Emily the pig wants to lose weight, but finds it difficult. Eugene helps her by offering to go for a walk. This sounds like a great idea until they decide to stop for snacks many different times!

This book is about a pig named Emily and how she feels that she needs to lose weight, so she gets some help from her friend Eugene, who is a turtle. Emily tries working out by doing some jump roping, but she gets tired and tries to look for a better solution. Her friend Eugene suggests that they go walking, and at first Emily really likes the idea and all is well, until Emily gets distracted on the way. The rest of the story goes on to show us how Emily stops at multiple places to eat different types of food, like corn, pizza, tea, cookies, shakes, etc. While Emily is eating all this junk food, we notice how Eugene is picking much healthier choices. Towards the end of their walk Emily feels so sick that they take a taxi back home. When Emily suggests that the walking must have been the problem, Eugene agrees with her and advises her to stay in bed and eat good food. This is how the story ended, which was pretty shocking to me. I felt like the story could taught us how Emily’s eating habits were the problem, but when Eugene doesn’t advise his friend on that, it leaves the reader with a sort of puzzled feeling. I found this book under references like “multicultural” and “diversity,” but to be honest, I have no clue why it would be associated with those words. Could it be because it based on the concept of weight gain and that is how it was put in this category, perhaps? It wasn’t my favorite book, but I did feel that it would have been a lot better if the ending contributed more to the concept of having a healthy eating habit, instead of not addressing the problem. Obviously the reader would know why Emily doesn’t feel very well, but I think Eugene, who was having a better eating habit, should have told Emily why she felt the way she did. So it wasn’t a horrible book, but I think it needed a better ending. ( )

"Yummers" is a story about a pig named Emily who realizes she needs to exercise more because she is gaining weight. Her friend, a turtle named Eugene, offers to walk with her for exercise. Along the walk, Emily becomes hungry, and stops at various restaurants and stores for snacks. She feels terrible at the end because of all the food she ate, but claims she doesn't feel good because of all the walking. With this book, I could introduce students to the concept of irony.

“Yummers!” by James Marshall is a book about a pig named Emily and a turtle named Eugene. Emily was feeling very fat so she decided to go on a walk with Eugene. But, being a pig, Emily could not resist getting a snack while they were on their walk. One little snack turned into; scones, a candied apple, a milkshake, Girl Scout cookies, a sandwich, Eskimo pies, a slice of pizza, and a few other foods. Emily was too sick to even walk home after she finished eating. Eugene called them a cab and put Emily straight to bed. The next day Emily decided she did not feel well because she went on a walk. She decided to stay in bed and eat yummy food all day.
James Marshall was a children’s author and illustrator. Marshall received the Caldecott Honor in 1989 for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. He is well known for his Fox Series and The Miss Nelson books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marshall_(author)

Emily is a pig, who decides one day she wants to lose weight. Eugene the turtle suggest they go for a walk. However, walking makes Emily hungry. Eventually, Emily eats so much while trying to lose weight, that she makes herself sick. She ends up having to go home in a taxi. In the morning, she decides she got sick from walking, so she'll just lay in bed and eat.