Why Not?: A Story about Discovering Our Bright Possibilities

by Kobi Yamada, Gabriella Barouch (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Kobi Yamada has a knack for taking big concepts and boiling them down into simple picture books and he's done that again in this touching reminder to be who you want to be and no one else.

What if life is even more miraculous than you've imagined? Why not find out for yourself?

The words in this enchanting children's book are here to cheer you on—to encourage you to be brave, live with your whole heart, and become whoever you want to be. They're here to invigorate you to do something you love, something you believe in.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Gabriella Barouch, this sequel to the beloved book Maybe is an invitation to embrace big possibilities. Because someone is going to set out on a bold adventure. Someone is going to step up to the challenge. Someone is going to change things for the better. Why not you?

The photorealistic illustrations in this magical book create an empowering gift for readers of all ages, whether a little one imagining their future or a graduate excited about the journey ahead. Features a hardcover with a dust jacket and gold foil stamping.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957891194
Publisher:	Compendium
Publication date:	06/01/2024
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kobi Yamada is a New York Times bestselling author, the creator of many inspiring books, and the president of Compendium, a company of amazing people doing amazing things. Kobi happily shares his life with his loving family in the Pacific Northwest where he can take new chances and pursue his dreams.

Gabriella Barouch is an award-winning illustrator whose work has received worldwide acclaim. Her distinctive style blends meticulously realistic details with magical elements and subjects in a way that speaks to people of all ages. Gabriella draws inspiration from her collection of vintage toys and enjoys traveling far and wide. She remains deeply in love with nature—most especially forests.

Editorial Reviews

04/08/2024

A visual fantasy in soft colors from Barouch gives meaning to inspiring messages by Yamada in this work from the previous collaborators (Maybe). As the book opens, a pale-skinned child and a snow-white pup peer into a turquoise pool: “Everything you want, and everything you dream of is waiting. You have a vast treasure of talents and potential hidden inside you.” Diving in, the two join a school of enormous lavender jellyfish amid the water’s depths (“Why not find out how remarkable your life can be?”), then surface, passengers in a wooden air vessel that sails through the clouds, a jellyfish now serving as a hot-air balloon (“Why not make the most of every moment?”). Standing on a branch, the child discovers the plant’s gem-like fruit (“Be a stranger to the ordinary. Get to know the unknown”). Twined with abstract lines, the artwork creates a lightly cohesive story as child and pup, overcoming obstacles, make their way to the Arctic, where the child succeeds in restoring two family members to each other. It’s a broadly inspirational quest that unfolds spread by spread, asking, “Why not leave this world a little better than you found it?” Ages 4–up. (July)

Publishers Weekly