Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* When Yoko writes her name in Japanese instead of English, two classmates mock her and gleefully predict, She won't graduate from kindergarten. Worried, Yoko hides under a table and is discovered by Angelo, who wants to learn how to write Japanese. In return, he shows her how to write her name in ABCs. Soon the entire class is learning how to write Japanese words, and graduation day has a distinctive Asian flavor, cheering even Yoko's tormentors. In the sunny illustrations, Japanese and English labels on familiar objects invite children to write in both languages. Any child who has coped with being different, especially those from other cultures, will identify with Yoko's painfully realistic dilemma, and others will understand Yoko's palpable fear of failure. Once again, Yoko shares her Japanese culture in a story that can spark discussions about accepting and honoring differences. Meaningful and delightful in equal measure.--Perkins, Linda Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Having overcome the challenges of being the only sushi lover at the Hill Top School (in Yoko), the Japanese kindergartner faces a similar struggle when she is asked to write her name and produces it in beautiful Japanese calligraphy. Although the ever-sympathetic teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, praises Yoko's work, she can't change human nature (never mind that the cast is again rendered as well-dressed kittens, pups and so forth), and soon the class gossipmongers bruit it about that Yoko is "only scribbling" and won't be graduating to first grade. The plot essentially repeats that of Yoko: the mother lavishes love on her "little snow flower," the teacher intervenes with mixed results, and only the overtures of a classmate who wants Yoko to teach him her "secret language" redeem Yoko's spirits. Even so, readers will be glad to see Yoko's return: her character seems to bring out Wells's fascination with pattern as well as color, and her compositions, mostly framed squares set on white ground, are particularly well balanced. English and Japanese captions accompany small insets in the upper corners of the spreads; it would be hard to learn calligraphy from them, but they afford Wells miniature canvases for Japanese-inspired backgrounds, and their scale will delight young readers. Ages 3-6. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-The endearing kitten introduced in Yoko (1998) and Yoko's Paper Cranes (2001, both Hyperion) returns in this lovely story illustrating the challenges facing young children who are bridging two cultures. Life for Yoko in the first week of school is anything but positive. In the eyes of the other children, her Japanese characters look like "baby marks," her numbers are just lines, and she "pretends" to read a book as she pages through it right to left instead of left to right. Olive and Sylvia decide that Yoko won't graduate from kindergarten, and soon the child is unhappily refusing her favorite sushi. Even with the considerate assistance of insightful Mrs. Jenkins and the support of her mother, the situation is not improved until a fellow student steps in. Angelo recognizes Yoko's characters as a secret language, and when she writes his name in Japanese, he shows her how to write the ABC's. After only a bit more classroom drama, all ends well with a kindergarten graduation and bilingual diplomas. This is a carefully crafted picture book with Asian-inspired illustrations that delight the eye just as the gentle story soothes the soul.-Piper Nyman, Brookmeade Elementary School, Nashville, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wells's familiar kitten Yoko is in kindergarten, and she's just learned how to write her name in Japanese. Olive and Sylvia, two catty (also kitten) schoolmates, claim that Yoko is only scribbling and that she will not be able to graduate to first grade. Despite stars from her teacher, comforting words from her mother and help from her friend Angelo, Yoko worries, particularly when she is excluded from a schoolyard game of Graduation. Then other members of the class want to learn some Japanese, and Yoko is glad to teach them. Her teacher's inclusion of Japanese as a second classroom language further helps to dispel her fears. By the time the end of the year rolls around, it is Olive and Sylvia who are worried, because they are the only ones who haven't learned their names in Japanese. Can Yoko save the day? English language learners in particular will savor Yoko's accomplishments. As always, believable characters, familiar struggles and warmth fill Wells's work, which teaches a subtle lesson on acceptance and maturity with great clarity. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
