The Island Before No

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 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.

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.