Yum Yummy Yuck

by Amanda Jane Jones, Cree Lane Jones

Overview

Teach your kids what's delicious and safe to eat—and what's not—with this stylish board book.

In their hip and often humorous Instagram accounts, Amanda and Cree Jones invite the world into their life with two young kids. Now, the Joneses are sharing another experience—the struggle to keep their kids from putting everything they see into their mouths. Using simple, bright illustrations, irresistible colors, gentle repetition, and a lighthearted tone, this stylish board book teaches babies and toddlers what they should and shouldn't put in their mouths. Delectable treats like an ice cream cone, a pear, and a donut are interspersed with not-so-yummy things kids find irresistible—like coins, boogers, and sand. Facing pages display the correct use of these items— boogers go in tissues, coins in a piggy bank, and sand in a bucket. Designed to appeal to modern parents, this durable and attractive book will have kids and their parents going back to it and sharing in the fun of all the delicious and disgusting things kids like.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783791374055
Publisher:	Prestel Publishing
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Pages:	30
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

AMANDA JANE JONES is a graphic designer, art director, and was the founding designer and co-creator of Kinfolk, a quarterly lifestyle magazine. She is married to co-author CREE LANE JONES, a Harry A. Bigelow Teaching Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. Amanda and Cree live in Chicago with their two children, Jane and Miles. Their Instagram accounts have a combined 175,000 followers and counting.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2019

The married Instagram influencers yuck children’s most beloved—and disgusting—yums in this opposites board book featuring minimalist digital illustrations. Page turns follow the titular phrase, beginning with a pink and green ice cream cone (“yum”), a green pear with a pink stem (“yummy”), and a pink index finger sporting a green booger (“yuck”). For each “yuck,” the following page notes the preferred receptacle—in this case a white tissue against a pink background—while text suggests a better place for the object to land (“Don’t eat your boogers... or anyone’s boogers for that matter. Use a tissue!”). “Yums” and “yummies” include fresh produce, a donut, and a slice of cake three layers high, while known “yucks” suggest that readers avoid injesting sand, Band-Aids, coins, Crayons, and soap. The advice is sound, if slightly didactic, and the spare illustrations are bound to appeal to the couple’s followers. Ages 1–3. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

The simple, clean illustrations feature a cool palette of colors and whimsical designs that are perfect for very young readers.”—Kirkus

"My kids adore this book—it’s been a staple in our home for storytime lately. The book is full of bright illustrations and helps explain to little ones the difference between things we should and shouldn’t put in our mouths (an important lesson when you have two toddlers under your roof!)." —Kate Arends, Wit & Delight

"OK, parents, let’s be real for a minute. If your child hasn’t eaten something gross, just give it time. Maybe this simply illustrated board book can save you some trouble and save your littles ones a tummy ache. As a bonus, there will probably be lots of giggles and maybe even some sight word recognition when you read this one together." —Upstate Parent

From the Publisher

2019-09-24
Not everything that looks yummy belongs in our tummies!

There are so many genuinely yummy foods in the world, like ice cream, milk, doughnuts, and watermelon. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of things that may look yummy—such as crayons, coins, sand, and Band-Aids—but that just don't taste very good. In this book, the loosely patterned text classifies images as "yum," "yummy," or "yuck," elucidating for children the difference between what looks good and what actually tastes good. Overall, "yummy" foods tend to have a higher sugar content than those labeled "yum." The simple, clean illustrations feature a cool palette of colors and whimsical designs that are perfect for very young readers. Unfortunately, the text lacks the same age appropriateness. The language is often too sophisticated for small children, using phrases like "you'll immediately regret it" and "looks can be deceiving" that seem meant for the adults reading the book aloud rather than the children listening to it. Even more problematically, the book's attempts at tongue-in-cheek humor often end up sounding preachy, as the narrator admonishes young children for the developmentally appropriate—albeit gross and often terrifying—pattern of exploring the world with their mouths. In particular, a page that suddenly features instructions on how to properly wash hands is a non sequitur that feels more like a lecture than an organic place for the story to go.

Snazzy illustrations in the service of preachy, disappointing text. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)

Kirkus Reviews