Bigfoot vs Yeti, A Love Story
By James Foley
Reviewed by Lara Cain Gray
Bigfoot vs Yeti (A Love Story) is the latest release from multi-talented author and illustrator James Foley. Like his previous hits My Dead Bunny and Stellarphant, this is a surprising, unconventional picture book that delivers a worthy message by way of a delightfully fun and complex visual journey.
The Bigfoots and the Yetis live on opposite sides of a rift and have quarrelled for so long no one can remember how it started. The Yetis throw snowballs at the Bigfoots. The Bigfoots retaliate with fruit. They work in shifts, keeping vigil at the cliff face, without ever questioning the common understanding that the rift (physical and metaphorical) has no end. But one night two young ones take their first shifts. As Bevan the Bigfoot and Yolanda the Yeti lock eyes across the rift, they decide to break tradition.
Bevan and Yolanda journey in parallel along their sides of the rift. At first they continue throwing their projectiles; after all, it’s all they know. But when a big storm leaves them both in danger, they realise they can help each other out by sharing resources. Finally, the rift closes and they come face to face, and fall in love. When the clans arrive, looking for their lost young ones, the responses to this peaceful union are mixed. Some feel a bit silly for feuding so long, while others remain steadfast in their prejudice. Love, of course, is more powerful than hate, and a new, blended community emerges. Those who don’t like it, go back to the villages…and are probably there still.
This clever book is a real treasure for discussing bias, learned behaviours, conflict resolution, and the weight of history. It is outstanding, however, in terms of visual literacy combining two distinctive art styles – mock black and white lino cuts and conventional colourful illustrations – to deliver a running metaphor around ‘black and white’ thinking vs a fuller, more gentle and ‘colourful’ way of life. Even the endpapers – first black, later golden yellow – lend themselves to conversation during shared reading time. There are endless opportunities to home in on characteristics of the individual yetis and bigfoots on each spread, and to extend reading by recreating the art styles, or staging (and dissecting the reasons for) snowball fights. Importantly, the overall sentiment is one of optimism, suggesting younger generations have the power to change the future for themselves and their communities.
Fremantle Press 2025
James Foley
Lara Cain Gray is the author of The Grown-Ups Guide to Picture Books.
