We have fallen in love with the book on the blog today. The Littlest Yak is written by debut author, Lu Fraser, and illustrated by the incredible, Kate Hindley.
Gertie is the littlest yak and wants to grow up NOW. She wants bigness and tallness because smallness is good for nothing. My little girl was instantly drawn to Gertie. As readers of this blog know, I am a huge fan of Kate Hindley – her illustrations are always so emotive and dynamic.
My daughter and I both loved this page where they look at the Yak-stars where Mummy Yak tells Gertie to enjoy being little.
Still, Gertie tries everything to grow up – from eating vegetables to reading! I love how the humour works for both children and adults, but the story is firmly focused on the child reader and ultimately shows that every child is perfect just the way they are. Lu’s rhymes are jam-packed with fun words children will love and the illustrations are like a warm hug on a snowy day.
I really don’t want to spoil the surprise with this book by telling you what adventure Gertie goes on to discover that her smallness is what makes her great. But let’s just say it is the perfect twist – and children will relate to it.
The partnership between Lu’s descriptive, bouncy rhymes and Kate’s bold, snowy illustrations is spectacular. This is a book that can be enjoyed all year around, but is definitely one that I’ll be buying as a Christmas gift for children this year. This is such a heart-warming and empowering story and I highly recommend it.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 3 September 2020
ISBN: 978-1471182617
I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. This voluntary review contains my honest opinion.
This is a lovely book. We’re big Kate Hindley fans too!
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