No No Yes Yes

Just like her other books, "Quiet Loud" and "Yummy Yucky" this is an excellent tool to teach toddlers the concept of the opposites and in this case, what actions are acceptable or not. Using the same formula as her other books, images on the left-hand page show an unwanted behavior, such as dumping your food on your head, and the images on the right-hand page show the proper behavior, such as nicely eating your food, without making a mess. Again the pictures are of the adorable baby in diaper with one little curl on the head, which could be a girl or boy. The pictures are bright and colorful and, as always, very funny and charming. The opposite pairs also include: drawing on the wall and dog/drawing on paper, picking your nose/using a tissue to blow your nose, eating the dog's food/eating people food and the dog eating its own food, putting toys into the potty/using the potty correctly, hitting another child/playing nice, pulling the cat's tail/petting the cat, cutting your hair/cutting paper, running away from daddy/holding daddy's hand, ripping out the pages of a book/reading the book nicely, and dumping out all the water during bath time/keeping the water in the tub. Included in the last pages are more "no no" things: unrolling toilet paper, squeezing out all of the toothpaste, playing with outlets, tearing plants apart, and putting mommy's lipstick all over your face. On the left hand side on the "yes yes" page are: wearing daddy's hat, playing with a tea set, a drum, blocks, and hugging a blankie. Other then some sound effects, the only words used are 'no' and 'yes.' But I found this to be effective and I didn't think that the book was lacking. The pictures very clearly convey the image of what the child is doing. Besides, more often than not, I change the wording of baby and toddler books as I am reading them to my children to point out different things, so if I did feel it was lacking words, then I could just add them. The pictures alone are worth buying the book. I highly recommend it, as well as other books buy Patricelli.

Leslie Patricelli's toddler books are great, and this is one of her best. The only words throughout most of the book are "No no" (on the bad idea page) and "Yes yes" (on the facing page with a contrasting good idea). Examples: No no [don't run away from your daddy in the parking lot]. Yes yes [do hold your daddy's hand in the parking lot]. This is a highly effective formula for toddlers like my three-year-old son. However, be warned that your child will probably take inspiration from the "No no" pages. In fact, last night my son poured his bowl of food on his head. When I reminded him that he should do the "Yes yes" of eating his food with a spoon, he just laughed. So, is this book a bad influence? Does it encourage lawlessness in under-5s? Well, I can't say for sure, but it is a favorite book that he always reaches for!

This is a great book for teaching toddlers appropriate behaviors while keeping it fun and cute. My son has it memorized now and he will say, "No, no - it's not nice to pull the cat's tail. But, yes yes, I can pet the kitty softly." Or, "No, no, coloring on the wall, but yes yes coloring on paper." It sounds simple, but when my son saw it in such a fun way with the cute little drawings, he really took to it. I've never had a problem with him wasting tons of toilet paper or coloring on walls and part of me thinks its because of this simple book. (Not that he's perfect, he has his trouble-maker times, too!). Anyway, it's such a helpful book, I would definitely buy this for a child's first or 2nd birthday.

I learned this through experience with my 5 children! I would read this to my first couple babies then coming toddlers and I never had a problem with any of these situations in the book, like I had seen other toddlers having. I’d say I only experienced a couple of them once or twice. It was always naturally reiterated during reading time at bedtime with this book. Although I didn’t know it was because of this book, yet. I never paid attention because it was never a problem. Well then years went on and we continued to have kids. My 3rd child started doing these things mentioned, and then my 4th child (2 yrs apart). It was different and becoming a problem. I was reflecting back, why were they doing it so much when their older siblings didn’t. Then I remembered this book and that I hadn’t been reading it to them so I decided I would try and see. I started and what do you know, very quickly those incidences were becoming fewer and then stopped completely! They would even correct themselves during the reading of this book. They would tell me this was a no no and this was a yes yes. Repetition is everything! We read it almost every night. It was one of our favorites. I would say “no no baby we don’t ..., yes yes baby we do... good baby.” To note, I would never tell my child he was like the baby doing the no no. That way my child was part of the teaching the baby to do the right thing. It was directed at the baby in the book, never my child. I now give this to every friend who is pregnant about to have a baby!

She reads this book to herself saying "no, no" and pointing to all the "no no" things in the book. It's super cute, and now we can tell her things in real life that are "no no's" just like in the book and she seems to really get this! She points out "no, no's" around the house all the time now! The other day she was running away from me on the sidewalk towards the street, and instead of chasing her (which typically results in her laughing), I just said, "running from Mommy is a no-no (like in the book)" and she stopped dead in her tracks and waited for me to come and hold her hand.

I would have given this a five because I love this sturdy little book with great messages presented in a fun way, but it weirdly has ink smudges on each page in random spots. The book is clearly new and the smudges are part of the printing. I can't tell if it was intentional or if it is a printing error, but it looks dirty.

I find it amusing that people are complaining that this book gave their kid bad ideas. After 3 kids we've run into all of the "no no"s without the help of this book. And to be perfectly honest, a book is no match for mom. If a kid gets ideas from it, then it will be a short phase and they will move on once they realize that the misbehavior garners no benefit to them in terms of attention or function. On the other hand, I love this book simply for what it is: a demonstration that there is a good way and a not as good way to do things, and all of us get things wrong sometimes. It is great for my perfectionistic 5 year old to see that he's not the only one who does things wrong sometimes. It is great for my rebellious 3 year old who loves seeing someone else "get in trouble" for the no no's. And, it is great for my 1 year old, who is still simply learning the basics. There are few books that will last years, but I think this is one of them considering the age bracket it appeals to. I love all the books in this series, from Big Little to Yummy Yucky to Potty and beyond. They are all great and this is no exception.

All of Leslie Patricelli's board books are primers on how to behave. Call them required reading for "Toddler 101." No No Yes Yes is no exception. The baby that appears on every page has a big happy face, a single curl and wears only a diaper. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. On each page the baby is doing an activity. On the left side it's a No, No activity like eating dog food or putting toys in the toilet, on the right side it's a corresponding Yes, Yes activity like eating a banana or using the potty for its intended use. It's a very clear message to young kids on what to do and what not to do. Kids and parents alike will enjoy the humor. The cat's face and RROWR above its head when baby pulls its tail are perfect. On the page where baby marks on the walls, notice the sleeping dog also has purple and red marks on his fur, and baby's belly has a purple mark, too. With painted acrylic artwork, bold black outlines and colorful backgrounds, the simple presentation is perfect for its audience. The other board books in the Patricelli canon are Baby Happy Baby Sad , Big Little , Binky , Blankie , Dummy , Quiet Loud and Yummy Yucky .