Yanni The Yawning Yak

Yanni The Yawning Yak by Ethan Pilkenton-Getty is an interactive book that encourages readers to yawn when prompted. The prompt, a small image of Yanni (pronounced yAA-nee) with his mouth wide open, is located on several pages and sometimes more than once per page. Kids will have a blast following Yanni's direction. Their excitement to play the yawning game might wind them up instead of winding them down, so I would first read this story during daytime hours to gauge their body's response. If your child gets sleepy while following the yawns, you've met your new bedtime or nap-time story! 

As Yanni tells Noah about his travels, we meet many animals he's encountered around the globe. The author doesn't just show a photo of an animal. No, Ethan Pilkenton-Getty takes the learning experience one step further and includes a zoomed image of globes with a pin-drop labeled where the animal was located. Cairo the Camel (Egypt), Earl the Elephant (Africa), Rocky the Raccoon (Washington, USA), and Xena the X-ray Tetra Fish (Venezuela) are just four of over twenty animals and geographical locations you'll discover as you read Yanni The Yawning Yak by Ethan Pilkenton-Getty.

The great thing about this short (under forty pages) book is children will learn while being entertained. Pre-k and older elementary students can use this book as an educational tool to learn about the different parts of the world and what animals are found there. Parents of toddlers can use this book to teach their children the names of animals. All ages, even babies, will be captivated by the colorful images by iNDOS Studio. The illustrator did a phenomenal job on each illustration. The artistic skill was impressive! Ethan Pilkenton-Getty wrote a remarkable story that I recommend elementary school teachers, librarians, and parents share with their young ones.