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The Children’s Book Review
Five Funny Tummy Men
Written by Jean Reed
Illustrated by Clyde Seymour and Jason Fowler
Age Range: 3 and up
Paperback: 20 pages
Publisher: The Peppertree Press
ISBN-13: 978-1614937098
What to expect: Healthy Eating Habits and the Human Body
Five Funny Tummy Men offers a unique analogy that teaches kids how the digestive system works, and what they can do to keep healthy.
Together, the five funny men create an entertaining analogy that certainly gets a reader’s attention. These five guys live in your tummy, each with a particular job to do. If we don’t eat right and use healthy habits, they will find a way to let us know— think upset tummy and gurgling noises. Each of these men is as big as one of your five fingers. Mr. Boss is the biggest of them all and Mr. Swallow is the smallest. When Mr. Boss says the food is coming, Mr. Swallow catches it and takes it to Mr. Grinder. This guy prefers you to grind your food first—chew your meals well because food needs to be tiny before he can pass it along. Mr. Piler’s next in line, and it’s his job to collect certain foods for distribution to the right parts of your body. That’s where Mr. Deliveryman comes in: he takes the piles where they need to go. If you don’t make good choices, well, the five men will find a way to let you know.
Clyde Seymour and Jason Fowler’s retro illustrations—in which the characters have an almost Popeye-esque look—add humor and clarity to late author Jean Reed’s inimitable moral tale, educating young readers in healthy eating habits. Using the five men, Reed helps breakdown the digestive process into bite-size pieces and gives readers something to chew on.
If you’re looking for a picture book that encourages eating healthy foods in decent amounts, chewing correctly (but not too fast), and not playing too hard right after eating (especially no swimming), then Five Funny Tummy Men will hit the spot!
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About the Author
The late Jean Reed was born in Rochester, New York, and lived in Springwater, New York until moving to Florida in the ’60s. She authored the book “Resumes That Get Jobs” and was an award-winning journalist/theatre critic in Sarasota, Florida. Jean was a correspondent for Variety, the international entertainment newspaper, and had numerous articles published in many other national publications. She is survived by her daughter, Roberta Hamilton in Sarasota who is instrumental in the publishing of this children’s book.
Roberta is retired from the Sarasota County School Board where she was a music teacher and Public Information Officer. Currently, she is active in the arts community and is a piano teacher.
About the Illustrator
Illustrator Jason Fowler is an illustrator, designer, and art teacher living in Clarkesville, GA with his wife and daughter. Check out his work and blog at FowlerArtandDesign.com.
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