BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
Book Title: Not Yet a Yeti (available here)
Author: Lou Treleaven
Illustrator: Tony Neal
Publisher: Maverick Publishing
Publication Date: September 2018
Most Suitable for: KS1
Reviewed By: Kathryn Gilbert, Deputy Headteacher
The story begins by introducing the reader to George and his family. They are all yetis, all except George!
Throughout the story, George visits his different family members to ask the question “When will I be a yeti?”. His grandad, father and sister explain that he cannot be a yeti yet if he cannot do certain things, including surviving on a frozen mountain or leaving giant footprints in the snow.
When George visits his mum, she gets him to think about whether he really wants to be a yeti. George cannot picture the type of yeti he would be but when George’s mum asks him what he does want to be, he decides that he wants to be a UNICORN!
George suddenly turns into a unicorn, including a sparkly horn. George explains to his parents that he does not want to be a yeti that scares people but a unicorn that rescues people. All his family accept that he does not want to be a yeti but they also do not want to change who they are. They enjoy being yetis so they come up with the perfect solution – they will scare all the hikers traipsing the mountains and then George can save them. This means that all of the family are happy and able to celebrate what makes them different.
The text is rich in language that makes the story an engaging and entertaining read for children. The book is full of fantastic illustrations by Tony Neal that bring the story alive. They help to tell a tale of courage, acceptance and finding yourself.
Curriculum links: This is a very good book to use if teaching celebrating differences. Also a useful book to use if looking at the weather or different climates and an excellent resource for teaching direct speech and synonyms for said.
You can order Not Yet a Yeti online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Kathryn Gilbert for reviewing the book.