Yoko [Hardcover]

Rosemary Wells (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Yoko

Mmm, Yoko's mom has packed her favorite for lunch today—sushi! But her classmates don't think it looks quite so yummy. "Ick!" says one of the Franks. "It's seaweed!" They're not even impressed by her red bean ice cream dessert. Of course, Mrs. Jenkins has a plan that might solve Yoko's problem. But will it work with the other children in class?

 

Now in paperback for the first time, this tender story from Rosemary Wells demonstrates the author's uncanny understanding of the pleasures and pains of an ordinary school day.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is Yoko's first day at school, so of course her mother wants to send her off with healthy comfort food for lunch--a delectable package of homemade sushi. "Have a wonderful day at school, my Little Cherry Blossom," her mother says as Yoko climbs into the bus. And it would have been, had it not been for lunchtime. Timothy brings a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Tulip has Swiss cheese on rye. The Franks brothers have beans and franks. But when Yoko opens her cooler of rice rolls with "the crispiest cucumber, the pinkest shrimp, the greenest seaweed, and the tastiest tuna," one of the Franks brothers announces, "Ick. It's green. It's seaweed." Tulip and Fritz chime in, "Yuck-o-rama."

Rosemary Wells (Voyage to the Bunny Planet), with her expressive, bright-eyed, chubby-cheeked animal kingdom, has once again successfully tapped into the emotional world of children. The embarrassment of bringing an uncool lunch to school! What child hasn't wanted to hide under the cafeteria table when caught with a gooey enchilada or a slice of vegetarian lentil loaf? Fortunately, Yoko's teacher concocts a plan to stop the teasing. Parents who have more ambitious hopes for their children's lunches than Fritos, PB&Js, and Oreos will be relieved to discover that the happy ending does not include Yoko's giving up her comfort meal or, more importantly, her heritage. (Ages 4 and older) --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Yoko the kitten has gone off to her school with her willow-covered cooler filled with sushi, looking forward to a good day. But her classmates tease her mercilessly when lunch time rolls around ("Ick!... It's seaweed!"). Even worse, during the class Snack Time Song, the two bulldogs who brought franks and beans for lunch snort, "Red bean ice cream is for weirdos!" A pat ending seems in sight when Yoko's wise teacher plans an International Food Day and requires the students to try everything. But only hungry Timothy (a raccoon) is brave enough to taste Yoko's sushi?and yet this proves to be enough for Yoko. By book's end, Timothy and Yoko are fast friends, planning to open their very own lunch-time restaurant featuring tomato sandwiches and dragon rolls. As usual, Wells demonstrates a remarkable feel for children's small but important difficulties. Like the just-right text, her expressive watercolors, both panels and full-scale, capture a distinctive variety of animal children as well as the nuances in Yoko's expressions. Wells's message is clear without being heavy-handed, making this brightly colored schoolroom charmer a perfect book for those American-melting-pot kindergartners who need to develop a genuine respect for one another's differences. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786803959
• ISBN-13: 978-0786803958
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Multiculturalism
  • #75 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Asian & Asian American

More About the Author

Born in New York City, Rosemary Wells grew up in a house "filled with books, dogs, and nineteenth-century music." Her childhood years were spent between her parents' home near Red Bank, New Jersey, and her grandmother's rambling stucco house on the Jersey Shore. Most of her sentimental memories, both good and bad, stem from that place and time. Her mother was a dancer in the Russian Ballet, and her father a playwright and actor. Mrs. Wells says, "Both my parents flooded me with books and stories. My grandmother took me on special trips to the theater and museums in New York. "Rosemary Wells's career as an author and illustrator spans more than 30 years and 60 books. She has won numerous awards, and has given readers such unforgettable characters as Max and Ruby, Noisy Nora, and Yoko. She has also given Mother Goose new life in two enormous, definitive editions, published by Candlewick. Wells wrote and illustrated Unfortunately Harriet, her first book with Dial, in 1972. One year later she wrote the popular Noisy Nora. "The children and our home life have inspired, in part, many of my books. Our West Highland white terrier, Angus, had the shape and expressions to become Benjamin and Tulip, Timothy, and all the other animals I have made up for my stories." Her daughters Victoria and Beezoo were constant inspirations, especially for the now famous "Max" board book series. "Simple incidents from childhood are universal," Wells says. "The dynamics between older and younger siblings are common to all families."But not all of Wells' ideas come from within the family circle. Many times when speaking, Mrs. Wells is asked where her ideas come from. She usually answers, "It's a writer's job to have ideas." Sometimes an idea comes from something she reads or hears about, as in the case of her recent book, Mary on Horseback, a story based on the life of Mary Breckenridge, who founded the Frontier Nursing Service. Timothy Goes to School was based on an incident in which her daughter was teased for wearing the wrong clothes to a Christmas concert. Her dogs, west highland terriers, Lucy and Snowy, work their way into her drawings in expression and body position. She admits, "I put into my books all of the things I remember. I am an accomplished eavesdropper in restaurants, trains, and gatherings of any kind. These remembrances are jumbled up and changed because fiction is always more palatable than truth. Memories become more true as they are honed and whittled into characters and stories."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not the ending I expected...., November 28, 2000

By 

David Keuning (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoko (Hardcover)

