Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Kiss Kiss Yuck Yuck review
Because Andy HATES being kissed, and Aunty Elsie always insists on giving big sloppy kisses. Andy tries hiding but Aunty always finds him.
That is until one day she doesn't come and his Dad tells Andy that Aunty has been hurt in an accident.
Strangely, Andy finds he misses Aunty Elsie... even her hugs and kisses.
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This is such a cute book that I had the pleasure of coming across recently, and the group of children (aged 2, 3, and 4) that I read it to all loved it. And I have to admit that I enjoyed it too....
It's about a kid who will do anything of getting out of kissing his Auntie... until such time she doesn't turn up... then he starts to realise that maybe he actually doesn't mind her kisses so much after all. It's written in a cute way and it's a great one to read with lots of expressions and voices... it gives it even more of a giggle factor.
The ways he tries to hide from his Auntie are relatable and funny - surely if he hides under the house she won't come and find him ... she hates spiders!
Because many of us can perhaps relate to having to kiss that great Auntie or Grandparent as a kid, we find ourselves relating to the story, as do the children listening to it. I think it suits any children from about age 2 up to around age 7 and has great re-readability to it. It's not too long, but long enough to give the story some substance... perfect if you find yourself having to read it over and over. It's a cute little book that I'd certainly recommend adding to your bookshelf.
My daughter was given this book many years ago and had many an enjoyable day reading the story over and over again! Now my son is getting the same enjoyment out of the book. He hasn't got to the stage yet where he doesn't like kisses as he loves kissing and when he hears the word he starts blowing kisses like crazy just waiting for someone to return the gesture.
This book is so funny with Andy trying to get away from his Aunties kisses which he thinks are yuck when she smears her lipstick on his cheeks. The illustrations are fantastic and add to the humour of the story with the simple pencil style drawings. I think any young child could relate to the storyline as every child has the relative that likes to pinch their cheeks or steal a kiss I had the grandad that used to like to grab me with his walking stick and so I would stay as far away as I could to avoid being pulled in with that wooden cane.
The story really is delightful and shows the true joys of family as Andy realises how much he misses and wants his Aunties kisses when she breaks her leg and can't visit for a few weeks. It shows a real family love as Andy realises how much he loves his aunties kisses and finds it is him wanting to give the kisses away.
It's no secret that we are big Kyle Mewburn fans in this household. He is not only a great writer of picture books, but also novels for kids and young adults as well. We also love it when he pairs with an amazing illustrator team like Ali Teo and John O'Reilly. He has worked with them on Melu as well as this book. Their illustrations are quite different in this book to Melu. The lines are really bold, the colours are not as muted and there is a bit of the Lauren Child collage feel about some of the pictures.
The story itself is about a boy who has a very kissy Aunty. My daughter found the book really funny. She enjoyed the way he would run away, and as we read I would sneak a few sloppy kisses in myself. It also allowed us to have a talk about safe adults, and the people around us who love us and may want to show us that through hugs and kisses. I remember as a kid that the expectation was that you would kiss and hug your relatives, and it didn't seem to matter if you had only just met. We don't do that in our household, but I let her make her own decisions about giving hugs and kisses out and she is very affectionate.
The ending of the book was a nice twist and went to show that there was more to Andy and his relationship with his Aunty than running away from the yucky kisses. This is one that was requested quite a bit when we had it out. Its not too bad a length for quick bedtime reading as well, which made it easy to say yes.
Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! by Kyle Mewburn is one of my daughters absolute favorite stories, and was in fact one of the first books she learnt to read cover to cover just before her 5th birthday.
With its quirky story line, and fantastic artwork, it is a sweet and fun story that is fun to read to your little ones, but easy enough that the kids soon pick it up and are able to read it alone, which is fantastic.
The other great thing about Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! is that it has a really lovely lesson within those covers. No matter how much Aunty Elsie's kisses are yuck to Andy, when Aunty Elsie is no longer able to visit Andy realises that he in fact loves Aunty Elsies kisses, and he misses her terribly. So naturally when Aunty Elsie is well enough to visit again, you can guess what happens
This book is aimed at the 2-4 age group, and I believe this recommendation fits perfectly, but I must add that my little girl is nearly 7 years old and she still reads this book at least twice a week, even now!
This book is great and the children at my work love choosing this book to be read at mat times...and it is perfect to make them giggle and gag at the same time when Andy says that Aunty Elsie's kisses are yuck. This book is fabulous for young children as they all 'hate' getting kisses and think it is so funny that Andy keeps running away from his Aunty so he doesn't have to receive her kisses!
Then the day came that Aunty Elsie didn't show up because she had broken her leg and Andy started to miss her kisses and when Aunty Elsie did visit he is so super excited he is the one to give her all the kisses instead. During playtime I will hear the children reciting the words from the story....Andy Applepie etc. and making up other crazy words to call their friends as they chase after each other pretending to be Andy and Aunty Elsie.
The illustrations in the book are amazing, so bright and vivid that the characters really come alive and jump off the page at the reader and viewer of the book. I love the oversized heads of the characters and the Dame Edna glasses on Aunty Elsie....always gets my smiling when reading the book. I can read this book several times a week and I never get bored from it, and it is great book to keep the children engaged and they are always willing to help read the book.
The text that the words are written in are printed in a unique and quirky way that the words are also part of the illustrations within the book, not just a plain and boring text but large text that is spread over the whole page, this gives the book an extra special vibe of wonderfulness!
Such a reasonable price too for a book, even though in my opinion books can be any price expensive or cheap and I will still buy them because when they are this good they are always worth the money and the enjoyment that you get from a great book like this one is priceless...books are treasures and this one is one of the best tresures to have in your book collection.
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