Yummy Yucky

Yummy Yucky

by Leslie Patricelli

Learning about opposites has never been more fun - or funny - than with this winning board book. Spaghetti is yummy, but worms - and blue crayons, and sand, and other things too gross to mention - are definitely yucky when tasted. Amiably illustrated in a bright, graphic style, Leslie Patricelli's spirited board book, stars an obliging, bald, and very expressive toddler who acts out each pair of opposites with comically dramatic effect.

Sometimes things sound or look better than they taste. Help your little one learn some of the basics of what should and should not be eaten with Yummy, Yucky. This book will fit nicely into your child's lap with board pages to help with easier page-turning. Each page contains a simple sentence, so it is easy for your little one to memorize and recite back. They will learn what some fun new words look like, such as 'spaghetti', 'crayon', and 'earwax'. Each page is filled with a solid background emphasizing a basic drawing of a baby in a diaper with a single curly hair and an adorably expressive face. Each two-page spread compares two things that look or sound similar, like spaghetti and worms or soup and soap, and labels one 'yummy' and one 'yucky'.

Your little one will recognize all of the items going in the baby's mouth, whether it's mommy cookies or blue crayons, and maybe relate all-too-well to the narrator in understanding that mud pie is certainly not as yummy as apple pie. They may repeat each sentence and learn when to say 'yummy' or 'yucky'. This lesson can then be applied to foods in their own life, and they can express if they like the food or not. Your child will smile at the humor of the baby's 'yucky' faces, whether it's the blue frown from the crayons, the fire-breathing from the hot sauce, or the sour face from mommy's coffee.

I read this book to my niece, Emily, and she really got a kick out the pictures. She said she remembered eating soap and sand once, and agreed with the baby that they were yucky. However, she also felt the apple pie should be on the 'yucky' side because, "mushy apples are icky." She felt the 'yummy' pie should be a chocolate pie.

--Audra