THE ISLAND BEFORE NO gets a "yes!" from this librarian.

Kids will be drawn to the Yes Day-adjacent premise and pack their bags for an island of free donuts (until it isn't).

The graphic style and bold lettering also draw the reader in. It serves as a lesson in consent without veering to far into the didactic.

I look forward to adding this to my elementary school library.

The Island of No by Christina Uss presents an amusing premise: a kid with the power to say "NO" visits an island inhabited by walruses who can only say "YES." While the concept holds promise for a humorous exploration of boundaries and consent, the execution falls somewhat short of its potential.

The narrative follows the chaotic events that unfold when the kid introduces the concept of "NO" to the walruses, disrupting their previously simple way of life. The juxtaposition of the kid's assertiveness with the walruses' unwavering compliance leads to humorous situations, but the story feels somewhat predictable and lacks depth.

The humor relies heavily on exaggerated scenarios, such as the walruses indulging in ba irthday cake for breakfast and failing to understand the concept of personal hygiene. While these moments may elicit giggles from young readers, they ultimately feel repetitive and don't offer much substance beyond surface-level amusement.

Additionally, the message about respecting boundaries and finding one's own "NO" feels somewhat forced and overshadowed by the comedic elements of the story. The transition from chaos to resolution happens abruptly, and the walruses' realization of the importance of boundaries feels rushed and underdeveloped.

On the positive side, the illustrations by Christina Uss are vibrant and engaging, capturing the whimsical nature of the story and adding visual appeal to the book.

Overall, The Island of No has moments of humor and charm but falls short of delivering a truly memorable and impactful reading experience. While young readers may enjoy the silliness of the premise, the lack of depth and abrupt resolution may leave them wanting more substance from the story.

The Island Before No is a wonderful example of using your voice. It can be hard to tell people how you feel, but if you practice, you get better. I love the author explains how to use the word and not feel bad about it. This book can lead to lots of conversations with kids about their voices, the power of words, and respect.

This was cute read and definitely gives the right messages for kids that you don't always get your way. I love that the walrus stood up for themselves and got their island back. What a fun way to teach kids about why they are told no sometimes.

This was cute.

I love how it’s meant to teach children how to say “No”. The way the book depicts the walruses struggling to say “No” and even how they practiced with each other just to try and get it “right”.


This book is great for teaching children about boundaries and that “No.” is a complete sentence. Beautiful imagery.



I volunteered to read this ARC through NetGalley

Walrus lives on an island where all questions are answered with yes. Not an ideal situation, but it works for the islanders. Then one day a kid shows up and introduces the island to a new word, NO. This foreign word is not something the islanders can say, and not with any conviction. The kid brings more kids. The island's donut supplies dwindle. What can they do? The clay illustrations are fun and add to the humor of the situation.

This fun graphic book shows the chaos that can ensue from two very simple words. Yes and No. The story of a group of walruses living on an island and they say yes to everything. Although not terrible for them when introduced to children who take it to far the walruses are faced to learn a new word and even set boundaries for each other. It is a great way to teach kids about knowing their own boundaries and learning how to set them. The artwork is cute, expressive and full of fun color adding emphasis and emotion to the story. It is a fun easy read for kids and families.

This book has such a fun and distinctive art style that was refreshing to see as someone who reads dozens of picture books. This story manages to be really fun while also containing valuable teachable content for kids. It doubles as a book about consent and the importance of establishing boundaries, while also showing what it means to be a good friend and the consequences of only considering what YOU want (which is an important lesson for kids to recognize and learn.) Highly recommend this one as a fun book to read together - bonus points for repeated sight words that early readers could read aloud.

Very fun concept on the word no. It does not have to be big and bold, any no is a no! The illustrations were fun and different from what we expected. My 4 year Olds only complaint was "there are too many walruses," but then I had to explain that it was their island. Kids!

This is so hilarious. I kept flipping the pages back and forth just to look at the character's expressions. The artwork has a plasticine 3D look and is very clean like claymation. It makes the walruses so cute and hilarious. Also, it just makes me want to get some plasticine and make the characters.
The theme is awesome and very relatable. A kid arrives at an island where every creature only says YES. And he brings a new strange word that is heavy and different. NO. He is naughty and takes advantage of all the "Yesses", because they don't know how to say NO. It's time to take action. But... the thing is, the kid taught them a new word and a little bit of balance is always a good thing. YES and NO.

The double pages with the kids and the walruses are my favorite. Their expressions are the best.

Definitely one I recommend to adepts of the NO word and to every classroom.

Thank you, Publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC.