YES DAY!
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
Calendar-like endpapers reveal the ways adults daily say “no” to children, with square after square proclaiming such observances as “When Pigs Fly Day.” Rosenthal provides an antidote to these no’s by instituting an annual “Yes Day,” during which all of a child’s requests are met with adult approval. The child experiencing Yes Day never requests anything truly outlandish or unsafe, making the concept workable, if still a bit daunting to adult readers; Rosenthal’s dedication reveals that Yes Day is a tradition her father celebrates with his grandchildren (which perhaps seems more believable than the parents in the book). The book’s satisfying pacing places questions on recto pages, with pictorial responses depicted at the turn of the page. “Can I clean my room tomorrow?”, for example, is followed on the next page-opening by a picture of a messy child’s bedroom (“Later, mess”). Lichtenheld’s cartoon-style illustrations capture the boy’s delight in each scenario and also provide narrative content when pictures, rather than words, fill in the details of a request’s outcome. Funny and on-target. (Picture book. 3-5)