books parent for you.

For older kids, and even for this 26 year old, The Yes has beautiful language and a message about perseverance and self-belief. The world will no at us from all directions, and we must fill ourselves with a great big yes in response.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and thought provoking book about the power of saying yes instead of NO. Whilst the highly philosophical nature of this book might make some adult readers a little nervous about reading it, I think there are so many opportunities for interesting discussions with children as a result of this. Unusual and optimistic.

[Haje · Rating 5 out of 5]

The yes is one of these fantastic books that makes you think about your basic assumptions. Why is the world always so in favour of the 'no', and why does it take an awesome little three-legged orange monster to teach you the power of the yes?

It's a lovely and sweet book, highly recommended.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this one here. Spoiler: it's very good.

[Alida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanna teach persistence? Use this book. For any age. Preferably for adults.

[Sara Grochowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone should just read me this book every morning. <3

[Danielle Joseph · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great message, just bizarre!

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, everyone! Our book today is The Yes by Sarah Bee and Satoshi Kitamura, a Seussian parable about the power of positivity over doubt.

In a cave in the great wide Where, there lives a large, friendly, orange beast named the Yes. One day, the Yes goes out to explore the great big Where, and finds that it is filled with Nos, who travel in endless, aggressive packs and discourage the Yes at every turn: from climbing a tree or exploring a forest or swimming a river. Yet in the end, no matter how persistent they may be, while there are hundreds and thousands and millions of Nos, they still are not able to overpower just one single unshakable Yes.

This was a great book! As I mentioned, the text is full of really interesting wordplay that is extremely reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, and is a lot of fun to read aloud (even if I messed up the first page and accidentally read “Nos” as “nawss” – oops). It has a good length, and a wonderful lesson about belief, especially belief in yourself in the face of discouragement. The art is very creative, full of bright colors and unique environments that feel pleasantly otherworldly, and that work really well for the symbolic nature of the story. JJ really seemed to enjoy this one, but this is the sort of motivational story that can easily grow with a child, and we loved it. Baby Bookworm approved!

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age: Kindergarten-1st grade

A beautiful partnership between a motivational story and illustrating the ambiguous. The Yes is a one-dimensional creature that finds himself being bogged down by a dusty cloud of Nos. Whenever he asks the cloud of Nos to do something, true to nature, they say no, no, NO! But, "The Nos were not a thing, and the Yes was a great big thing." So, the Yes continues to defy the Nos at every turn until they blow away on the wind.

The author and illustrator are able to capture a concept and two essential life words in this wonderful addition to self-motivation and bullying books. Perhaps what is most powerful is that the Nos are not depicted as a person, thus avoiding demonizing a particular feature of someone. Although the idea is a bit more abstract, the text is well written to help walk kids through the nothingness of the Nos.

Be careful reading this with the preschool crowd because of the slightly abstract concept and the slightly dangerous activities that The Yes insists on partaking in. Like all books, discussion before and after the book help alleviate misinterpretations.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along his journey, the Yes encounters many Nos: in swarms, flocks and packs. "They teemed and seethed. They picked and nipped and snipped and snicked." The nos are loud and aggressive, but they are also flimsy. And "the Yes was a great big thing." But, through belief, determination, courage (fill in your own word choice here), the Yes finally arrives in a place where there "was no more no and never had been."

An interesting picture book to use with older students to talk about symbolism, theme, personification. I love the vague references like "after a When" and "had a where to go to" that make this applicable to any situation. There are so many interpretations that you could come up with for this book. I like the way the illustrations make it clear that as the Yes progressed, he is moving to higher places.

Courage vs negative self talk, creative inspiration vs worldly critique, forward thinking vs. comfort level. Each reader will bring their own ideas to the table. Also a good read aloud for positive mindset.

[Fromwordstoworlds · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the real challenges for me as a parent is to have an active role in my daughter’s abstract and metaphorical thinking development. We often play with concepts and create stories around them but nothing compares to using her curiosity and her love for books as essential instruments.

I was happy to find Sarah Bee’s book and read it both as an unusual, playful story about being positive and also as an allegory on the abstract notions of Yes and No, strongly connected to I do/ I can versus I do not/ I cannot.

Satoshi Kitamura’s illustrations are exceptional. The Yes is represented as a big orange three-legged creature that leaves the nest to explore the Where. But the Where was an endless place of Nos, mosquito-like representations which all stay together in flocks and try to intimidate the Yes.

