Yo! Yes? is the first book I read to my class each school year. We use it in several ways. First, I explain to my class that sometimes we need a way to focus our attention. So when I say Yo!, they should say Yes? and then stop talking and listen carefully. Next we use this as a guided reading book so that the children can practice how to use punctuation to decide voice inflection when reading. Later still we use the book as a springboard for a discussion of Conflict Mediation and then friendship. I love this book and so do the children in my multiage classroom because in so few words it conveys so much.

"Yo! Yes?" is a unique picture book that uses only 31 words, usually no more than 2 on a page, to tell a whole story involving two boys who discover they can be friends. Beautiful in its simplicity, the book also makes good use of Raschka's expressive art style. Indeed, the book is his masterpiece; since then he has applied his visual talents to a series of minor disasters, among them the picture books "Arlene Sardine" and "Like Likes Like." It's a shame that his reputation has had to dwindle so, but I still keep hoping he will come up with another good one like this. He has done a sequel called "Ring! Yo?" which is slightly more complicated than this one.

This book was my 6 year old daughter's favorite book in 1996 and now it has quickly become my 22 month old son's favorite book too! He already knows all of the words. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with small children!

...no matter how old you are.

Found this book quite by accident. Everyone I've read it to laughs to tears.

"Doggy Dog, you are not a footstool. You are not a potato." What a gem. My five month old girl laughs and laughs when I read this to her. It's great fun for the whole family.

The author/illustrator has found a clever way to combine the illustration and text, as if to portray the sound of Thelonious Monk's music. I read this to a third grade music class. The students commented that the words were placed on the page like notes on a music staff. They also noticed that the size of the words changed throughout the book, perhaps suggesting the dynamics in his music. Although the book doesn't share specific factual information about Thelonious Monk, it is fun to read. I would recommend it for all students and music lovers alike. As a music teacher, I really enjoyed this book!

I was skeptical about this when I picked it up from the library. My 6 and 3 year olds absolutely loved it. The way the words were scattered over the page made it impossible not to read it rhythmically! We read it months ago, and still, every time someone says the word "mysterious," they start chanting the words of the book. Raschka has done it again!

One wouldn't think it possible, but Raschka has recreated Monk's "Misterioso" into a beautiful synthesis of color and word by matching the 12 musical notes of the chromatic scale to the 12 values of the color wheel, and repeating word phrases with slight variations, as with Monk's playing.

This book is a game of hide & seek with the whale, which of course you can easily find. But my 2-year-old thought it was just hilarious, and the game only gets funnier every time we read it! It is perfect for that stage in a child's development where they get immense satisfaction from knowing the right answer. He starts smiling at the first page, and enjoys shaking his head at each page where he knows the whale is not hiding, and chuckling in anticipation as the whale pops out at the end saying "boo!" The book is very short, but it's good for a full minute of entertainment during reading time. The pictures are bold and colorful, and the story is simple for a young child to follow. I just wish the other "thingy things" books had the same sort of story line, because we have really enjoyed this book.

Whaley Whale is hiding somewhere in her room. Ok, so my 3-year old daughter found her on the first page, but that didn't seem to detract from her enjoyment of the book. She just grinned and looked incredibly smug. Wonderful simple illustrations and story, great to read aloud to a toddler and have her "read" along with you!

Personally, I would give it 1 or 2 stars. Very simple book. "Lamby Lamb, don't get dressed. Lamby Lamb, don't put on your pants. Lamby Lamb, don't put on your shirt". My brother likens it to torture reading this. But my nephew absolutely LOVES IT! To the extent that when a page was torn out, and I was trying to tape it back in, he had a fit! I had to give it back to him, and secretly tape it back later. My sister-in-law has also used the book to help dress him in the morning, "Lamby Ryan don't put on your shirt!" In the end, the love my nephew has for this book gives it 4 stars. I just couldn't give it 5 due to its' annoying simplicity.

I bought this book for my baby boy for his first birthday. While the book is small and short, it is very cute. The slug is hilarious and that it worth it. Its a good book for a baby.

Concrete poems force you to dance, shimmy, and shake when read. These are not poems that tiptoe around a subject. They stomp! They laugh out loud...and this laughter is contagious! I find myself going back to the book time and time again...just one more peek, I tell myself for the 37th time.

This collection of poems is a language lover's dream! It is a juggler throwing words up in the air just to see how they come down again, only to be caught, and returned to the air.

This is a book that will not allow you to sit still. Children will catch the excitement of poetry as well. May they run with it and have a blast!

I love this book. It is my favorite book ever. I dont think you need to understand the poems in order to enjoy them. I really recommend it

Readers who state that concrete poetry is too advanced for children are unaware of how stilted that thinking is. If the children were writing the criticisms, you would surely get a different view.

Poetry does not exist to be "gotten" (or understood) by it's readers, or pigeon-holed into one interpretation. Do not underestimate the capacity of a child to comprehend a poet's message. This book is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn to love and appreciate poetry. Children learn to write by using a combination of writing and drawing (driting). So this book is the perfect segway into a genre that many children never learn to appreciate, because it is force-fed to them from the beginning as something that has one purpose. They are led to believe the goal of reading poetry is to discover "the meaning," and in the process the joy is taken away. Maybe that is why so many adults cannot appreciate poetry. They do not know how. This thinking is not a way to promote literacy.

If you want poems that are dumbed-down to meet what you think a child can appreciate about poetry at an early age, then do not buy this book.

