Saturday, June 16, 2012

Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Rating: 4.5 stars

I'm pretty strict.  Okay, I am actually very strict.  When Lorelei was a toddler I used to say "no" to her requests just to, as I explained to others, "let her practice hearing the word and practice learning to move on without carrying on."

That seems a bit funny now, though...I might also have done it with my second kid.  Oh, and my third, too.

What can I say?  I believe in free will and all, but...not if you're under 3 1/2 feet tall.  In fact, maybe I should get one of those roller-coaster signs: "Must be this high to have an opinion."  When I saw this book by one of my new favorite authors (AND fantastically illustrated by the same guy who did Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site, which I love), I had to grab it.  But I was afraid!  What if this book and its wild ideas poisoned my children with the idea that they could (gasp!) have their way once in a while?!

I decided to take a risk.  Dare devil that I am.

It's a short book that's jam-packed with great illustrations and funny lines.  A little boy explains to the reader that it's his favorite day of the year.  He asks a question (such as "Can I have pizza for breakfast?" or "Can we have a food fight?"); you turn the page and the answer, clearly in the affirmative, is in the very fun, I-want-that-to-happen-to-me-too illustration.  The boy has a satisfied grin on every page.  I can imagine a similar grin on my kiddos...

The last question is "Does this day have to end?" and of course it does.  But only after he gets to stay up late, eat popcorn, and watch a movie with his dad.

VERY cute.

And VERY dangerous, if you'd ask me.  I'm going to sneak this one back to the library after just one or two readings with the big kids before they get any ideas.  And if they ever remember it and, in a moment of weakness, I agree, I'm going to have to start small.  Maybe we could have three yeses granted, like a genie in a bottle.  Or a yes morning.

Or maybe just a yes minute.  Yes, that would be a good start.  Baby steps, right?

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