Are We There, Yeti?

by Ashlyn Anstee (Author) Ashlyn Anstee (Illustrator)

Are We There, Yeti?
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
When Bigfoot is driving the bus, a field trip can feel legendarily long...but the best surprise of all is yeti to come! When Yeti, the school bus driver, takes the class on a surprise trip, everyone wants to know: "Are we there, Yeti?" And when they finally arrive, a new adventure is in store! Told with simple text and delightful illustrations, Ashlyn Anstee's debut picture book presents a fun, new take on a timeless question.
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$19.99

Kirkus

Employing a combination of expressive illustrations and simple dialogue in bubbles, Anstee delivers a simple, satisfying, if low-key debut. A nifty take on the perennial question “Are we there, yet(i)?” and a prerequisite read-aloud before a first class field trip. (Picture book. 4-8)

ALA/Booklist

Speech bubbles and blocky cartoonlike illustrations done in gouache capture the rambunctious children. Yeti is a crudely drawn hero, sketched in off-white with big teeth and lots of personality. A romp.

Publishers Weekly

School bus drivers occupy a special place in children's imaginations, so debut author-artist Anstee is on to something by transforming this authority figure into a hulking mythical beast whose name happens to sound a lot like part of a classic kid whine. Yeti takes his charges and their teacher on an extensive road trip (the landscape changes from small town to shoreline to Alpine, prompting plenty of yeti-themed punning on the theme of "Are we there yet?") to his mountaintop habitat. From there, however, Anstee has trouble delivering on her big idea. The human children meet Yeti kids, they share some conventional wintertime fun and games, and promise to get together again. Even if the storytelling sags a bit, Anstee's drawings show a lot of promise: rendered in a sunny palette, her artwork, a mix of digital media and painting, has the breezy look of early 1960s animation. Anstee's bucktoothed, oversize hero and round-headed, eager-eyed children have big hearts and high spirits, and she includes just enough goofy incidental details to invite young eyes to linger. Ages 4-8. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (July)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--Sans any claws and with rounded teeth, this yeti--more marshmallow than monster--makes the perfect bus driver for a class field trip. The gouache and Photoshop illustrations show a pleasant enough journey past the park, the beach, and through the countryside, with the final stop on a snowy mountaintop to visit with a group of yeti children for an interspecies cultural exchange. It is Yeti's encouragement and enthusiasm that helps all the young ones overcome their initial shyness for some fun in the snow until it's time to go. Large comic speech bubbles present the vocal, oft-repeated road trip tropes, from the title pun, to "I'm hungry/thirsty/bored," and finally "Are we home, Yeti?" Travelers, or anyone stuck in the car for extended amount of time, will easily relate. VERDICT A handy title for those looking to feature gentler monsters in their storytimes.--Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes




Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781481430890
Lexile Measure
180
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date
July 21, 2015
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV041030 - Juvenile Fiction | Transportation | Cars & Trucks
Library of Congress categories
Bus drivers
Humorous stories
School field trips
Yeti

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