Somewhere three quarters of the way into this book, something happens. The book breaks away from the ending that my wife and I expected. Ms. Wells steers clear of the facile 'happy ending' and re-routes the book to new and different territory. In the hands of a lesser author we would have the entire class doing cartwheels for Yoko's sushi. Sorry, that doesn't happen. Instead we get a much different ending. Somehow that makes the book more tender. More realistic. Kudos to the author for the ability to make this true to the meaning of being a kid.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rosemary Wells has done it again!, May 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Yoko (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful addition to the Rosemary Wells collection. What child hasn't felt different or excluded like Yoko is? Most of us can relate to bringing the wrong lunch to school and paying the social consequences. Yoko's teacher comes up with an inventive way to try to integrate Yoko's sushi into an international food day, but it fails. However, a curious friend tries Yoko's sushi and likes it, proving that just one friend can make all the difference. This book is a great stepping stone to talk to kids about respecting each other's cultural differences. And who can resist Wells's sweet illustrations? Look for old favorite friends Benjamin and Tulip!!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ballad of Tim and Yoko, October 24, 2005

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoko (Hardcover)

You know how literary snobs can debate for hours whether such-n-such an author's work was better early in their career or late? Okay, that's what I do, only I do it with children's authors. Which, when you think about it, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I mean, what's the point in comparing early Maurice Sendak to his later stuff? What are you really going to determine if you hold up William Steig's cohesive early picture books to his later messiness? But that's just what I do. It's what I like to do. And I have been doing it to Rosemary Wells for years. Ms. Wells was the picture book author I really and truly grew up with. I like to claim loftily that Tasha Tudor was my earliest childhood influence, but I'm just saying that to impress my fellow kiddie lit snobs. If I'm going to be honest, I grew up on Max and Ruby. Books like, "Max's Breakfast". When I became a children's librarian I finally saw Wells' later work and I was, frankly, shocked. To me, it seemed as if Wells had become sloppy in her later years. Max and Ruby books keep getting cranked out, but their plots have become gooey and the illustrations messy. So I grumbled to myself and refused to seriously consider reading and reviewing a single Rosemary Wells picture book ever again. Then, in the process of reading the New York Public Library's, "100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know" I realized that I'd have to read "Yoko". I didn't want to, but admittedly it looked appealing. Reluctantly, I checked it out of my library branch. Tentatively I opened it up and read it through. And just like that my late-Rosemary-Wells prejudice dropped like scales from my eyes. I still think that later Max and Ruby books haven't half the heart of their earlier predecessors. And I still think Wells is getting far too sloppy in her old age. But "Yoko" is honest-to-goodness really well written. It's also doggone cute to boot.

It's a normal school day and for lunch Yoko's mother is packing her daughter all her favorite foods. She gets sushi containing, "the crispiest cucumber, the pinkest shrimp, the greenest seaweed, and the tastiest tuna". At lunch, Yoko enjoys her food but her fellow classmates are deeply disgusted. Mrs. Jenkins, the teacher, tries to convince poor Yoko that by snack time everyone will have forgotten to tease Yoko about her food. Unfortunately, Mrs. Jenkins is underestimating the power of ridicule. Poor Yoko and her red bean ice cream doesn't stand a chance. The minute she gets a chance, Mrs. Jenkins decides to have an International Food Day at school. Everyone will bring in a dish "from a foreign country" and Yoko's classmates will taste just how good sushi is. Everyone makes a dish, and at this point the reader has probably come to the comforting conclusion that everyone will try Yoko's sushi, decide it's good after all, and be her friend forever. Not so much. By the end of lunch everyone has tried almost everything, but not a single piece of Yoko's sushi has been touched. Fortunately, hungry little Timothy is just curious enough to want to try a bit of Yoko's food. Finding he likes it (and Yoko finds she's fond of Tim's coconut crisps) the two happily create their own "restaurant" at school the next day. Yummy tidings for all.

The book narrowly saves itself from what could easily have been a overly sweet and saccharine story that we've seen a million times before. How many cartoons and picture books and children's films have you sat through where a group of prejudiced bullies "try something a little different" and instantly behave as if they've been whacked with a conscience stick? Wells is a clever enough writer to know that teasing doesn't end with mere minutes, a Friendly Song, or even massive food tasting events. That's what makes the ending of the book all the sweeter. When Timothy eats Yoko's food, it isn't because he's been forced to or because he instantly is curious about a different culture. Doggone it, he's hungry! In this way, Wells is able to give us an honestly happy ending without compromising the story along the way. The bullies may not get their comeuppance, but nor do they have a sole victim to berate. Timothy's all about Yoko's food and the two are fast friends by the story's end.

Animals characters that wear clothes and walk around picture books always seem to have Anglo-American backgrounds. Ever noticed that? Maybe that's why I found Yoko the kitten, with her kimono wearing ma, to be such a relief. Wells doesn't reduce her story to stereotypes and there's a great deal of enjoyment that comes with seeing what animals come from what countries. Wells avoids making any political, cultural, or even geographical statements with her furry creatures (a badger is from Nigeria, a pig from Brazil, and a beaver from Ireland) except perhaps in the case of the Boston bulldogs.

With this little book, Rosemary Wells won my heart again. "Yoko" is just the right kind of sweet, interesting, and truly intelligent picture book that I wish we could see more of on library shelves. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone objecting to the tale. And I'll be hard pressed to keep from recommending it to every Tom, Dick, and Harry I pass on the street. Sweet but satisfying.