Title: Yak and Dove
Words by: Kyo Maclear
Pictures by: Esmé Shapiro
Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2017
For ages: 4 - 8
Themes: Friendship, Gardens, Differences
Opening Lines:
If We Were Twins
Yak?
Yes, Dove.
Do you ever wish we were twins?
No, Dove, I have never wished that.
Why I Love This Book and Think You Will Too:
Yak and Dove are unlikely friends and they have their struggles, but they also come to realize that friendship is much deeper than surface things and they have something so much more important and special than liking the same music.
This is a quiet and a noisy story.
This book is written in dialog.
It shows how word choices can lead to problems. It also shows how to use words and actions to resolve problems.
There are three stories that intertwined to create one complete story.
Activities and Resources:
Learn more about the book and author Kyo Maclear. There's an activity guide too.
Meet the illustrator, Esmé Shapiro.
When reading the book with children, stop at the end of chapter one and let the kids write the next story the way they think or want it to go. Then do that after chapter two as well.
Have a discussion about friendship and the challenges that occur. Talk about how to resolve those challenges.
In every book, there is a copyright page, It tells the the details about the book in a succinct manner that is used to create a library catalog record for the book. It seems unimportant to the general reader, but I have found that it often offers an additional tidbit. There in tiny black print, is a note about how the art was created. I found this one to be particularly fun.
Check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Blog to discover more cool books to read with your kids and add to your collection.
You can find this book at Amazon, Bookshop.org or your local independent book store.
(The links are affiliate links. I'm not in this for the money, just trying to get you the quickest way to get the book for your kids, your library, or your school classroom. At Bookshop.org, I have begun two booklists which include my Perfect Picture Book Friday picks and my Graphic novel picks. The list will continue to grow.)
I am currently reading Kyo Maclear's adult book Birds Art Love: A Year of Observation
I LOVE Kyo Maclear's books! Thanks for the heads up. This sounds like another great one! I've also read Birds, Art, Life, and gave it to my husband to read. And he liked it so much, he sent it to several people for Christmas. Word of mouth sells books!