Sun in My Tummy

Written by Laura Alary

Illustrated by Andrea Blinick

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-241-7

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2022

 

What might you see in a bowl of oatmeal? Sure, there will be the cereal and the milk and perhaps, as in this child's bowl, some lovely blueberries. But, if you look a little closer, you'll see the seeds that grew, the bushes that caught the sun's energy, and a cow "munching sweet green grass, that grew in soil, watered by rain, that came from clouds, formed by oceans, warmed by the sun." There's a lot of sunshine and goodness in that bowl of oatmeal and it all ends up in this child's tummy.

From Sun in My Tummy by Laura Alary, illus. by Andrea Blinick

Just as she was snug in her bed, a child thinks about oat grains that grew deep in the earth to produce the oats that are basis for the oatmeal her mother is making for their breakfast. With the sun, both she and the grains awoke, thirsty and hungry.

From Sun in My Tummy by Laura Alary, illus. by Andrea Blinick

What follows is a look at how the oats grew with the sun and the rain. And those lovely blueberries? The magic that we know of as photosynthesis happened in order to produce the plant that would produce the berries.

The leaves of that blueberry bush 

caught the sun energy and used it 

to break apart gases in the air.

Then they put the pieces back together

to make something new: sugar.

Food from thin air!

Laura Alary then speaks to the pollination and life cycles and with each cereal ingredient she helps children connect the natural world with the deliciousness in their food. Too many children and adults have a disconnect between what they eat and where it came from. They either don't know about milk cows and grains and fruit and how they are raised or cultivated or harvested or cannot see the connection between farms and how the food gets into the stores from which we often buy. By associating the sun of our environment with the warmth in our belly from hearty food, Laura Alary relates science concepts like photosynthesis, energy and life cycles with the familiar events like waking in the morning, having breakfast, and growing. Connecting the familiar with the unfamiliar is always an important means to forge learning.

From Sun in My Tummy by Laura Alary, illus. by Andrea Blinick

Like Laura Alary whose earlier picture book, What Grew in Larry's Garden (2020), focused on the outdoors, Andrea Blinick takes her artwork into the natural world to shine. As it did in Outside, You Notice (2021), Andrea Blinick's illustrations bring the sunshine and the rain and the animals and plants to flourish with energy. Whether that energy is solar or metabolic or spiritual, it carries the importance of sustaining life in its many forms and Andrea Blinick's art which is a combination of gouache, coloured pencil, collage and chalk pastel gives the text of that message the brightness and textures of that life and energy.

 

Perfect for STEM lessons about plants and life cycles, Sun in My Tummy will brighten any classroom or library and help young children understand how the sun in their tummies, whether oatmeal or another cereal, got there.

Outside, You Notice

Written by Erin Alladin

Illustrated by Andrea Blinick

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-193-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2021

How often do we notice things, especially things in the outdoors, that are right under our noses? Erin Alladin wants us to open our eyes, ears, noses and touch the world to know the wonders that our world holds outside, no matter what your outside looks like.

 

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

As children and others participate in the world outside, whether it be a backyard, a park, a playground, a sidewalk or something else, there are so many things to check out, and Erin Alladin makes sure we see it all. Each double-spread asks the reader to notice one attribute of nature like the rain, the soil, leaves or colours, and then info boxes provide brief content related to that focus. For example, when asked to notice "How after the rain everything smells greener," we learn about leaves capturing rain, how a tree's canopy provides cover, why the rain can smell like it does, and why plants get the rain they need.

 

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

We discover how animals make the outdoors their homes, how they live, and the sounds they make. We learn about life cycles of plants, from seeds and germination, to flowers and fruits. Above ground and below, along water ways and at farmers' markets, there is so much to see and learn.

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

With Outside, You Notice, Erin Alladin has invited the reader to explore and make observations and grow themselves into sentient beings beyond the confines of our indoors. She may provide information tidbits that instruct and direct inquiry, so perfect for science lessons with little ones, but she also asks us to be mindful of our worlds. Outside, You Notice gives us the prompts to stop and smell and look and touch in the moment, wherever that moment may be. The experiences will be as diverse as the children who are doing the noticing, and the learning as fulfilling and filling as can be. With that, a calmness will envelop the reader, taking away the bustle and the tech, as the focus is on the world we too often take for granted.

Outside, you notice

The breath in your body

Your feet on the ground

Your self in the world

Toronto artist Andrea Blinick uses gouache, coloured pencils, collage and chalk pastel to create the diversity of textures, colours and shape that convey the sensory nature of the text and take us into the outdoors. The eyes that see, the dog that sprints, the dandelions being picked, the sweetness of a strawberry about to be eaten–Andrea Blinick takes us there, to appreciate and acknowledge the outdoors and its moments.

 

Whether a child of the city or the country, of a place of rain or sunshine, trees or fields or concrete, there is a world of wonder that is the landscape of our lives. With Outside, You Notice inviting us to explore and appreciate the sensations and marvels of the outdoors, young readers can only flourish.

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick