PreS-Gr 2-- An effective, unusual 34-word story of the beginnings of a friendship, accompanied by wild and wonderful illustrations. Against pastel backgrounds, in vibrant, colorful images, an African-American boy and a white boy meet on the street. What's up?''Not much.'' Why?''No fun.'' Oh?''No friends.'' These one- and two-word exchanges on each spread lead to a tentative offer of friendship, sealed as both boys jump high in the air and yell Yow!'' The succinct, rhythmic text and the strong cartoonlike watercolor-and-charcoal illustrations are perfect complements. The feelings of each child run the gamut from loneliness, curiosity, fear of rejection, and hopefulness to, finally, joy; the illustrations do a particularly fine job of limning each boy's emotions in very simple images on the oversized pages. With a beautifully balanced, economical style, the book illumines the peaks and pitfalls of getting acquainted, and puts in a good word for brotherhood as well. Amusing for story times, or for use in discussions of feelings, it is fun to read and look at, and appealing to the eye, ear, and heart.Yow!''-- Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library , LA

Using a minimum of text (less than 30 words), Raschka manages to convey myriad emotions during a meeting that ends in friendship. Yo! says the black kid, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and gymshoes with untied laces. Yes? replies the shy white kid, shrugging into his cardigan sweater. What's up? Not much. And so goes the dialogue, back and forth, until the cure for boredom becomes clear: Me! You? Yes, me! The text has a staccato cadence similar to that used in Raschka's first picture book, ^ICharlie Parker Played BeBop^R , and a comparable freshness as well. The pictures feature just the boys set against lightly washed pages, their body language speaking volumes, a great counterpoint to the brevity of their conversation. And speaking of conversation, this could start plenty in a classroom; the book's a natural jumping-off place for discussions of friendship, race relations, and even language.

In just thirty-four words and companion illustrations, Raschka tells a story of the discovery of friendship and the joys and insecurities that go along with reaching out. An African-American boy calls 'Yo!' to a Caucasian boy who is shyly edging off his page. Their terse, but emotionally loaded, exchange continues as the shy boy admits to having no friends and the more outgoing child offers friendship. Raschka exhibits an appreciation of the rhythms of both language and human exchange in his deceptively simple story.

A classic scenario from the innovative creator of Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (1992)—two boys parlaying what could be a confrontation into friendship—in a series of monosyllabic exchanges between a stylishly informal, self-confident boy (black) who appears on the left-hand pages and the anxious, overdressed (white) newcomer on the right. Yo!''Yes?''/Hey!''Who?''/You!''Me?'' they parry, their feet precisely planted at page bottom, their stances as expressive as the varied styles of Raschka's hand-lettered text. Succinctly, they move on to an important confidence: What's up?''Not much.''/Why?''No fun.''/Oh?''No friends'' and to a gleeful epiphany—Me!''You?''/Yes, me!''You!''/Well?''Well.''/?''Yes!''—and their feet spring up from the page's edge: ``Yo! Yes! Yow!'' Whether it's caution or prejudice that's overcome, the process is reduced to elementals—two figures, roughly drawn yet vibrant with feeling, and their comical dialogue (a breeze for beginning readers), encompassing a world of meaning. (Picture book. 4-7)"

Raschka's innovative picture book aims to explore the nature of friendship in only 34 words. It's a risk, but as a writer and artist Raschka is no stranger to risk-taking--his debut ( Charlie Parker Played Be Bop ) was a sly, joyous exercise in avant-garde that stretched the definition of picture book. And here, he does the same. After the briefest of exchanges, two boys--one black, one white, one shy, one outgoing, one nerdy, one street-smart--decide to take a chance on friendship. Like a two-character play with no scenery and minimal dialogue, the story relies on the expressiveness of the ``actors'' and the raw energy of the artwork to hook the reader. Raschka's watercolor and charcoal pencil illustrations certainly do the trick--they're brash, witty and offbeat, and easily portray a vigorous range of emotion. At least in the small realm of this cheeky picture book, less is definitely more. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)