Mister Yes

In this tale from a Spanish duo, a good-natured young man struggles to say no to things he’d rather not do. Cerro paints Mr. Yes with long limbs and an angelic expression, while Brokenbrow provides natural-sounding translations for the giggly details Gil dreams up: “One day, Mr. Yes was offered an ice cream made of hummingbird poop and slug slime.” Mr. Yes eats the horrid dessert, buys goods he doesn’t want, and gets roped into playing naughty pranks. After each misstep, he yells at his mirror in self-disgust: “Why didn’t you say no?” he asks himself. “I don’t like you one little bit.” While Mr. Yes eventually learns to say no, the episodes of self-hatred weigh down an otherwise lighthearted story. As an older protagonist, Mr. Yes demonstrates that adults make mistakes, too, and that learning continues into adulthood. Gil (Kibo and the Purple Dragon) concludes with sly encouragement. Saying no, she points out, is a physical skill that can be learned: “Wrinkle up your nose and purse your lips, just like you’re going to give someone a kiss.” Ages 6–up. (Mar.)