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Yummy: A History of Desserts
Cake is delicious and comics are awesome: this exciting non-fiction graphic novel for kids combines both! Explore the history of desserts through a fun adventure with facts, legends, and recipes for readers to try at home.
Have you ever wondered who first thought to freeze cream? Or when people began making sweet pastry shells to encase fruity fillings? Food sprite Peri is excited to show you the delicious history of sweets while taking you around the world and back!
The team-up that made ice cream cones!
The mistake that made brownies!
Learn about and taste the true stories behind everyone's favorite treats, paired with fun and easy recipes to try at home. After all, sweets--and their stories--are always better when they're shared!
Have you ever wondered who first thought to freeze cream? Or when people began making sweet pastry shells to encase fruity fillings? Food sprite Peri is excited to show you the delicious history of sweets while taking you around the world and back!
The team-up that made ice cream cones!
The mistake that made brownies!
Learn about and taste the true stories behind everyone's favorite treats, paired with fun and easy recipes to try at home. After all, sweets--and their stories--are always better when they're shared!
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2021
73 people are currently reading
1449 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Grace Elliott
3 books90 followersI’m Victoria Grace Elliott, a queer comic artist living in Austin, Texas. I’ve written, drawn, and colored my middle grade nonfiction graphic novels, Yummy: A History of Desserts and Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments (Random House Graphic) which feature my love of sharing history and interesting facts — as well as sweets! Please Be My Star is my romantic YA retelling of Phantom of the Opera (Scholastic Graphix/2024). I’m also the creator of the fantasy webcomic balderdash! or, a tale of two witches.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
December 27, 2025
In a Nutshell: A graphical non-fiction exploring the development of popular desserts. Contains a good mix of history, pseudo-interviews, stories, and recipes. Quite comprehensive and entertaining. A tempting [pun intended!] read for those with a sweet tooth. 😄
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If you ask various people what they consider the yummiest dish, chances are that a majority of the responses you receive will mention some or the other dessert. Even those of us who don't have a sweet tooth enjoy at least some dessert once in a while. Cakes, ice-creams, donuts, pies,… (gulab jamun, kulfi, and kaju katli for my desi friends 🤤) – there is at least one dessert we like, if not love. But have you ever thought about how these desserts came into being? This graphical book aims to enlighten and entertain you at the same time on the scrumptious topic of desserts.
There are eight chapters in this book, covering one dessert per chapter. That might sound like too few, especially as the eight desserts include a few popular mainly in the USA (Ice-cream, cake, brownies, donuts, pies, gummies, cookies, and macarons). However, as they are presented through the lens of their historical evolution, the book includes all linked sweets and the global culinary developments that contributed to the modern-day version of the dessert, thereby spanning multiple regions of the world.
The content has a special presenter, a food-sprite named Peri, who doesn't just know her desserts but also gets emotional over desserts. Her passionate narration is enthusiastic as well as humorous, ensuring that the presentation never gets dry or boring.
Accompanying Peri are two more food-sprites: Fee - a bubbly character with a fondness for storytelling and role-playing, and Fada - a science enthusiast who likes facts but loves chocolate even more. The trio take us through the sweet culinary journey using a medley of content formats.
We have Peri’s first-person narration guiding us through the key chronological timepoints in a dessert’s evolution. Fada offers the scientific basis for certain features of the dessert such as fluffiness or density. Fee participates in pseudo-interviews with Peri by role-playing as various historical personalities. There is also a special ‘Story Time’ session whereby Peri narrates the legend behind a particular dessert to her rapt audience, viz. Fada and Fee. And of course, there are the recipes, all tried and tested by the author and recreated on the page by the three sprites working in tandem.
Many of the chapters begin with a special 'Atlas of the World', showing the developmental route of that specific dessert over the ages. I wasn't surprised to see India (and by extension, the Indian subcontinent) being a contributor towards the present-day version of multiple desserts. With two key sweet ingredients - sugar and cinnamon - coming from this part of the world, we had a geographical advantage, for sure.
Just because the topic is sweet doesn't mean that it avoids all tricky history. Peri also touches upon hardhitting facts such as the impact of colonial rule and slavery on the global progression of desserts. Just one major geographical error I couldn’t ignore. There was no Pakistan in the 1500s. So any reference to that region in historical times should either have said India or “the Indian subcontinent” or “modern-day Pakistan”. (Of course, India and many other countries were known by other names all those centuries ago, but at least the concept of these nations existed. The ideation of ‘Pakistan’ didn’t even take place until a little before our country’s partition in 1947.)
The illustrations are digitally created and are as vibrant as a book about desserts should be. The colouring is done in bright pastel shades. The three sprites are sketched excellently. Thanks to their enthusiastic narration and their vivid expressions, even the pages appear lively. But what is most impressive is the effective use of the page space to convey so much information without letting the book appear cluttered.
Overall, anyone interested in food history and having a fondness for the sweeter edibles of life will enjoy this graphical book. Food history is rarely a boring topic, but with such a creative presentation, a wide variety of desserts, enthusiastic narrators, and colourful illustrations, this book stands out.
Of course, as even Peri acknowledges with great sadness, this book is not comprehensive enough. There are too many desserts around the world for a single book! But hopefully, this graphic novel will set the ball rolling for many readers to learn how their favourite sweet foods came into existence.
I think I would have enjoyed the book even more if I were a dessert aficionado. While I like a couple of sweets, I am more of a savoury-food person, so even Peri’s passion didn’t convert my heart. Moreover, no pie or gummy bear can be as satisfying as a motichur laddu or a rabri falooda to this desi tummy. This is more of a ME problem and not a BOOK problem.
Much recommended to dessert lovers and food history aficionados. The book is officially aimed at middle-graders, but the content is scrumptious enough to be appealing to anyone above the age of eight.
4 stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you ask various people what they consider the yummiest dish, chances are that a majority of the responses you receive will mention some or the other dessert. Even those of us who don't have a sweet tooth enjoy at least some dessert once in a while. Cakes, ice-creams, donuts, pies,… (gulab jamun, kulfi, and kaju katli for my desi friends 🤤) – there is at least one dessert we like, if not love. But have you ever thought about how these desserts came into being? This graphical book aims to enlighten and entertain you at the same time on the scrumptious topic of desserts.
There are eight chapters in this book, covering one dessert per chapter. That might sound like too few, especially as the eight desserts include a few popular mainly in the USA (Ice-cream, cake, brownies, donuts, pies, gummies, cookies, and macarons). However, as they are presented through the lens of their historical evolution, the book includes all linked sweets and the global culinary developments that contributed to the modern-day version of the dessert, thereby spanning multiple regions of the world.
The content has a special presenter, a food-sprite named Peri, who doesn't just know her desserts but also gets emotional over desserts. Her passionate narration is enthusiastic as well as humorous, ensuring that the presentation never gets dry or boring.
Accompanying Peri are two more food-sprites: Fee - a bubbly character with a fondness for storytelling and role-playing, and Fada - a science enthusiast who likes facts but loves chocolate even more. The trio take us through the sweet culinary journey using a medley of content formats.
We have Peri’s first-person narration guiding us through the key chronological timepoints in a dessert’s evolution. Fada offers the scientific basis for certain features of the dessert such as fluffiness or density. Fee participates in pseudo-interviews with Peri by role-playing as various historical personalities. There is also a special ‘Story Time’ session whereby Peri narrates the legend behind a particular dessert to her rapt audience, viz. Fada and Fee. And of course, there are the recipes, all tried and tested by the author and recreated on the page by the three sprites working in tandem.
Many of the chapters begin with a special 'Atlas of the World', showing the developmental route of that specific dessert over the ages. I wasn't surprised to see India (and by extension, the Indian subcontinent) being a contributor towards the present-day version of multiple desserts. With two key sweet ingredients - sugar and cinnamon - coming from this part of the world, we had a geographical advantage, for sure.
Just because the topic is sweet doesn't mean that it avoids all tricky history. Peri also touches upon hardhitting facts such as the impact of colonial rule and slavery on the global progression of desserts. Just one major geographical error I couldn’t ignore. There was no Pakistan in the 1500s. So any reference to that region in historical times should either have said India or “the Indian subcontinent” or “modern-day Pakistan”. (Of course, India and many other countries were known by other names all those centuries ago, but at least the concept of these nations existed. The ideation of ‘Pakistan’ didn’t even take place until a little before our country’s partition in 1947.)
The illustrations are digitally created and are as vibrant as a book about desserts should be. The colouring is done in bright pastel shades. The three sprites are sketched excellently. Thanks to their enthusiastic narration and their vivid expressions, even the pages appear lively. But what is most impressive is the effective use of the page space to convey so much information without letting the book appear cluttered.
Overall, anyone interested in food history and having a fondness for the sweeter edibles of life will enjoy this graphical book. Food history is rarely a boring topic, but with such a creative presentation, a wide variety of desserts, enthusiastic narrators, and colourful illustrations, this book stands out.
Of course, as even Peri acknowledges with great sadness, this book is not comprehensive enough. There are too many desserts around the world for a single book! But hopefully, this graphic novel will set the ball rolling for many readers to learn how their favourite sweet foods came into existence.
I think I would have enjoyed the book even more if I were a dessert aficionado. While I like a couple of sweets, I am more of a savoury-food person, so even Peri’s passion didn’t convert my heart. Moreover, no pie or gummy bear can be as satisfying as a motichur laddu or a rabri falooda to this desi tummy. This is more of a ME problem and not a BOOK problem.
Much recommended to dessert lovers and food history aficionados. The book is officially aimed at middle-graders, but the content is scrumptious enough to be appealing to anyone above the age of eight.
4 stars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
September 10, 2022
This was sweet and fun! It’d make a great gift for any kids in your life with an interest in baking.
October 28, 2022
Public library copy
With the help of a sprite named Peri and her friends Fee and Fada, we get a graphic overview of the history of desserts, from pie to cake to gummy candy. In addition to the history and development of different desserts, including information about the effects of colonization on people and supply chains, we see the science of different baking techniques. I learned a LOT about how eggs were used in cake baking (I am never beating anything for an hour!) as well as the chemistry of baking soda and baking powder, although I already knew how pie crust works. Also covered are ice cream, cookies (including Mrs. Wakefield's contribution), brownies, and doughnuts. There is a ton of history (ancient to modern), "interviews" with famous dessert inventors, and a wealth of information about variations on the themes. The illustrations are colorful and have an ice cream parlor feel to them.
I bought this one without reading it first, and somehow was surprised that it was in graphic format. There is a huge amount of information in the book, and I almost think it would have worked better with a heavily illustrated traditional nonfiction layout. Having a table of contents and more space for all of the facts would have been helpful. I also might have saved the gummies chapter for another whole book on candy.
With the help of a sprite named Peri and her friends Fee and Fada, we get a graphic overview of the history of desserts, from pie to cake to gummy candy. In addition to the history and development of different desserts, including information about the effects of colonization on people and supply chains, we see the science of different baking techniques. I learned a LOT about how eggs were used in cake baking (I am never beating anything for an hour!) as well as the chemistry of baking soda and baking powder, although I already knew how pie crust works. Also covered are ice cream, cookies (including Mrs. Wakefield's contribution), brownies, and doughnuts. There is a ton of history (ancient to modern), "interviews" with famous dessert inventors, and a wealth of information about variations on the themes. The illustrations are colorful and have an ice cream parlor feel to them.
I bought this one without reading it first, and somehow was surprised that it was in graphic format. There is a huge amount of information in the book, and I almost think it would have worked better with a heavily illustrated traditional nonfiction layout. Having a table of contents and more space for all of the facts would have been helpful. I also might have saved the gummies chapter for another whole book on candy.
November 16, 2021
I really love books like Yummy. It mixes things so many kids love, desserts and comics, with historical facts. Victoria Grace Elliott has done the research to teach us when and where different sweet treats came from. Obviously some things are not exact or the truth has never been found and she lets us know that in fun and exciting ways… with the help of her food sprites.
Before reading this, I always thought that Apple Pie was completely an American dessert, but it didn’t originate here at all. That tradition was brought to the Americas when the British colonized. BUT!!!! Using Blackberries and Blueberries in their pies did originate here, because those fruits were found locally. So shouldn’t the saying be “As American as Blueberry Pie”???????
I didn’t realize reading a graphic novel could make me so hungry, but after finishing Yummy: A History of Desserts, all I can think of is stuffing my face full of sweets!!😂
Thank You to Random House Kids Graphic Novel for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading this, I always thought that Apple Pie was completely an American dessert, but it didn’t originate here at all. That tradition was brought to the Americas when the British colonized. BUT!!!! Using Blackberries and Blueberries in their pies did originate here, because those fruits were found locally. So shouldn’t the saying be “As American as Blueberry Pie”???????
I didn’t realize reading a graphic novel could make me so hungry, but after finishing Yummy: A History of Desserts, all I can think of is stuffing my face full of sweets!!😂
Thank You to Random House Kids Graphic Novel for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2022
DNF - I love desserts and comics, but this didn't work for me. I wish it was maybe a little more focused, or done as a more traditional nonfiction but with great illustrations. I'm glad this is clicking with others; like I said, it's just my personal preference.
January 7, 2022
Such a ‘sweet’ little book on the history of desserts! My two favorite things! History and desserts! It was actually really informational and a fun read! I learned lots!
March 9, 2024
I'm fascinated by nonfiction graphic novels because it's such a cool medium for teaching kids things like history. This was a perfect subject for tweens and was certainly chock full of facts. Cute, sweet, and a quick read.
March 21, 2022
The history of dessert told through some fun characters. Lots of interesting info to learn and easily digestible.
March 5, 2024
Just as cute and informative as Tasty, and I do think the focus on sweets helped make it feel more cohesive.
January 29, 2022
I love my non-fiction in graphic novel form. I learned so much from this first-time (!!) author! It was so interesting to see the ancestors of the desserts we know today, without sugar-coating (see what I did there) the colonization and slavery that brought about a lot of our favorites. I wish this book was a course I could take and every food mentioned could be sampled!
March 27, 2022
This is such a cute, colourful book that gives a great potted history of desserts from around the world. Engaging, informative with adorable illustrations and some fun characters. I'll definitely recommend this one to kids at work.
April 9, 2022
3.5 stars. This book is super cute. I learned a lot.
My favorite story was "The Legend of Nun's Farts" - I'm not joking. Sister Agnes tooted, and while all the other nuns laughed at her, she accidentally dropped a dollop of dough into hot oil - instant DONUT!
My favorite story was "The Legend of Nun's Farts" - I'm not joking. Sister Agnes tooted, and while all the other nuns laughed at her, she accidentally dropped a dollop of dough into hot oil - instant DONUT!
July 25, 2022
Victoria Grace Elliott, if you happen to see this…WE NEED A SEQUEL!!!!!! There is so much more for Peri and her friends to teach us about more desserts! And. The illustrations were…well…so YUMMY!!! Such a lighthearted, amazing, chock-full-of-knowledge read. It lifted my soul!
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December 30, 2021
I can see why this was getting so much buzz - it's a fun history of different desserts, and will definitely appeal to young foodies. Includes step-by-step recipes, and food from around the world.
February 12, 2022
Fun idea, but didn't quite succeed.
June 6, 2022
A charming read. That's the quality of this book which kept me reading. The art is really welcoming and so is the presentation. The content was ok, I learned some stuff but that's about it.
February 27, 2023
“Yummy: A History of Desserts” is a baking history comic (written, illustrated, colored, & lettered) by Victoria Grace Elliott. Three food sprites (Peri, Fee, & Fada) take you through the history of various desserts, baked treats, & confections from their ancient origins & up til present. This is a very cute comic about baking. The sprites are adorable & each one has an individual personality / role (Peri is the main researcher & spokesperson / leader(?) / storyteller, Fee dresses up / cosplays historical figures for interview segments, & Fada heads the Science Lad). Some chapters are longer due to focusing on larger baking categories (cake, cookies) & others are more brief / spotlight chapters focused on more specific desserts (macarons). While not super in depth (it is aimed for children / all ages), I did learn a lot. There’s a lot of focus on how global dessert history is & how cultures have interacted & modified various sweet foodstuffs. & of course, there are some recipes, which the sprites actually make in the panels.
The art is very very cute. Kawaii even. This is definitely a lighter, nicer read, but it doesn’t lack for content. I hope the author writes another, as it is left open given how many more desserts could be covered.
Good for anyone who likes baking, cute art, or a calming / fun / chill read. 💜
But where to shelve it? With my other cookbooks? Or comics? 😅😹💜
The art is very very cute. Kawaii even. This is definitely a lighter, nicer read, but it doesn’t lack for content. I hope the author writes another, as it is left open given how many more desserts could be covered.
Good for anyone who likes baking, cute art, or a calming / fun / chill read. 💜
But where to shelve it? With my other cookbooks? Or comics? 😅😹💜
March 5, 2022
I love nonfiction graphic guides, and Yummy definitely lives up to its title. The art is colorful and bold, and looks absolutely, well, yummy. Three food sprites take turns introducing the history, influential people, and science behind our favorite desserts, from cookies, to ice cream, to pies, and candy. The art and the text struck the perfect balance, and having a visual companion to the nonfiction text helped the material be more digestible, and not too dense. (Okay, enough dessert puns.) The book manages to cover a lot of ground, tracing the origins of a dessert from its ancient roots to modern day adaptations, while addressing the role that colonization and slavery played to make that possible. Highly recommended for anyone interested in food history, not just kids!
This book is also available on Overdrive/Libby, as a downloadable ebook.
Reviewed by: Laura Mao, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
This book is also available on Overdrive/Libby, as a downloadable ebook.
Reviewed by: Laura Mao, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library
March 6, 2022
this was really cute and packed full of information. the little sprites do a great job of framing each narrative in an engaging way for kids, and i like how each has a different personality and different "jobs" within the narrative. the author does a great job of explaining how colonialism and slavery affected how foods traveled and changed, but also makes the point that "The desserts we enjoy aren’t ‘silver linings’ to the brutal horrors of slavery and colonization. Rather, to appreciate desserts in all their forms, we need to acknowledge the real history and people behind them."
i'd love to read a second volume, if the author is interested in making one!!
i'd love to read a second volume, if the author is interested in making one!!
May 18, 2022
When you can take history and make it interesting to read you have a winner! What a great graphic novel about desserts from where they originated, to the original creation and their derivatives based on different countries, to where they are now! This is one of those books that can transcend grade levels from elementary to high school. I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult, and a YA/children’s book reader. The characters in the graphic novel interact with the history and make them pop. Although it may be a bit juvenile for high school, the information makes it a highly interesting read. Recommended for all readers.
December 18, 2023
This is a sweet (pun intended) look at the history of a few select desserts. This is by no means a comprehensive history and there are some places where there is a single word bubble for certain desserts. But it will definitely pique your interest and it covers a lot of ground (both historically and culinarily). The drawing style is very cute and candy-colored. I liked the little sprites that narrated the book.
March 10, 2024
An ambitious attempt to cover the history of many dessert categories: ice cream, donuts, cake, pie, brownies, gummies, cookies, and the last chapter was specifically about macrons.
Loved that science was included and that while the history was age appropriate it wasn't completely sanitized, such as using words like 'enslaved people'.
Loved that science was included and that while the history was age appropriate it wasn't completely sanitized, such as using words like 'enslaved people'.
December 1, 2021
We need more nonfiction graphic novels like this one. Engaging and fascinating in an easily digestible format.
July 27, 2022
Staff Review:
This was a cute graphic novel. It was filled with a lot more information on desserts than I thought it would have. Definitely a fun read!
This was a cute graphic novel. It was filled with a lot more information on desserts than I thought it would have. Definitely a fun read!
July 30, 2022
really cute graphics, covers the political nature of food, learned a lot of things I did not know!!!
did-not-finish
April 16, 2024DNFing for now with the full intention to revisit later either for book club or when I'm in the right mood. LOVE the art style. It will probably be a 5 star when I do get around to it.
August 22, 2025
I realized I'm not as interested in reading about dessert as I am in eating dessert. It would probably be great for someone super into baking and all the history about favorite desserts. Graphic novel format didn't work for me either.
December 30, 2021
kawaii + history + a chapter on gummis. I'm in.
January 6, 2022
A very fun graphic novel with lots of interesting history and facts about desserts
January 30, 2024
This is a fun (and often funny) look at the history of desserts. While the book is aimed at kids, there's a lot of information here which adults probably don't know, too. (I sure didn't know most of what was in this book.) The art style is cute, and—even though I didn't try any—I appreciated the inclusion of recipes in the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews