the Yes
Sarah Bee and Satoshi Kitamura
Andersen Press
YES YES YES
The Yes, a large blobby orangey red being, is a creature after my own heart – determined, divergent and a defier of the odds. . . . and of the Nos; the Nos that pop up everywhere with their continual negativity:
“No, too big… “
“No, you’ll fall… “
“No you couldn’t… “
“No you shouldn’t … “
“No, beware!”
“No, don’t dare!” …  NO!

But does the Yes pay heed to them? Oh No – No – No – not even when he comes to a scary dark wood,

or the bad barren places… on to the big rolling hill. Thereon the Yes realizes that however great their number, the sum total of all those Nos in all the Where is merely a no, a no that is mere dust and nothing, that never really was and gradually, the Yes rises above those diminishing noises of the Nos till there is nothing left but the Yes.
This book is quite unlike anything I’ve come across before and I have read many thousands of picture books. The language used is superb – inventive, playful and thought provoking; take this for instance: ‘The Yes rumbled on and on. He went scrumbling by the marches and flundering through the fields.’ And the story is brilliantly imagined, empowering and leaves gaps for the reader or listener to fill.
The choice of Kitamura as illustrator is inspired.

His wonderfully conceived scenes are built up with seemingly random shapes, patterns, lines and smudges – pure genius and working in perfect harmony with Sarah Bee’s words. What an amazing debut picture book for the author.
So, should you invest in a copy of this one? Yes or No? The answer, of course, is YES! YES! YES!
If you are in a primary school and do ‘Community of Inquiry’/’Philosopy for Children’ sessions with your class or group, then this book offers a great deal of food for thought.
Buy from Amazon
Find and buy from your local bookseller:http://www.booksellers.org.uk/bookshopsearch