The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi

It’s not the start of a new year, but it is the start of a new school year — so let’s talk growth mindset! Last January, I made a huge list of picture books to promote growth mindset, and you all LOVED that list (it’s still one of my most visited posts on my website!). Today, I’ve got a wonderful (relatively) new release to add to that list: The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi, illustrated by Lorena Alvarez.

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Let’s start with the enticing cover, surprise under the dust cover, and immaculately detailed endpapers. Lorena Alvarez, you have outdone yourself! This delightful, inviting work continues in every illustration throughout the book. My girls love finding the extra hidden details with each new reading, and I can’t get over how wonderfully inclusive they are! (I mean, I love the fact that the ballet class includes two boys!).

And for the growth mindset message — just trust me that this book is the perfect way to start something new, whether a new calendar year, a new school year, or a new class or hobby. Teachers commonly talk with students about using the phrase “I can’t do that *yet*,” rather than saying “I can’t do that!” Angela DiTerlizzi has personified “Yet” as a magical creature that comes alongside all of us (in a different form for each unique person…), stays with us, and grows with us as we grow and change. And in every situation, our Yets remind us that “if you keep leaping / dreaming, wishing — / waiting, learning, / trying, missing… / with the Yet as your guide, along the way, / you’ll do all the things you can’t do today.”

The Magical Yet has been on repeat in our house for the past month or so. In fact, we love it so much that we bought copies for the girls’ teachers this year, too… I figure this school year will look like no other for just about every kid (and teacher!) out there, so there’s bound to be a lot of opportunities for Yet to help them all out!