The Littlest Yak - Lu Fraser - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Lu Fraser
ILLUSTRATOR: Kate Hindley
SERIES: The Littlest Yak, #1
GENRE: Children's Picture Book 
RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A sweet story about accepting yourself, no matter how small or big you are. The first book with little Gertie the yak. Almost as cute as the next book in the series.

Story Synopsis:
Little Gertie the yak lives with Mummy Yak and the other yaks of their herd, on the top of a snowy mountain. While she loves being a yak, and is quite great at it too, there’s one thing that keeps her sad: she is the smallest of the lot, and so she can’t do anything the big yaks can do with their huge horns and hooves. She does everything she can to grow bigger, but nothing seems to work. But one day, something happens, and Gertie realises that even smallness has its significance.


Just a few days ago, I had read The Littlest Yak: The New Arrival, without knowing that it was the second book of Gertie’s series. I loved Gertie so much that I went searching for the book that introduces her.

I enjoyed this book much, though I won’t gush over it as I had in my review for Book Two. The story is adorable, Gertie is adorable, the verses are adorable, the illustrations are adorable, and the message about accepting oneself is also adorable. So there’s nothing to dislike in this book. But the second book was so brilliant in its combination of cute illustrations plus impactful storyline that this one felt more or less regular in its offering.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this tremendously, and would heartily recommend both books.

The text, with a few big words sprinkled here and there, will suit readers aged 4 to 8. Because of the perfect rhythmic meter, the book will also be great for readalouds. As the message of this book is more generic than the second one, it would also be a great addition to classrooms, to promote acceptance of classmates no matter how big or small they are in size.

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