Review of "Yum ! Yuck!," by Michaela Morgan

 Review of

Yum ! Yuck!, by Michaela Morgan ISBN 0763567353

Five out of five stars

Many parents face this situation

 Baby and Mommy Grizzle are bears with Baby in a high-chair and Mommy serving Baby a large cheesy pizza that is hot out of the oven. However, Baby says, “Yuck! That’s what I want, That’s what I want, That’s what I want, up there!” pointing to the cupboard. On the shelves of the cupboard are jars of toppings. Some of them are bits of bats, fishy tails, slimy snails and fat flies.  Mommy takes several of them down, but in each case, Baby repeats the same phrase. Frustrated, Mommy finally reaches for the bottle of ketchup, which leads baby to say “Yum! Yum!”

 Like so many children, my daughter loved having ketchup on many things. When we had hamburger, she filled a spoon with ketchup before putting a small piece of hamburger in it. Many other parents have related similar experiences. Therefore, the events are familiar to many that have been tasked with feeding a young child.

 The story has just enough grossness in it to make it entertaining for the child. The rejected toppings all have a high yuck factor. The images are large and very well done. Children will love having this book read to them or reading it themselves. It is also a story with audience participation where a few emphatic  “Yucks!” are stated is appropriate.