A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 145

Picture Book: Yo! Yes?

Author & Illustrator: Chris Raschka

Summary: A light skinned boy who is dressed up passes a dark skinned boy who is willing to risk a conversation. “Yo!” he says. The passing boy says, “Yes?” and their relationship begins. Cleverly, their conversation is rich in meaning even though it is comprised of only 1 or 2 word interactions, only 34 unique words in all!

Hanna’s Comments: The risks of initial interaction and the building of friendship are the themes here. The video of this book is particularly appealing because music and a basketball are added. Also, the gestures of the two characters and their intonation help you interpret the simple conversation. It’s amazing how so few words can evoke hospitality, timidity, trust, and satisfaction leading to a budding friendship. Note that despite their different races, postures, and dress, their relationship blossoms. You might want to consider having the children act out the story several times since the conversation is so simple and fun. I've written a lesson for children based on this book. Contact me via a comment if you're interested in purchasing it for just $4!

Publisher & Date of Publication: Scholastic, 1993

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 4 and up, Pre and up

# of Pages: 32

Available in Spanish? Not at present but this book could be easily translated because it has so few words. Consider having two languages in your reading, the dark-skinned character speaking English and the lighter-skinned character speaking Spanish or another language.

Formats other than Book: Video on Youtube.com, Audible, Audio CD

PBT Category: Award Winner (Caldecott Honor) Pre 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: acceptance, beginnings/morning, chosen, communication, community, companionship, differences, emotions/feelings, encouragement, evangelism, exclusion/inclusion, friends/friendship, gentleness/meekness, golden rule/great commandment, hospitality, insecurity, integration, kindness, language/literacy/reading, openness, outreach, outsiders, play, prevenient grace, race relations/racism, relationships, risking, shyness, sports/sports stars

Scripture Connections: Jesus and the bent over woman (Luke 13:10-17); Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)

Idea(s) for Application: I think this book connects well with 2 gospel stories (listed above) in which Jesus initiates interactions with outsiders. Use this book when considering with children themes of initiating relationships, especially with those who are different or on the outside.