Yummy Yummy in My Tummy: ABCs to Healthy Eating

Yummy Yummy in My Tummy: ABCs to Healthy Eating is an alphabet book with a difference in that its contents are directed at both young children who are learning the upper and lower case letters of the English alphabet, and, at the same time, a portion of the text’s contents provides a primer for the children’s parents regarding healthy eating.

Each letter of the alphabet is treated on a single page with the letter first being presented in both its upper and lower case forms. As can be observed in the excerpt, author Spoozak then presents a word that begins with the page’s target letter. In turn, that word is illustrated by a full-colour photo. A secondary text, in a smaller font, alphabetically lists other foods that also begin with the page’s focal letter. And in an even smaller, italicized font, a section titled Parents explains what that page’s food contributes to a child’s health. Completing the page is one of illustrator Waller’s cartoon characters engaged in some activity related one of the “Other yummy things”. In the case of Cc, the character is holding an oversized chicken drumstick.

The challenge with Yummy Yummy in My Tummy is identifying its appropriate audience. The book’s paperback format would not readily withstand a toddler’s rough handling. Though the book largely employs the visual layout of an introductory board book ABC, in some 40% of the letters of the alphabet, there is not the expected direct correspondence between a letter’s word and the accompanying visual. The facing pages, Cc and Dd, illustrate this point, with the former being the positive example and the latter being problematic. A toddler looking at the photo of the two carrots will readily recognize what they are (assuming that they have previously encountered carrots). The Dd page, however, will likely present an identification problem for youngsters as the page’s image contains three things: a bottle filled with a white liquid, a bowl containing something white, and a wedge of something yellow. The adult reader will recognize that all three of these items fall within Spoozak’s inclusive term “dairy”. This repeated lack of correspondence between word and photo makes it difficult for young children to return to the book and “read” it on their own.
While Yummy Yummy in My Tummy is somewhat wanting as an alphabet book, it is a terrific “food” vocabulary builder, and its Parents sections offer solid nutritional information to those who create the meals their children will eat.