It’s fun to read stories about baking, cooking, eating, and giving food. Here are our favorite children’s books about food to read aloud with your child.
“Can we make pastilla?” my son asked. He had been poring through a world atlas that showed custom food from different regions. This dish in particular was from Morocco. We had already cooked Egyptian falafels, Native American fry bread, and latkes for the holidays.
As busy moms, we may not always have the time to cook meals from scratch, much less unfamiliar recipes with ingredients we don’t always recognize. But cooking and eating new foods don’t have to be complicated. We can celebrate the fresh veggies of a salad, or look forward to delicious apple pie.
And your meals don’t even have to be home-cooked to be enjoyed. What kid doesn’t love a steaming box of pizza delivered to your door, or ice cream to lick at the end of a hot day?
There’s something to be said about relishing good food. Many can even become rituals or part of your routine, like expecting pancakes every Saturday morning.
And of course, food can be part of our culture, from baking roti and Challah bread to partaking in chicken soup.
Children’s books about food
This is why I love reading children’s books about food and following them up in the kitchen. Many of our food adventures began by reading a children’s book about it (for instance, cooking fry bread or bibimbap).
We’ve also incorporated the activity in the book in real life. One of our books described a picnic, complete with sandwiches, grapes, lemonade, and cookies. We then recreated the menu—complete with the picnic—with our kids.
Below are some favorite children’s books about food. They can help your little ones get excited about cooking, baking, and of course, eating:
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Rah, Rah, Radishes by April Pulley Sayre
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philomen Sturges
Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party by James Dean
Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
(Suggestion: eat the specified fruit on each day, e.g. apples for Monday.)
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood
Can You Eat? By Joshua David Stein and Julia Rothman
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Children’s books about chefs
Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites by Debbi Michiko Florence
Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament by Anne Renaud
Children’s books about where food comes from
Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution by Diane Stanley
Right This Very Minute by Lisl H Detlefsen
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals
Children’s books about food from different cultures
Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup by Pamela Mayer
Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai
Hot Hot Roti for Dada-Ji by F. Zia
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang
Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Lazo Gilmore
Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley
Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park
Children’s books about picky eating
Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
How to Feed Your Parents by Ryan Miller
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
- A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat by Emily Jenkins
Read these next:
- Thanksgiving Children’s Books
- Multicultural Children’s Books to Read with Your Child
- Children’s Books for Earth Day
- 12 Children’s Books that Reinforce Positive Behavior
- The Best Children’s Books about Gardening
Free resource: Want even more book ideas? Join my newsletter and get your copy of the Read Aloud Book List! You’ll get hundreds of favorite selections to read aloud with your young readers. Get it below—at no cost to you:
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