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Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Englewood | Juvenile Book | SUNSHINE STATE 22-23 JP FRASER | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Port Charlotte | Juvenile Book | SUNSHINE STATE 22-23 JP FRASER | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Port Charlotte | Juvenile Book | SUNSHINE STATE 22-23 JP FRASER | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Punta Gorda | Juvenile Book | SUNSHINE STATE 22-23 JP FRASER | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A little yak yearns for BIG things in this rollicking, rhyming picture book that celebrates individuality, unique talents, and the importance of not growing up too fast.
Gertie is the littlest yak in her pack, feeling stuck in her smallness. She wants to grow up and have BIGNESS and TALLNESS, with the hugest of hooves and humongous horns too! Because there isn't anything a BIG yak can't do.
So Gertie devises a growing-up plan. She eats her veggies, exercises every day, and reads lots of books. Still, she isn't any bigger. But when the other yaks come calling for Gertie to help them with a daring and dangerous task, could it be because it's something only a small yak can do?
Lu Fraser's debut picture book is a heartwarming and relatable story of individuality, self-esteem, and the joys of being young and small. best-selling illustrator Kate Hindley has created a delightful wintry landscape, packed with adorable yaks in woolly hats and coats. Readers won't be able to resist snuggling down with this charming read aloud.
A CCBC Choice
Reviews (2)
Horn Book Review
Gertie, "the littlest yak of them all," wishes she were bigger. She tries eating veggies; she tries exercise; she tries reading "to make her thoughts grow." Nothing works. But when another yak needs rescuing from a precariously narrow ledge, well, you can guess whose qualities come in handy. (Being the "grippiest" doesn't hurt, either.) This iteration of the difference-is-good plot is unusual because the other yaks are supportive from the start, and Fraser elevates the familiar story line with a well-paced rhyming text that invites reading aloud: "Look up! / A yak's STUCK! / On the craggy cliff's edge! / At the end of the narrowest, / rockiest ledge!" Hindley's digitally colored pen-and-ink illustrations, in a limited palette and featuring cool blue and green wintry backgrounds, are populated with endearing yaks, whose boldly patterned hats and scarves match the story's cozy feel. Shoshana Flax November/December 2021 p.71(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Discouraged with her small stature, a little yak tackles a size-related challenge. Living atop a snowy mountain, Gertie's the smallest yak in her huddling herd. Despite having the "curliest, whirliest wool" as well as "splendidly grippy" hooves to scale the most "slippy" cliff, Gertie longs for "BIGNESS." She wants to grow up to have "greatness and tallness" and the "hugest of hooves and humongous horns." Reminding Gertie that yaks are "all shapes and sizes / and BIGNESS can come in all sorts of disguises," Gertie's mother urges her to enjoy being small. Nevertheless, Gertie embarks on a "Growing-Up Plan," eating well, exercising, and reading to make her thoughts grow, but despite her efforts, "no growing arrive[s]." But then the herd frantically calls on Gertie to rescue a yak trapped on a cliff edge, a dangerous mission only she can attempt, and Gertie discovers she's had "bigness inside" all along. The jolly, fast-paced, rhyming verse propels readers through diminutive Gertie's harrowing, wind-swept rescue mission and matches the upbeat mood of her quest for "bigness." A pleasing palette of silvers, grays, and blues with red and yellow accents accentuates the bleak, snowy mountaintop venue, while whimsical scenes of hairy, wide-eyed, comical yaks of assorted shapes and sizes sporting amusing cold-weather headgear will trigger chuckles and reinforce the message of individuality. A real little winner. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
