THE POWER OF YET

Persistence pays off for a piglet.

Frustrations, depicted in a series of vignettes, overwhelm a young pig when success seems constantly out of reach, or “not yet.” Not yet ready to bike without training wheels, not yet tall enough for the roller coaster, not yet old enough for the baseball team, not yet in tune on the violin. Even the pancakes aren’t ready to flip. “YET, YET, YET!” wails the piglet. “How do I get to YET?” the piglet asks a grown-up pig in a purple tunic. The instructive response, that things improve, often with practice, is delivered in a rhymed text that goes down easy: “The path to YET / is not a straight line. / It takes growing and doing, / patience and time.” A few more vignettes demonstrate that there will be challenges along the way: Arithmetic problems go awry, spelling means mistakes, knitting is tricky, and watercolor painting drips. “You’ll get sad and angry, / but don’t you quit— / you have power and courage, / and that’s called GRIT.” Cocca-Leffler’s art is lighthearted, and the activities of the child pig will be familiar to most. The value of a growth mindset—working toward small goals, waiting for the right time, and learning patience and resilience—is indisputable. Though the coaching advice here feels slightly formulaic and the rhymed delivery echoes similarly inspirational offerings, the piglet is winsomely appealing and the accomplishments within reach of the audience. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 37.3% of actual size.)

Encouraging.