Sun in My Tummy

The cooking of a healthy breakfast moves from parent-child bonding to an eloquent conversation about energy, the growth of plants, and the miraculous ways the sun’s light nourishes us all. 

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A downloadable Teaching Guide is available from the Pajama Press website.

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Awards and Honours

About the Book

It began with the sun,
Who showers the earth
With heat and light—
Tiny packets of energy.

How does a home-cooked breakfast give a little girl the energy she needs for a brand-new day? In gently expressive language, her mother takes readers on a journey into the earth where sleepy seeds are tickled awake and grow into golden oats; into blueberry patches, where green leaves break apart water and air to build sweet sugar; and into a pasture where sun becomes grass, becomes cow, becomes milk.

Author Laura Alary’s free verse breaks big ideas into child-sized pieces, making Sun in My Tummy an accessible introduction to the concepts of matter and energy, and how the sun’s light becomes fuel for our bodies through the food we eat. Andrea Blinick’s mixed-media illustrations pair the cozy and homelike with the glowing and dramatic as she takes readers from the kitchen to the farm field and to the sky and back. A concluding Author’s Note shares further information about photosynthesis for young readers.

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Book Details

  • Author ‏ : ‎ Laura Alary
  • Illustrator ‏ : ‎ Andrea Blinick
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pajama Press (April 25 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1772782416
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1772782417

Interviews

To learn more about the background to Sun in My Tummy, here is an interview from Open Book.

Reviews

★ STARRED REVIEW “Alary carefully creates sound, rhythm, and action, while precisely placing line breaks to enhance drama and pacing…. Mixed-media artwork creates striking color variation and subtle dimension, lifting the illustrations right off the page….Blinick’s deliberate use of line moves the eye across the page in perfect accompaniment to the narrative…. This book is as essential as sunshine; the absolutely beautiful STEM story is as absorbing as photosynthesis itself.” —School Library Journal

★ STARRED REVIEW “Toronto author Laura Alary’s poetic rumination about how the sun nourishes us all offers food for thought. The sunny and bright mixed-media illustrations from Andrea Blinick are inviting.” —Quill & Quire

“Perfect for reading out loud, this engaging tale could be used as an introduction to elementary science units and also to encourage young readers to find the magic in everyday things.” —Booklist

“It’s never too early to introduce STEM subjects to young readers, and this is a great title for a budding young scientist. I just wish it had been around when my own children were young.” —YA Books Central

“The sun is the true star of this charming picture book by Laura Alary and Andrea Blinick. Sun in My Tummy is a great supplement to any science lesson or a way to build gratitude and understanding in subtle ways for the role of nature in our lives.” —Canadian Children’s Book News

“For those of us that like a fictionalized feel to our nonfiction, this book delivers. It’s accessible, fun, and informative but does not scrimp on the science (there is even a one-page Author’s Note describing the process of Photosynthesis). It could just as easily be read as a bedtime story as used as a learning tool in a classroom environment. An excellent choice for parents, caregivers, or educators. Loved this read.” —Cloud Lake Literary

“This is an excellent science book for primary grades, starting with a concept everyone will recognize and using free verse and whimsical illustrations to foster a sense of wonder about the natural world.” —A Kids Book A Day

“This book finds a way to turn science, which can be very logical and factual, to literature which is descriptive and imaginative…The illustrations are gorgeous.” —@raisingalegacybookshelf

“Many lovely details on each spread will encourage further attention and discussion. The cow literally floating in her cereal bowl will elicit tiny giggles.” —Sal’s Fiction Addiction

“This is a picture book that looks at the magic of an ordinary breakfast….Follow the magic of sunshine through familiar food to marvel at a miracle we take for granted.” —The International Educator