Be More Like Yeti. A “Not Yeti” Book Review

Thank you Penguin Books for sponsoring this review of “Not Yeti” by a soon to be first grader and his mom.

What if we were more like Yeti? Not Yeti is the story of a kind, caring, and compassionate monster. Cheers on its friends. Even on tough days especially these recent days where we just felt like screaming. We all go through those days where we would rather be left alone or we don’t get along with our friends. Or what if our friends were the ones screaming and being unkind? Does this sound about right for your children, their friends and maybe even you? 

My son started his first year in school in the fall of 2020. Yes, he started kindergarten virtually and it remained that way until 6 weeks before school ended. And that certainly wasn’t easy for a five year old. But guess what? When we read ‘Not Yeti’ by Kelly DiPucchio, he was able to share that sometimes he felt frustrated with virtual school and being home “ALL THE TIME” (in caps for emphasis because I lost count on how many times he said this). He remembered feeling like the old Yeti that yelled and crumpled up paper especially when he didn’t get a turn during live class sessions or when he didn’t know how to do an assignment. 

But…

Like Yeti, he found some things he loved during this time. He really loved reading to his teddy bears. He really loved making astronaut costumes and eating peanuts while watching the space shuttle take off. He really loved gathering items on nature walks and sharing wild flowers with grandma. And he really loved baking cookies and eating them too. 

And…

Like Yeti, even if all his classmates didn’t become his friends when they finally met in March. Or his sister wanted to play by herself, he remained himself. He was happy playing alone and learned everything he could about space. He was still happy and ready for adventures in our garden. And he still made a few friends virtually and recognized them when they finally met at school. He knew all of his teachers names and shouted them loudly almost every morning when we arrived at school. 

‘Not Yeti’ shows just how Yeti stayed true to himself even if he isn’t considered a typical monster. Yeti continued to be kind, build things and sing back to the humpback whales. Did you know humpback whales sing? Yeti didn’t go back to being angry or mean and that’s a great lesson for all of us when we are having a tough time. 

No matter the different people in the world, continue to be who you are. There’s enough room in the world for those people, for you, your friends and Yeti too. 

Not Yeti Book Rating

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Kids young and old love Yeti so add ‘’Not Yeti’ to your home library for your next story time adventure. It’s a great story with lots of opportunities for discussion of feeling and being who you are. My soon to be first grader gives it 5 stars. He’s a huge Yeti fan as you can see from the teddy bear. It gets 5 stars from me to for the lessons on making better decisions about who you want to be and sticking to them.