Monday, February 18, 2008

Yoko by Rosemary Wells


I love Rosemary Wells. I do. While I don't love, love, love each Wells' book I encounter, I enjoy them all. She's consistently good with a few stand-out titles. One thing you should probably know about Rosemary Wells? Most of her books feature animal characters. (But the animals aren't acting like animals. They're acting like people.) Yoko is a kitten, a gray kitten, a cute kitten. Yoko loves to eat all of her favorite foods. But when she takes these foods to school, sometimes the other students laugh at her or tease her. These favorite foods? Ethnic food--in this case sushi. "What's in your lunch?" asked one of the Franks.
"Ick! It's green! It's seaweed!"
"Oh, no!" said the other Frank. "Don't tell me that's raw fish!"
"Watch out! It's moving!" said Doris.
"Yuck-o-rama!" said Tulip and Fritz.


Of course Yoko is going to be upset. Fortunately, the teacher is watching and seemingly all-knowing. Will having an International Food Day make the children more tolerant and accepting of those that are different? Read and see for yourself.

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