Amy Gets Eaten by Adam Kay & Henry Paker

Honestly, seems appropriate to be reading and reviewing this on the day I spent way too much time making sure my doctor had the relevant sample she needed. But hey, maybe we’ll finally figure out why I’ve been so sick these last few months!

Anyway, Amy is a piece of corn on the pizza of a medium-sized boy named Noah. As she travels through his digestive system with her other pizza topping friends — including a bit of tomato, onion and, perhaps less expectedly, egg and raisin — she explores her surroundings and tries to give courage to her companions, as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Amy Gets Eaten is a quick, often funny primer on how food moves through the body, which does an excellent job of not judging anyone’s eating habits (well, with the exception of the chocolate cake with ketchup: I definitely agree with the authors that that is weird.) This picture book very much demystifies the basics of eating, digestion and elimination, and serves as a great introduction for kids who want to know how bodies turn food into poop.

It is not, however, strictly scientifically accurate. While Amy might very well get through the digestive system intact, a lot of poetic license is taken in having other foods appear mostly whole when they would 100% have been mashed into unrecognizability via the boluses formed by chewing and swallowing. There is also a wee bit of Final Girl horror going on, as her companions disappear one by one, but such is the nature of this story, as everyone gets… eliminated, hahaha.

Ahem. I did really like Amy’s adventurous attitude, however, as well as the sense of humor shown throughout. The art is charming, and while the subject is a bit icky, it never verges into gross-out territory. This is a great book for kids who want to know more about what happens to the food they eat, even if it definitely serves more as introduction than last word on the subject.

Amy Gets Eaten by Adam Kay & Henry Paker was published April 7 2025 by Penguin Workshop and is available from all good booksellers, including