Henry And the Yeti, an icy quest that kids will love  

If The Nightmare Before Christmas and Minions had a baby with a Yeti bent the result would be along the lines of Henry And The Yeti. Henry And The Yeti is a children’s illustrated book by Russell Ayto. This is the first book that he’d taken the reins on for art and story and based on the happy, goofy, relatable and slightly spooky monster story he’s created it won’t be his last.

This is a fun, simple story with a gloriously large scale that travels the world. It combines family, school, adventure, discovery and monsters, all things that four year old kids and up absolutely love. The pacing of the story also lends to its enjoyment; all of that and more make Henry And The Yeti a great good-night book.

Henry is a kid that loves yetis. Henry’s dad, who has a huge telescope and looks like a mad scientist said, “nobody really knows if they exist”, so Henry is going to lead an expedition to find one. Henry’s backpack is three times as big as he is and has the basics that are needed for an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains. On his way out of the door his dad looks at him through an impossibly large pair of binoculars and reminds him not to stay up late.

As you can tell, there are some dry or sublime jokes in the book that parents will enjoy. The text in the book is concise with some sight words that younger readers will be able to read. However, that age will be more attracted to the story, its full color pages, a giant yeti and the adventures that they get into.

Henry leaves the city, gets on a boat, climbs the mountains and looks high and low for a real yeti. He finally meets one and it’s much friendlier than he’s been led to believe. Sure, this is a yeti, a monster, but this is a loveable monster more in line like Sigmund, except much larger and not made of seaweed.

As Henry’s time in the mountains comes to an end he takes many photographs of the yeti so that all of those who made fun of him for believing in yetis can see the proof. Unfortunately, Henry’s quest hits a curve ball once he gets back to civilization. Of course his dad believes him, but everyone else still thinks that Henry is making up stories. Will Henry And The Yeti be able to prove to everyone that the big white fella is for real?

Any age will love the illustrations in this book. Between Henry’s appearance, his friends and the quest there is something for every kid aged four and up to latch onto and enjoy in this book. It’s short enough to be read once, but also detailed enough to re-read twice if you point out the finer points to those young readers.