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Yak and Gnu
Lively good humor is afloat—along with an armada of adventurous animals—in this silly seafaring tale.
A romp in the river with Yak in his kayak and Gnu in his canoe leads to a safari full of unusual nautical discoveries. A goat in a boat? A calf on a raft? A whole flotilla of whales and gorillas? No matter how many other strange sailors they come across, Yak and Gnu are certain there is no other beast quite like either of them. Climb aboard for a nonsensical voyage featuring an eclectic collection of embarked animals, awash in rhyme and tongue twisters perfect for reading aloud.
A romp in the river with Yak in his kayak and Gnu in his canoe leads to a safari full of unusual nautical discoveries. A goat in a boat? A calf on a raft? A whole flotilla of whales and gorillas? No matter how many other strange sailors they come across, Yak and Gnu are certain there is no other beast quite like either of them. Climb aboard for a nonsensical voyage featuring an eclectic collection of embarked animals, awash in rhyme and tongue twisters perfect for reading aloud.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2015
1 person is currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Juliette MacIver
27 books10 followersJuliette MacIver lives north of Wellington City with her husband and four children. She majored in linguistics at university, took a detour and became a bicycle courier for a year, then went back to university to complete a diploma in teaching English. She taught for five years before quitting and starting a government job, which she left once her first child was born. Juliette has always written little pieces, frequently in rhyme, and has had “write a children’s story” on her List Of Things I Want To Do In My Life for a very long time. Little Witch is her first title with Walker Books.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 15, 2018
Who would have paired gorilla with flotilla, giraffes with hovercrafts, and “a rat and her clan on a catamaran”? These amazing rhymes are just a few of many in this book that will delight readers and young listeners.
Juliette McIver writes with a sure sense of rhythm and a great sense of fun as she tells this tale of two friends who set out believing they are the only boaties on a river that leads to the sea - only to find that they are quite wrong. They meet many other creatures and types of boats along the way. But instead of being deflated by this knowledge, they change their opening song of how great they are to one of true friendship for each other as individuals:
“Who cares, my friend, when I have you.”
Yippee-ai, Yak!
Woo hoo, Gnu!
There's no other beast …
quite like you.
Cat Chapman has taken each discovery along the animals’ journey and, with her illustrations, both adds to the humour and shows Yak's and Gnu's reactions:
A goat in a boat?
That can't be true!”
... a nasty thingy
on a rusty dinghy.
This A4 hard cover book has double-page illustrations in a soft palette. The typeface is large and clear. Young readers might be challenged by the use of words such as hoo, snazzy, gack, but because these words support both rhyme and rhythm they shouldn’t be major stumbling blocks. The book can be enjoyed by adults and pre-schoolers as a bedtime story, and as a fun read for 5-7 year olds.
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt)
Juliette McIver writes with a sure sense of rhythm and a great sense of fun as she tells this tale of two friends who set out believing they are the only boaties on a river that leads to the sea - only to find that they are quite wrong. They meet many other creatures and types of boats along the way. But instead of being deflated by this knowledge, they change their opening song of how great they are to one of true friendship for each other as individuals:
“Who cares, my friend, when I have you.”
Yippee-ai, Yak!
Woo hoo, Gnu!
There's no other beast …
quite like you.
Cat Chapman has taken each discovery along the animals’ journey and, with her illustrations, both adds to the humour and shows Yak's and Gnu's reactions:
A goat in a boat?
That can't be true!”
... a nasty thingy
on a rusty dinghy.
This A4 hard cover book has double-page illustrations in a soft palette. The typeface is large and clear. Young readers might be challenged by the use of words such as hoo, snazzy, gack, but because these words support both rhyme and rhythm they shouldn’t be major stumbling blocks. The book can be enjoyed by adults and pre-schoolers as a bedtime story, and as a fun read for 5-7 year olds.
Reviewed by Chris Wright (Bookrapt)
July 27, 2016
That was cute. Some rhyming. Adding of numbers, of sorts. Cute pictures. I think this is a fabulous one to try in Preschool for Y--how often do you hear the word Yak when you're little. Unless you're my family and sing Yakety Yak all the time....
7/27/16 Used as opener in my X,Y,Z theme. I was right--the kids didn't really know what a Yak was. They seemed to enjoy the book and laughed at the different animals in their boat-type things.
7/27/16 Used as opener in my X,Y,Z theme. I was right--the kids didn't really know what a Yak was. They seemed to enjoy the book and laughed at the different animals in their boat-type things.
September 21, 2015
Rhymes that that break hilariously, and a fun message about friendship. It's a bit like reading an extended tongue twister. I approve.
June 22, 2019
Wacky rhymes and funny pictures to go with them make this a really fun read. Juliet MacIver is the master of rhyming not just words at the ends of lines but also those in the middle and sometimes the start as well, which makes for really good for reading flow as long as you can avoid getting tongue twisted. “Yak in a kayak (blackberry-black)/Gnu in a blueberry-blue canoe” always catches me out and Gnu ends up in a bluebelly-blue canoe instead!
