Review Detail

The Sun in My Tummy

Kids Fiction 1238

Oatmeal, oatmeal in the pot!

April 10, 2022

Overall rating

3.8

Plot

3.0

Characters

3.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

As someone who is a BIG fan of oatmeal (even though I cook it in the microwave), I loved this in depth look at how oatmeal gets to the point where it is bubbling away in a pot on the stove, waiting to be eaten! From sleepy seeds in the earth to hungry plants, we see how the oats grow. The journey of blueberries is also followed, with great attention to how the plants produce their own food and how seeds are spread. Milk also gets some attention, with a fun picture of a cow swimming in the little girl's cereal bowl, because of the grass that cows consume.

While there is more technical detail about photosynthesis in the author's note at the back of the book, this is a good introduction to the concept of plants harnessign the sun to make energy for themselves, and also energy to pass on to human consumers. The idea that a bowl of oatmeal, blueberries, and milk all contain the sun is a happy way to think about nutrition, and perhaps a good way to entice reluctant eaters. Alary's language is very poetic, and the book reads more like free verse than a science text.

Good Points

Blinick's illustrations are very sunny, with yellow being used to good effect when the sun is shining. The little girl and her mother, who are dark complected, have expressive faces, and the trees and plants are rendered in exuberant greens. A small dog, bees, and a variety of birds make for more movement and interest on the pages. I'm always a fan of lots of details in picture books. When reading out loud to a small child, it's good to have plenty of objects to locate on a page to increase vocabulary.

There are lots of children's books about food, from the amusing Jory John's The Food Group series and Funk's Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, as well as books connected to specific foods, like Anderson's I LOVE Strawberries, Sriram's Dumpling Day or Saeed's Bilal Cooks Daal, but I don't know that I have seen one that focuses on the science of how the food grows and the nutrition it provides. It's never too early to introduce STEM subjects to young readers, and this is a great title for a budding young scientist. I just wish it had been around when my own children were young; I would definitely have preferred this in the rotation over the silly Daisy Lee Ate the T.V. or Baby Blue Cat and the Whole Batch of Cookies!