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.

Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works

Written by Susan Hughes

Illustrated by Ellen Rooney

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0319-7

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

September 2021 

If you're a regular reader of CanLit for LittleCanadians, you'll know that while I do review some non-fiction books, I do so infrequently. It's not that there aren't great non-fiction books out there–there most definitely are–but I tend to find many dry and text-heavy in their efforts to provide quality content for young readers. While many books are organized well and enhanced with colourful illustrations and typical features of non-fiction texts like maps, glossaries and  info boxes, I find that the content can bog down the book. This is not the case with Susan Hughes and Ellen Rooney's Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works. It's informative but text-light and captivating in its organization and storytelling.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

A child and her tuxedo cat enjoy the darkness of a summer evening before witnessing the light that comes from a firefly and the stars. Natural light sources like the sun, volcanoes, lightning and the northern lights are all noted, as is artificial light and the need for some source like electricity or the burning of wood.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

Discussions of the uses of light leads to a focus on the sun and energy, the water cycle, absorption, reflection and refraction, and the eyes, all while the girl and her cat enjoy the outdoors, playing and making observations at their cottage on a lake.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

Susan Hughes gives young readers the basics about light: where it comes from, what it does and how it works, all within the context of a child playing with her feline companion. Readers will learn important words like translucent and retina and artificial, which are bolded and reinforced in a glossary called "Words to Know." But while learning about light, information which is never cumbersome, kids can enjoy natural landscapes, a cute cat, people in activities supported with light such as walking at a crosswalk or hockey game results on a scoreboard, and know that light is part of their lives too. That same mix of science information and story is blended by BC's Ellen Rooney in her artwork, using cut paper, paint, pencil crayons and a computer to create these collages of light and dark and life.

I know teachers and parents will enjoy using Lights Day and Night as a solid introduction to light and its role in our lives but kids will get more out of the educational messages because of Susan Hughes's text and Ellen Rooney's artwork. After all, an idea is more easily absorbed when presented as in a captivating manner–did I mention the instructions for a shadow puppet show are provided?–and with transparency and brightness.  Lights Day and Night does just that.