Yuck, You Suck by Jane Yolen, Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Eugenia Nobati - OPTIONAL

Yuck, You Suck by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Eugenia Nobati. NON FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Millbrook Press (Lerner), 2022. $21. 9781728415666

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Yuck, You Suck is a book of poems about animals that are suckers, such as mosquitos. Each poem is about a different animal and the poems are in a variety of styles and include facts about the animals. The end of the book has back matter about each animal and a glossary of scientific terms.

Nobati's illustrations are a colorful, engaging style that will definitely draw in readers. For the most part, the poems rhyme and rhythm worked, with a few exceptions. I found some of the poems to be less engaging and difficult to understand without already knowing the scientific terms; it might have been helpful to have the back matter on the necessary page, instead. I did enjoy Yolen and Stemple’s voice and playful style.

Marinda, school librarian