Author(s): Shinsuke Yoshitake

Picture | Sophisticated Picture | Philosophy | Thinking & Feeling

What does the future hold? This question can be daunting - or delightfully promising! It's all about perspective, and wading past the bad to embrace the possibility of good. The Boring Book's Shinsuke Yoshitake is back with a thought-provoking picture book for our times. With 'bad news' increasingly at the forefront of our minds, readers of all ages will seek solace in this smart and spirited exploration of the good that might be right around the corner. There Must Be More Than That! takes an unflinching look into an uncertain ever after and spins out scenarios that are at once reassuring, ridiculous, and a reminder that we all have the power to choose our own mindsets. After all, a promising outlook is in our heads as much as it is in our hands-it's often just a matter of choosing hope over hopelessness, and seeking an affirming alternative to challenging situations.

Review: Mr. Yoshitake's comic drawings show that in life there are unexpected options and many possible types of future. . . . Children ages 6-10 are the intended audience for this book, but adults would do well to absorb its robust and encouraging message. It's true that in these uncertain times we face political division and cultural disarray; but we also live in an age of technological wonders and unfurling medical discoveries. As the child in the book says to her grandmother, 'Who knows? You could end up living for 300 years!' Not realistic, but so what? Optimism is the art of defaulting to hope.-The Wall Street Journal
Shinsuke Yoshitake, the popular Japanese author-illustrator of many award-winning books, including I Can Be Anything and The Boring Book, considers how overwhelming the future can be to a child in There Must Be More Than That!. . . . Yoshitake is a master of thoughtfully working with a Big Problem-in this case, the future-and recasting it in an approachable, humorous way that a youngster can deal with. The pictures that accompany the text, drawn in an unadorned cartoon style in primary colors, do a good job of briskly moving this entertaining, yet serious, story along.-The New York Times
[There Must Be More Than That!] has a compelling universality [and] stresses a positive mindset as one answer to times of uncertainty that may be stressing young children. Relevant, charming, this flips the mindset of a limiting binary choice and renders the multitudes of possibility in a very accessible, childlike way.-School Library Journal
In an era specializing in dark predictions, Yoshitake (I Can Be Anything) gives young readers a new way of thinking about what's to come. . . . It's easy to smile at Yoshitake's square-headed characters and endless stream of lighthearted thought experiments in this gently goofy book, which offers a hopeful corrective to grown-up pessimism.-Publishers Weekly
A child who doesn't like her choices discovers the revolutionary promise of thinking outside the box. . . . Yoshitake creates a vivacious cast, using dots, tiny dashes, subtle body angles, and expressive gestures to great effect. . . . Long thoughts and fresh heart for readers feeling helpless in the face of scary futures.-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Author Biography: Shinsuke Yoshitake is the author-illustrator of many award-winning picture books, including I Can Be An