Yoko (A Yoko Book, 1) Paperback – Picture Book, May 12, 2009

I had this book when I was little and I just had to buy it for my kids. My kids ages range from 1 to 11 and they all loved it! Such a cute, fun read! The picture are absolutely beautiful. We love all of the colors and cute animals! This story of Yoko has a great lesson about how different doesn’t mean bad, and we love that!

Let me preface this by saying we love Rosemary Wells books. The way she addresses new school fears and nerves is great. This story touches on cultural differences in food and being open to learning about other flavors. I like that not everyone in the end agrees that everything is delicious and wonderful. It’s not a neat ending which is more realistic. Yoko manages to find someone who appreciates her culture and foods and also makes a great friend in the process. Teaches about friendship and kind of hints at trying new things. Gently touches on having respect for other cultures and their flavors.

I loved how inclusive the message of this book was! Definitely a great read for younger kids.

I ordered this for my daughter when she graduated from college as she asked about it a few weeks before. She smiled when she saw it.

My daughter just started Kindergarten and was being picked on because of bringing her lunch in from home in a bento box. I searched the web for a book that addressed this and came across Yoko. It's an adorable book, easy to read and easy for my daughter to understand. She immediately identified with the main character. I liked how the story didn't force all the characters to suddenly change and like her food, but that the main character made a good friend through the experience. We don't pack sushi for her lunch, but this story is great for any child who is being singled out for bringing in a lunch that other children say is "yucky" or "weird". The book helped me have a conversation not only about being bullied at school over lunch, but also about how new foods need to be tasted before you think they don't taste good.

This is one of my all-time favorite read-alouds for children. I can't figure out why it's out of publication. Yoko's expressions are priceless as she endures the typical grade-school taunting from her peers, particularly about her ethnic lunch food of choice (sushi). When my own daughter suffered the same experience in kindergarten (we are Japanese and she naturally wanted to take sushi for lunch--and then no one would sit by her), I asked the teacher if I could bring this book to school and read it to the class. What a cute way to teach the kids a valuable lesson without pointing any fingers! I wanted to give this book as a gift to a friend, and my only frustration was that, not wanting to pay an exorbitant price since it's now out of publication, I chose a "gently used--like new" copy and the seller did not disclose that it had once belonged to a public library. My "gift" came with "Westboro Public Library" stamps all over the inside cover and front pages!

Love this book. We have two, one for home and one for my classroom. It's great to teach diversity and the willingness to try food. Our school has a diversity day and we have an international food lunch so it's a great introduction to diverse foods for my students.

I often give this book as a gift. I love the character of Yoko and so do all the children that read this book.