See full review on blog:
https://fromwordstoworlds.wordpress.c...

[Dione Basseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most kids go through a phase where they negate everything their parents suggest, and this book seeks to counteract this by enforcing the positive side of saying "yes" to things. But it does so by turning an abstract concept into a dinosaur-like creature and sending it on a journey, while it is being stalked by a pack of Nos.

It's weird, and I highly doubt it would work, at least in regards to teaching your child anything. You might be able to keep your child's attention during the reading, but the no-phase isn't something that's going to be solved by metaphor. It's time and work.

I'd say just pass on this book. While the concept is unique, it's unique and rather senseless. Just keep talking to your kid about things, and eventually it will get better.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. The pictures are delightful and pair with a beautiful story about a creature overcoming all the Nos for the world. The message is as apt for small children as it is for the adults that will read this to them. And this book is a delight to read aloud. The author has fun with words and sound and has a joyful jabberwockian flair to her prose. Buy this one and read it to your child often. Or read it to yourself. But please, make sure to read this out loud.

[Juliaruth readsalot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surrounded by swarms of Nos, Yes, a great orange thing, leaves his safe nest to go out and explore. But the flimsy Nos try to impede his every step.
This is a charming story about overcoming obstacles full of encouragement with wonderfully colorful illustrations.
This book will be a fun read for the whole family

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This artistic and non-conventionally worded book teaches kids the importance of persisting to YES- and swatting away all those pesky "Nos". The rhythm and rhyme is brilliant and this would make an excellent read aloud even though a lot of the words are not "correct". I loved that this was a fresh, different kind of book I had never seen before.

[Megan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book that reminds me of e. e. cummings' poetry. It's an amazing read aloud; I shared it with a 2nd grade class who enthusiastically became a chorus of "nos" and "yeses." We had a great discussion about the power of staying open to saying 'yes.'

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Love, Love this book!!
What a wonderful way to say YES!!

[Amy Stalder · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some elements of this book I really liked, for example, the ambiguity of 'the Yes' - as the reader, we never fully discover what it is. However, I feel this was a deliberate choice made by the author to make the story more relatable for children - because 'the Yes' is not given an identity of something the children can relate to, they are able to identify with it more. I also really liked the poetic nature of 'the Nos' - they followed 'the Yes' around like a bad smell trying to talk it out of all the adventures it saw lying ahead. The use of rhyming words increased the pace of the story, intriguing the reader as to whether 'the Yes' was going to listen to them or not. As we continued to read, the pattern was the same, with 'the Yes' ignoring 'the Nos' which made what was going to happen next become predictable as the reader.

I think children would be able to relate this to their personal experiences of being told by an adult that they aren't allowed to do something. However, lots of children would listen to the adult and respect them by doing as they were asked but 'the Yes' doesn't do this. In this resect, it would be good to talk about this in a PSHE lesson - looking at whether or not 'the Yes' should have listened to 'the Nos', considering what the consequences of not listening could have been or whether 'the Yes' did the right thing by following it's dreams and going on the adventures that lay ahead.

[Elpida Cervantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Yes by Sarah Bee is a type of book a student can see a reflection of themselves. It illustrates the struggle that students may have when trying to complete a task. However, it reassures them that they are capable of doing anything and that the nos never existed. Students have a hard time learing to be confident and this book might help them understand that despite the nos in life there is always a yes.

[Amanda Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this story was so cute! I can totally picture a class of small kids loving it. I definitely have met some students that say no to literally everything and always have an excuse why they can't do something, hopefully reading this book would inspire them a little bit.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this...everything about it reminded me of one of those delightfully surreal stories of my childhood. I felt influences of "The Point" and "the Missing Piece" and all of those abstract-art segments that ran as shorts on Sesame Street.

[Rani · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are so used to saying #No. Our life will be #dramatic and different if we dared to say #Yes instead.
#YoungReaders #PictureBook #BookReview #ChildrensBooks #amreading

[SarahEmily1990 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book about the power of ‘Yes’ in the face of all the ‘no’s of the world. The importance of self-belief when faced with doubt and over-coming your fears

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous story about never giving up. Possibly would have most meaning for older children (approximately KS2)

[Alice Mundy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book with a moral about overcoming differences and highlights individuality.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd