Umami

by Jacob Grant

Umami, sick of cold fish, travels the world trying different and delicious food to bring back home for the other penguins to try.Umami is tired of eating cold fish.But fish is what the penguins eat. Fish for every meal and birthdays too. To find new exciting foods, Umami adventures across the sea and discovers flavors and spices that are inspiring! She has to share them.But will the other penguins share her love for these different foods?

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Adventure, Travel

40 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2024

About the author

Hello! I’m Jacob Grant and I make picture books. Absurd and heartfelt picture books.

Originally from Ohio, I now live in Chicago with my wife and one very busy child. When not wrangling this little force of nature, I can be found in my home studio drawing, painting and writing until something feels story-ish. With a bit of luck, some of this mess gets made into books!

Author and Illustrator of:
BEAR'S SCARE Bloomsbury 2018
THROUGH WITH THE ZOO Feiwel & Friends 2017
CAT KNIT Feiwel & Friends 2016
LITTLE BIRD'S BAD WORD Feiwel & Friends 2015
SCAREDY KATE Barron’s 2014

Illustrator of:
OWLS ARE GOOD AT KEEPING SECRETS Penguin Random House 2018

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or just to say hi.

Reviews

[Élise Massé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un album super mignon sur l'exploration alimentaire en présentant les différentes palettes de goût (amer, salé, sucré, épicé, sûr et umami). Jai bien aimé les dessins aussi !

[Rebecca]

A fantastic book on different kinds of tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) and being adventurous eaters. Recommend for all libraries.

[Jessica Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hits the spot on many levels! Very well done crayon illustration style, that is simple, funny, cute, fun, and just the right mix of bold color and simplicity. The storyline was well done, and I love how Umami is exploring new foods in a curious and fun way. Great book for kids, and a nice read for adults too. Definitely want to add this to my personal library!

[Meilin · Rating 5 out of 5]

just a little qt penguin who wants to share her big appetite with her friends

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.5/5]

I am Umami. She is me. This penguin and I are both are willing to cross the seven seas for spicy food. This book about traveling the world to try new foods is adorable. I imagine it will be well suited to parents with picky, nervous eaters. There is something about this illustration style that is so cozy and warm. The feast scene is hilariously drawn but incredibly sweet when you think about how she has encouraged her pals to try new things.

(On a side note, I learned this year that it is very rare animal main characters in picture books to be female, so appreciated that this was a lady penguin. Just thought this research was interesting, here’s PW’s summary of it: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...)

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book for getting your kids to try different foods. The picture of the penguins after they ate the feast Umami brought back for them was hysterical.

[Abbigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute book with crayon-style drawings that advocates adventurous eating! I hope this will be a fun book for parents with picky eaters.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed. I cried. I drooled. Loved it. And some beautiful artwork- would make some fun tattoos

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read - especially for that favorite picky eater!

Umami the penguin is bored with the same meal - cold fish. She boards a boat and crosses the water until she comes to another place with a great diversity of foods. She tries them all, loves them, so brings samples of everything for his friends at home to taste. They were wild with excitement and approval, so she encourages her waddle to try preparing their fish other ways.

Grant's pacing is spot on with the simple text. This might be just the ticket to be used as a beginning reader. The text is easy enough to decode most of the book using the illustrations; difficult words like "spectacular" can be sounded out and become sight words.

Grant rendered the illustrations using oil pastel monoprints and colored pencil. There is a dreamy, cold quality to them that rings Antarctica true. Charming!

Add to units on foods, penguins, and extending yourself to try new things.

Recommended for PreSchool-grade 1.

[Erika Andrade Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umami is a delectable read, and not only because it is about food. Umami is the 5th taste receptor (sweet, savory, sour, bitter being the other four) which has been turned into MSG. It is more of a savory meaty flavor, illustrated by Grant with spaghetti and meatballs. A feel good story with enticing illustrations, Umami is also the namesake of our penguin protagonist.

Tired of diving from a cliff after her friends & eating only cold fish, Umami sets off on an adventure as an explorer of new places and NEW FOODS. This is definitely a subtle title to use for PICKY EATERS, my own one said she wanted to try cold fish after reading this book. Grant does not go too exotic or extravagant with his meals: this is the first time Umami leaves her village after all! Maybe in the sequel she will reach more obscure places, ha ha.

[Anitra Rowe Schulte · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Umami" is an adorable picture book about a penguin and her desire to share the world's best foods with those she loves. The story begins in a penguin village, where the residents eat only cold fish - and Umami has had "one fish too many." Off she departs by boat, to find more exciting cuisine, landing in a town with foods of all kinds! Salty and flavorful foods, sour and surprising foods, sweet and cozy foods, meaty and savory foodss. Eager to share her finds, Umami loads up a variety and brings it all back to the penguins, and braces for their reaction. Funny and beautifully rendered, "Umami" is classic tale about exploring the wide world of tastes and the experience that truly brings it all home - sharing it with those you love.

[Nicole Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

This cute book is all about trying new things. I love the cute little penguins and totally agree with Umami that plain fish everyday would get old fast. There is a great sense of community here as well as Umami is desperate to return and help his community to explore more culinary delights. Lastly, there is a cute reference to Dragons Love Tacos with the spiciness I feel all kids will enjoy. A cute book about trying new things as something new is always an adventure.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleverly using reverse psychology, this story features a persnickety penguin who is fed up with eating the usual fare. The seabird sets out on a culinary adventure to find exciting new foods and brings back a variety of victuals for the colony to sample. Could the penguins accept dishes so different and delectable? Hilarious illustrations show how well all this turns out. This entertaining tale presents such an ingenious way to encourage finicky eaters to try new foods and acknowledges the efforts of providers who will go to the ends of the Earth to nourish their young.

[Mizzy Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Umami could not watch anymore, but she was surprised by what she heard," literally because of the previous page (- to this statement), I bust out laughing at this. The penguins with eyes of flames all trying to quench the heat from the spicy food. It was really cute and funny. Basically a penguin is tired of cold, raw, fish and goes out seeking new foods and flavors. Then Umami brings back spices and new things for everyone to try. It's fun and makes me hungry. Love the soft edges of the colors and illustrations.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umami the penguin was tired of eating cold fish. She yearned for different choices and set out to find other lands and different foods. Her journey took her many places; she sampled a wide variety of foods. When she was ready, she brought these foods back to her home and shared them with the other penguins. Everyone was happy and the book ends on an amusing note with her cooking a fish with seasoning.
I appreciate the message to try new foods and think about how they taste.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fed up with eating cold fish for every meal, Umami the penguin embarks on an adventure of culinary exploration.

This picture book is a celebration of food. It encourages children to explore a variety of foods and eat diversely.

The illustrations were done in oil pastel monoprints and colored pencil. Umami the penguin is a warmer shade of brown than the other penguins, which indicates to the reader from the very beginning that Umami is special and will do something different.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the illustrations and color theme, and the pages have a nice weight. The story itself is open-ended enough to provide good lessons about a lot of themes: open-mindedness, independence, adventurous eating, trying new things and introducing others to new ideas, sharing meals with community, the list goes on.

[Genny20 · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this book! the art was cute and the message was so nice! The penguin has an open mind and wants to learn more about other cultural foods! They're excited to share them with their family/community back home! It does a good job showing that you don't have to like everything but its always good to give it a try!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a penguin who is tired of cold fish for breakfast lunch and dinner. They sat out on an adventure to discover new foods and new spices. Once found he takes them back home to introduce to the other penguins. This story works on all levels. The pictures are fun and it has a nice quiet lesson for all kids. Altogether this book just works.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the penguins ever eat is cold fish. Umami is tired of cold fish for breakfast, for dinner, for birthdays, and for snacks. He sets off to find more interesting food, discovers sweet, sour, bitter, salty and spicy foods. He brings them back for the other penguins to try. But will they like these unusual foods?

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A penguin is sick of eating cold fish, so goes off on a food adventure where they discover all the types of taste (salt, sweet, spice, umami..). Was a cute way to get a picky eater to eat more maybe..or kid who likes food.

[Coro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!!! So cute and the illustrations are amazing. I loved Umami and how she was willing to leave her home to explore and try new things, but then return home to share her discoveries with her friends :)

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great, I wanted more but this is the right level for the young audience it's intended for. I can still ask my learner(s) about temperature and texture as well as to name various foods. I especially like the good attitude towards trying new foods in this book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umami the penguin is sick of eating the same kinds of foods everyday. So she goes on an adventure. I loved the different illustrations of Umami as she tried the different foods. And the picture of the penguins back home. trying everything was hilarious.

[David Bruggink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A completely adorable picture book about trying challenging new things, being adventurous and sharing your interests. Very funny expressions and cleverly written. Colorful but slightly muted illustrations with a delectable style that’s just right for the subject.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant has been pretty consistent and I think he's carving out a great career. This was cute and fun and had a message about trying new foods...a tried and true struggle with kids.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How adventurous of an eater is your child? Use this book for a storytime about trying new foods.

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 1/3

Trying new food, Penguins

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun picture book about exploring new flavors in food!

[Mandyhello · Rating 5 out of 5]

It me.