Food Books for Kids

Who it’s for? Preschool through Grade 3

This book tells the story of Strega Nona—“Grandma Witch”—who helps her Calabrian town with potions, cures and magical assistance; her magical pasta pot and her helper, Big Anthony.

When Strega Nona travels to visit her friend, Big Anthony realizes he can make the magical pasta pot work… with disastrous results. Tomie dePaola shares a warm, fun tale that will sure to make any kid giggle—and one that makes any kid who adores pasta really, really happy.

Fun fact: This was one of my husband’s favorite books when he was a kid. Our girls love it, too. Consequently, they all love pasta.

Who it’s for? Preschool through Grade 2

This little book, aged for newborns to three-year-olds, is a funny and cute tale of dragons who really love to eat tacos. OK, so there’s not a lot of mystery involved, but the colorful pages and delightful illustrations will keep little ones entertained for many repeat readings. Do dragons like big tacos? Small tacos? Chicken tacos or beef tacos? But... can dragons have salsa or are we all doomed for a fiery and spicy end when they eat it? You’re definitely going to find out in this book from Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri.

Fun fact: My aunt sent this book to our older daughter after spending some time with her because she thought she’d find it fun. We adore it… and the sequel—Dragons Love Tacos 2, which deals with the disappearance of all the tacos in the world—is equally as delightful!

Who it’s for? Preschool through Kindergarten

Written for kids learning to count, Feast For Ten follows a family as they prepare a big meal. Together you’ll read about the family going grocery shopping, preparing their meal and sitting down to eat together. It’s full of beautiful illustrations and collage-style art.

Hopefully, it will spark conversations about fun family food traditions, as well as how to grocery shop and cook dinner. It’s a long-time classic, and sure to become a favorite in your gift recipient’s home, as well.

Who it’s for? Preschool through Grade 3

“Apple to zucchini, come take a look. Start eating your way through this alphabet book.” This great book that teaches kids both the alphabet and about fruits and veggies begins. Each page features a different fruit or vegetable, along with the upper and lower case of each letter. In fact, some letters have several fruits and veggies featured on their pages, like B features blueberries, Brussels sprouts, beans and beets!

The beautiful illustrations will not only get kids excited about trying new foods, they might just inspired them to try to recreate the watercolor beauties.

Fun Fact: We have a few Lois Ehlert books on our shelves. She wrote one of our younger one’s favorite books—Boo to You, which tells the tale of mice and other animals on the eve of their harvest party as a black cat prowls—and a few beautiful butterfly books, too.

Who it’s for? Preschool through Grade 3

This is a wonderful book for kids that are excited about systems—you know, the kids who ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ at every turn! If your little eater has asked about where food comes from or where trash goes, they will probably enjoy this book because it explains how food ends up on our plates.

It’s a celebration of food and the people who work hard to get it to us. The bright photographs are accompanied by short and accessible text that explains things like different kinds of farms, and has a glossary of definitions for each. This is the farm-to-table process broken down to a perfect kid’s portion.

Who it’s for? Preschool through Grade 3

Picky eater? We feel the pain. If you’ve got a lovely kiddo in your life who needs a little cajoling into trying something new, this lovely and ingenious treat of a book is perfect for them. Imagination triumphs over fear on every page of this adorable story from Lauren Child.

The story follows Lola, a very fussy eater who is not excited to try anything... until her brother Charlie explains that those aren’t carrots, they’re orange twiglets from Jupiter! But can Charlie convince Lola to try a tomato? Pick it up to find out!

Who it’s for? Grades 3-7

This series of graphic novels follows Rutabaga and his magic cooking pot, Pot, as they explore the world on various quests to defeat a dragon, discover new ingredients, find monsters to invite to dinner and to save the day through cooking.

“Rutabaga will dare any danger to uncover new tastes,” the book proclaims, and that’s a great attitude to teach to your middle-grade eaters. Make eating an exciting adventure to unknown lands through Rutabaga’s happy eyes. If they like this one, there are more Rutabaga adventures to enjoy!

Who it’s for? Grades 3-7

If you’ve already got a middle-grade kiddo who loves to reading and magic, then this book set in a pastry shop will probably wow them! The summary reads: “Rosemary Bliss's family has a secret. It's the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke locked away while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up.”

We can all guess that the Bliss kids are going to be in for a strange baking surprise before the end of the tale! And if your kid likes this one, there are two more books—A Dash of Magic and Bite-Sized Magic—in the same series!

Who it’s for? Grades 5-8

In Pete Hautman’s Slider, family expectations and competitive eating come together to bake a warm, heartfelt coming-of-age tale sure to give any reader the warm fuzzies.

David is entering the Super Pigorino Bowl to prove he can eat a large pizza the fastest, and he had better win because he borrowed his mom’s credit card and accidentally racked up $2000 in charges. He needs that prize money to pay off his debts!

While he’s training, he’s got to watch his little brother Mal and figure out what’s going on between his friends Cyn and HeyMan. This book is funny, tender and too delicious to put down.