Otherwise, do your child an incredible favor and allow them to explore, at their own pace, this book and this genre.

I found myself contemplating this book several times.....and researching author and illustrator voice and training. If Giovanni intends to be thought provoking than she has achieved her goal, but the format is one that I found depressing and racially sterotypical. The images by Raschka evoke the "pickninny" in history.....the wild romping of an African-American child could be drawn straight out of the lewd cartoons presented to us in Jim Crowe illustrations. The only vibrant part of the illustrations are the elements that are not of the central characters being the sky and the dresses. Though Giovanni presents a lyrical concept the work is destroyed by illustrations that present a negative image of the "black loom."

I totally agree with the review of "redtwister" in June 2000. One of the reviewers in April 2000 is throwing an airball in criticizing the graphic art in this book. This book is wonderful! And what first attracted me to it were in the fact the colors of the art on the cover-- the cover has wonderful shades of brown and other earthy colors. It was only afterwards that I noticed is was a children's book by Nikki Giovanni-- that sealed the deal for me since she's one of my favorite poets (along with Sonia Sanchez, Jane Cortez, Ntozake Shange, etc.) and I was single-minded in knowing that I had to get this book for my 4 year old nephew, a child with a Puerto-Rican mom and an African-American dad. Buy this book for any child you know-- white, black, Puerto Rican, Asian, 1 years old, 5 years old, son, daughter, nephew, a friend's kid-- just buy it and put it in their hands!

I read this to my son all the time. As a father trying to raise a young boy with positive Black and female images, I love this book. I think the other reviewer misses the color usage totally, the invocation of the serenity and strength of dark colors. It is against them that the see dark colors as negative, as if lighter (maybe whiter?) colors would cheer it up. The lyrical and jazzy movement of the poem works wonderfully. And the women NEVER come off as Aunt Jemimas. Please, like Nicki Giovanni would ever support an illustrator pushing those images on her work. Buy this wonderful little book. Also, though it says for ages 4-8, I have read it to my son since he was 1 1/2, and he has always loved it.

Zeitlin fulfills his mission to compare the creation myths from many times and peoples, but he doesn't do it in an exciting or engaging manner. While each story builds on the next, the retellings themselves are a bit bland, and could have used a more drama. In spite of an impressive list of acknowledgements and sources (including Joseph Bruhac and E.C. Krupp, Edith Hamilton and Carl Sagan, and a nod to Joseph Campbell), Zeitlin is no storyteller.
The wide range of stories is impressive. Here the reader finds Genesis and the Talmud, theories of the first scientists and present day ones, and tales from India, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Chapter layout is consistent. Each chapter begins with "Imagine ..." inviting the reader to slip into the culture and beliefs of the origins of the tale. A one sentence abstract further sets the stage, and Zeitlin puts each tale into context before going on to relate the story. Each myth is given thoughtful consideration as to how it fits in with the others.
The illustrations by Chris Raschka are a bit disappointing. He made an effort to research each period and culture to render appropriate patterns and drawings, but like the text, the illustrations fall flat. Rectangles in shades of gray cover and confuse instead of illuminating. The graphics, many of which incorporate traditional patterns, would have made lovely borders instead of single page pictures. Color would have made the illustrations less static.
Too scholarly for children, and of little appeal to YA's, it is unclear for whom this book is intended. Zeitlin presents big ideas, big words, and some adult themes, but usually it is either younger children or college students who explore such folk tales and myths. The author is to be commended for promoting openmindedness, and for his ability to portray many different belief systems with respect. Perhaps this will fit into curriculum frameworks, be a jumping off point for teachers, or be useful to storytellers.

I loved this book. I've seen so many different books on origin stories from around the world - there are dozens of them. This once is totally unique - it's about how different cultures picture the world. From the Maori, to the Egyptians, to the Desana Indians, the book explores the different visions of the universe that each culture has set forth in its myths and stories. There are even wonderful chapters on both medieval and modern science - even a chapter on Genesis. Most of the chapters are accompanied by myths and stories - all of them beautifully written. This book is perfect for a curious Middle School reader whose interest in the cosmos is just awakening - but it's great for all ages. It's one of my favorite books

I am a children's librarian. Read it to several groups of kids, and they loved it. Challenges our accepted idea of what a picture book should be, but don't assume that because of that, it won't appeal to children. It's a poem in picture book form, and the illustrations are a delight.

This is a terrific, heart-felt, picture book to share with a friend. Diversity is covered (white cat-brown cat; and same but different). Independence and initiative are introduced (white cat sets out on adventure to find like). Don't try to ask for it to do more with a story line for older readers -- it is not a Pulitzer and not meant to be one. The young (and young-at-heart) get all the simple messages loudly and clearly. Brilliant. Read it with someone you love.

My 12 month old daughter loves this book. She always brings this book to me thoughout the day so that I can read it to her. It is such a fun book to read and I enjoy it as much as she does (which is good because she makes me read it to her at least 3 times a day). I disagree with the idea that there is a lack of diversity and that diversity is portrayed as a bad thing in this book. At the beginning of the book when the cat is seeing pairs of animals going by the author says "Two by two, curly and straight, fancy and plain, different and same go." That to me starts the book on a note that the important thing is to have a friend that you get along with no matter if s/he is different or same. I think that the book isn't saying to be friends with people (or animals) that are similar to you, but that life can be more fun when you have friend. And yes, the book doesn't have a traditional storyline, but that is what makes it fun. It's different and I think that exposing kids to things that don't follow basic prescribed methods is a good thing.