Not Yet, Yeti

PreS-Gr 3–Yeti is excited for his first day of kindergarten. Once there, Yeti introduces a new friend with the wrong name and knocks over a tower of toys they’ve all been playing with. When Yeti breaks the crayon while trying to write his name, he becomes distraught. “I can’t do it!” he cries, looking upset. His teacher acknowledges his effort and encourages him to try again. Throughout the day, he continues to receive words of support from his peers and teacher whenever he tries something. At the end of the day, Yeti feels so encouraged that he doesn’t want to leave. Through Yeti’s experiences during his day, this story shows children that it’s okay not to succeed right away; they can always try again. Yeti is a big, lovable character with expressive facial features that make it easy for readers to root for him. Bright digital illustrations show children with a range of skin tones against many backgrounds of solid colors or sometimes with key words lightly repeated. In all the visual stimulation, it might be easy to miss the one image where Yeti visualizes himself succeeding—the rest of the time, his motivation seems to come from others, not himself. The back flap of the dust jacket shares information on growth mindset, as well as questions that those reading the book with children can ask them.