Jo and the No

By Kyle Mewburn & Judy Watson

Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran

Kyle Mewburn is a multi-award-winning author of over 40 books for children, including picture books and junior fiction series. Judy Watson is a multi-award-winning artist, writer and illustrator of many picture books and junior fiction titles.

These two acclaimed creators have come together to create a picture book story about finding the courage to overcome negativity and forge your own path.

In Jo and the No, our main character, Jo, encounters a NO, which appears as a small, dark fuzzy cloud with a colourful halo around it. While Jo doesn’t really know what this NO is, the NO seems certain to stick with Jo. As Jo tries to deal with the NO, by shooing it away, dodging it, heaving it and various other techniques, the NO transforms into numerous shapes and eventually grows bigger. The imagery is dramatic and thought-provoking and hopefully will invoke conversations between young readers and the grown-ups reading aloud to them. Savvy readers who read the pictures as well might notice that the NO holds Jo back from things Jo would like to do.

When Jo starts engaging with the NO, we are challenged to think about how we deal with resistance. Would we constantly try to fight the negative forces we encounter, or would we embrace the resistance and take it along our journey of self-discovery and if yes, would the negativity weigh us down, preventing us from being ourselves? Jo eventually does embrace the NO and the artistic brilliance that depicts the journey is striking and powerful. The minimal and poetic text allows the reader to really feel Jo’s struggle and transformation.

Jo and the No is an exquisitely beautiful and quietly powerful story that will encourage readers to contemplate on how to overcome resistance and try new things.

Teacher’s Notes

Dirt Lane Press 2025

Kyle Mewburn

Judy Watson

Sandhya Parappukkaran is the author of award winning picture books including, The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name (Notable book, winner of the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year New Illustrator Award and a finalist in the QLD Premier’s Literary Awards), Amma’s Sari (2023 CBCA Notable book and a finalist in the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Award), Stay for Dinner (winner 2024 NSW Premier’s Multicultural Literary Award) and her latest, Words That Taste Like Home.