Has a similar cadence to That’s Not a Hippopotamus, by the same author.
Has a similar cadence to That’s Not a Hippopotamus, by the same author.
October 18, 2017
Funny rhyming story about how Yak and Gnu think they are unique in their love of their kayak and canoe but actually several animals love sailing too. There is a singing part that I made up a tune for when I read it. Boys think the hippopotamus page is very funny.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2017
Lyrical and fun.
February 10, 2025
Not bad. The rhythm gets off in a few places, but the language and pictures are fun.
February 4, 2016
his is a picture book. It is fiction. People who like animals and counting numbers and who are three, four, or five years old would like it.
Yak and Gnu are friends. Thinking that no one else can sail as well as them, they go on and on and meet more and more animals until a big ship comes. Everyone else they meet can sail a boat, too. They are upset because they think they are the only ones who could sail a boat, and their song is was only for themselves. Then they notice; “we are different, and everyone else is different, so we can still sing our song because we are us!” In the end they felt they could be themselves because they were different from everyone else because no one else had a kayak or canoe, and no one else was really best friends. Yak and Gnu are funny and I liked the illustrations, and there are a lot of tongue twisters. The best part of the book is when they are sailing by themselves.
review by Aubrey L, Age 7, Greater NYC Mensa
Yak and Gnu are friends. Thinking that no one else can sail as well as them, they go on and on and meet more and more animals until a big ship comes. Everyone else they meet can sail a boat, too. They are upset because they think they are the only ones who could sail a boat, and their song is was only for themselves. Then they notice; “we are different, and everyone else is different, so we can still sing our song because we are us!” In the end they felt they could be themselves because they were different from everyone else because no one else had a kayak or canoe, and no one else was really best friends. Yak and Gnu are funny and I liked the illustrations, and there are a lot of tongue twisters. The best part of the book is when they are sailing by themselves.
review by Aubrey L, Age 7, Greater NYC Mensa
November 7, 2015
Yak and Gnu are best friends and they love to go out on the water in their kayak and canoe. They are convinced that they are the only ones who can sail the sea! But as they paddle along they find other animals that are sailing the open seas and they keep having to change the song that they sing. They get increasingly frustrated that they aren't the only two playing on the sea and that it keeps getting more and more crowded. Can they learn that it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing as long as they are having fun together?
Cute and fun writing combined with excellent illustrations makes this a winner! How can you not love a yak in a kayak and a gnu in a canoe who run into a tattooed hippo and other assorted animals!?
Cute and fun writing combined with excellent illustrations makes this a winner! How can you not love a yak in a kayak and a gnu in a canoe who run into a tattooed hippo and other assorted animals!?
January 18, 2016
Yak and Gnu set out down river singing a sea song for just the two of them…Yak in his black kayak and Gnu in is blue canoe. ‘There’s nobody else like me and you. No one else but you and me can float a boat or sail the sea.’ Then they learn that many others can float a boat or sail the sea. They meet a goat in a boat, a snail who can sail, a rat and her clan on a catamaran, and many others. As a matter of fact, they see an ocean cruise full of yaks and gnus. They are disappointed to find out that they are not the only ones who can float a boat or sail the sea. But they do agree ‘there’s nobody else quite like you’.
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http://julianaleewriter.com/books-ali...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2016
Best friends, Yak and Gnu, think they are quite special because they can sail about on their different type of boats. But, as they soon discover, many other animals can take to the water too in all sorts of crafts.
Excellent illustrations!
Excellent illustrations!
May 22, 2015
Menagerie at sea. Entertaining absurdity.
June 1, 2015
Silliness that even made my 18-month-old giggle.
June 20, 2015
Watercraft, counting, and animals in an entertaining picture book.
July 11, 2016
I think the gorillas on flotillas saved this book for me. The rhyming is awful, but it gets sillier and sillier which makes it interesting. Great illustrations.
August 22, 2015
Cute rhymes & best friends.
Yak in a kayak, gnu in a canoe, goat on a boat, calf on a raft... wonderful imagery.
Yak in a kayak, gnu in a canoe, goat on a boat, calf on a raft... wonderful imagery.
July 30, 2015
Silly story about 2 friends, yak in a kayak and gnu in a canoe.
August 20, 2015
Meet Yak and Gnu. Two best friends who love to row and sing. But who will they meet on their journey down the river? This hilarious rhyming tale is full of adventurous animals and boats galore.
August 27, 2015
Lots of fun with some interesting rhymes.
October 7, 2015
I found the forced rhymes to be quite annoying but the illustrations are adorable. Also good vocabulary development and counting reinforcement.
March 18, 2016
Nice and funny and bouncy.
May 17, 2016
Ooh, I LOVE this. I think it would be SUPER fun to read during Story Time. Super fun.
September 7, 2016
Very light, funny book about 2 friends who think they're the only ones who can take to the sea and find out they are not. The ending is very sweet.
September 24, 2016
Another fabulous rhyming story from NZ author Juliette MacIver. This story of two friends enjoying their time on the water in their canoe and kayak. Brilliant study of language and sound.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews