Books for Foodie Kids
By Marci Lutsky
If you have children in preschool or grade school, you may receive an invitation to be a secret reader in your child’s classroom. This is a great way to get involved in the school, get an insider view of the classroom, and show your child that you want to be involved in their education. Kids love seeing mom, dad or an older sibling come into the classroom. So, you accepted that invitation to be a secret reader and now the question is, what book should you read? If your child loves cooking or food, here are some of our favorites that the other children will enjoy listening to.
“Sophie’s Squash” by Pat Zietlow Miller. In this story a young girl named Sophie visits the farmers market with her parents and buys a squash. When she gets home, she takes care of it like a pet. When the squash starts to rot, she becomes sad until she plants it in the ground and sees it produce more squash. My kids loved this story since we frequent the farmers market and they enjoy eating squash.
“Dragons Love Tacos” by Adam Rubin. This is such a favorite in my house because my kids love tacos too! This story tells how dragons love tacos, but not hot sauce. A sequel to this book recently came out called Dragons Love Tacos 2.
“The Prince’s Breakfast” by Joanne Oppenheim. This is a really fun story with a great message. A prince is a very picky eater and his parents take him on adventures all around the world trying to find foods that he will eat. It’s not until someone suggests that he put ketchup on his food that he starts to enjoy food. This adorable rhyming story will make the kids laugh and make you feel better that you don’t have the only picky eater in the world!
“The Little Red Hen” by Mary Finch. In this story a little red hen is tending her wheat to make bread and the lazy rooster and mischievous mouse don’t want to help her, but instead just want to eat the bread at the end. When she says no, they offer to help the next time so that they can enjoy the fruits of their labor. I love the message of this book, especially as kids gets older and can start doing more chores around the house.
“Chopsticks” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. As a mom of twins, this is one of my favorite children’s books. This book tells the story of a set of chopsticks who are used to always being together. When one gets injured and needs to take it easy for a while, the other needs to learn to do things independently. There is a lot of subtle humor in this book that parents will enjoy.
You could take the reading visit a step further and also do a quick cooking lesson, if the teacher will allow it. One year I read Sophie’s Squash to my children’s class and then we made smoothies with squash (I used frozen cooked squash), blueberries, yogurt and milk. The kids and teachers loved it! Another fun cooking lesson we did was after reading the book “Chopsticks.” We made rice-less vegetable sushi which the kids also loved. Next time you are invited to school to read, consider one of these books or save this list for the upcoming holidays. Not only will you inspire your children to read, but you will also inspire a love of cooking!
- Marci Lutsky is a food blogger at Vegging at the Shore, www.veggingattheshore.com and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
How to Make Rice-less Vegetable SushiIngredientsthinly sliced peeled cucumbers (you can use a sharp knife or mandolin)
shredded carrots
thinly sliced peppers
garlic and herb cheese
Instructions
Lay out a slice of cucumber. Add a small spoonful of cheese. Top with carrots and peppers. Roll up and enjoy!
