Yoko & Friends School Days: Practice Makes Perfect - Book #10 (Yoko and Friends School Days)

Rating:
Summary: 4 ½* Bang a Drum, Ring a Bell! New Rosemary Wells
Review:
Rosemary Wells is perhaps best known for her wonderful Max and Ruby books, and she brings the same storytelling talents to the "Yoko and Friends" series. However, except for the cover, however, all the illustrations are by John Nez, who draws in Wells' familiar style. However, there are subtle yet noticeable differences between Wells' cover illustration and those done by Nez. There's a sly look in the eyes and some shading and coloring effects that are missing from Nez's work. The animal pictures are simply less compelling and mischievous than what Wells draws. Fortunately, Wells wrote this story and it is funny in the way that Wells is always funny: A basically well intentioned but still disruptive animal creates some benign trouble, incurring the anger of those around him. These snippets of dialogue are funny when read out loud and our child loves Wells' writing.

"I am making beautiful music!" said Timothy.
"It is a beautiful noise." said Yoko, "but it is not music...."

Timothy the raccoon can't find an instrument to play for the school talent show, and he when does, he plays too loud! He learns to play the bells (and to read notes with a clever numbering system), and the book shows that while music is lots of fun, it also requires practice.

Ms. Wells, in a note following the book, introduces the "Yoko" series, and encourages parents to spend time reading with their kids. She notes that "the stories are all drawn from the experiences my children had in school." It's not clear why Wells didn't do all the pictures; the same is true in another Yoko book I picked up. Still, Wells wrote the story, and her influence is felt in the pictures. I also like the smaller, more portable size of these books. However, get some of the "Max" and "Ruby" books for a more complete and satisfying Wells experience.