Reading and eating rank pretty high on our list of gratifying family time activities, so we love it when the two intersect. I'm talking about books on the subject of food. Check out some of our favorite food books for kids, and share your own.
Avocado Baby by John Burningham
A weak baby can now miraculously lift pianos and chase burglars, on account of a steady diet of avocados.
Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Covers everything that goes into putting a pancake on the table.
The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer by Ann Arnold
A picture-book biography of the famous 19th-century inventor, cookbook author, and head chef of the exclusive Reform Club in London who opened soup kitchens during the Great Irish Famine.
To Market, to Market by Nikki McClure
A celebration of the farmers market, with a portrait of each vendor, covering in detail how each food is grown and produced.
Bread and Jam for Francis by Russell Hoban
Your classic fussy eater tale. Arguably one of the best descriptions of a lunchbox meal being consumed (three pages' worth), beginning with a cream-cheese-cucumber-and-tomato sandwich on rye bread.
Anatole by Eve Titus
The story of a French mouse with an exceptional palate who earns his living working for a cheese company as an anonymous taste tester.
Hubert the Pudge: A Vegetarian Tale by Henrik Drescher
Even if you're not a vegetarian, Hubert is a great (if a little creepy) way of opening a dialogue on humanely raised, free range, farming husbandry.
The Popcorn Book by Tomie DePaola
A fun popcorn history book.
Fanny at Chez Panisse: A Child's Restaurant Adventure with 46 Recipes by Alice Waters
A behind the scenes look at where food really comes from, with lessons on the importance of eating with your hands and composting, complete with easy and inexpensive recipes to boot.
(Top image: Ben Partridge)
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My 3 yr old twins love the board books by Amy Wilson Sanger. They've memorized the Sushi, Dimsum, and Mangia Mangia books from cover to cover! They've been eating california rolls and siu mai since they were 1 because they'd recognize them from these books.
Some faves:
I Have an Olive Tree
The Tortilla Factory
The Ugly Vegetables
Strega Nona
Jody's Beans: Read and Wonder
Jamberry
Gmama, we love those, too!!
I adore "Avocado Baby"! Hooray for John Burningham! And my son enjoys playing Anatole--we dress up in berets and pretend to ride bicycles to "Paris" (ie, the kitchen), where we sample morsels of cheese and label them "Extra 'specially good" and so on. For younger readers, don't forget "Eating the Alphabet," by Lois Ehlert.
Stega Nona's Gift by Tomie de Paolo is a great one. More than one of the Strega Nona books involve food, but this one is my fave for that.
My daughter is completely fascinated by the fact that it's ok to write in cookbooks (unlike regular books). I'm forever jotting and she is both appalled and attracted by this. At 3, she wrote ANY in big scrawled letters all over a picture-heavy book that came with the Le Creuset mini-cocottes. I asked her what that meant, and she said, "It means you can make that for me any time."
These are all great! If you love books with food, check out jumplittlecake.com. It's a story about a cupcake and his journey through the kitchen to find courage!
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola -- It's wordless! It's fun! It's all about pancakes!
The Poky Little Puppy -- ALL THOSE DESSERTS
Monsters Eat Whiny Children by Bruce Eric Kaplan -- Ok kids aren't food, but this book is hilarious and at the end, the monsters decide to make cucumber tea sandwiches instead of whiny children burgers. Very Roald Dahl-esque in the humor department.
Monsters Eat Whiny Children is hilarious! And I can't wait to check out some of the other books mentioned.