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Food

Picture Books | Nonfiction

The books recommended below were published within the last few years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Picture Books
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

The Butter Man written by Elizabeth and Ali Alalou, illustrated by Julie Klear Essakalli (Charlesbridge)
While making couscous, Nora’s baba serves up a story from his Moroccan childhood: a hungry boy learns about patience when he’s sent outside to wait for the butter man. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Fed Up! A Feast of Frazzled Foods written and illustrated by Rex Barron (Putnam)
From “Anxious Apples,” appalled by a discarded core, to the meditative “Zen Zucchini,” this darkly comic alphabet presents fruits and veggies acting (and emoting) alliteratively. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Minnie’s Diner: A Multiplying Menu written by Dayle Ann Dodds, illustrated by John Manders (Candlewick)
The multitudinous McFay brothers present the concept of doubling as, one by one, each heads for the diner, orders what the previous brother did, and requests the cook “make it a double.” Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes written and illustrated by Jan Fearnley (Little Tiger)
The tantalizing aroma of Mr. Wolf’s breakfast wafts through a fairy-tale neighborhood, causing greedy residents to come calling—but it’s clear from his portly figure that Mr. Wolf’s menu is not limited to pancakes. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Rotten Ralph Feels Rotten written by Jack Gantos, illustrated by Nicole Rubel (Farrar)
After a night of foraging in the neighborhood trash cans, Rotten Ralph wakes up with a tummy ache in this cautionary tale about eating junk food. Grade level: K–3. 48 pages.

Ginger Bear written and illustrated by Mini Grey (Random)
A gingerbread bear cookie takes the cutter into his own hands to “make” some friends, but the bears’ midnight revels come to a grim but hilarious end when a hungry dog interrupts. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

On Top of Spaghetti written and illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson, with lyrics by Tom Glazer (Scholastic)
A canine chef explains how he came to set the meatball in motion “when somebody sneezed,” his folksy narrative punctuated throughout with the words of the original song. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

What Pete Ate from A-Z written and illustrated by Maira Kalman (Putnam)
Working his way through an accordion, narrator Poppy’s doll, and even an occasional food item, unruly pup Pete snacks on an outrageous catalog of alphabetical artifacts. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

The Mystery of Eatum Hall written by John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell, illustrated by John Kelly (Candlewick)
Dr. Hunter invites pig Horace and goose Glenda to luxurious Eatum Hall for a “weekend of free gourmet food!” but the wolfish doctor may have his sights set on some gourmet food of his own. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise! written and illustrated by Leo Landry (Houghton)
It might look like she’s just rolling them around in distaste, but Ivy Louise can’t eat her peas when they’re performing splendid circus acts on her high-chair tray. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

A Cake for Herbie written and illustrated by Petra Mathers (Schwartz/Atheneum)
Herbie fails to take the cake in a food poetry contest, but a restaurant staff proves a more appreciative audience, even giving Herbie a cake — which he almost manages to keep intact. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

The Hungriest Boy in the World written by Lensey Namioka, illustrated by Aki Sogabe (Holiday)
When Jiro is suddenly, constantly hungry, his family learns that what’s gotten into him (literally) is the Hunger Monster, which Jiro has inadvertently swallowed. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Brave Potatoes written by Toby Speed, illustrated by Barry Root (Putnam)
A peck of prize potatoes roll through the County Fair on a daring rescue mission: to save their fellow veggies from the fiendish Chef Hackemup. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
A lucky (and tasty) find forces the Pigeon to wrestle with a minor moral dilemma: to share or not to share. Grade level: Preschool. 40 pages.

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague (Blue Sky/Scholastic)
This amusing lesson in table manners depicts prehistoric reptiles spitting out broccoli, making bubbles in milk, and sticking beans in their nostrils, much to the dismay of their (human) parents. Grade level: Preschool. 40 pages.

The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer written and illustrated by Ann Arnold (Foster/Farrar)
This picture book biography relates how Paris-trained chef Soyer made delicious food attainable for all by establishing soup kitchens in Dublin, training cooks for the poor in London, and improving British soldiers’ rations. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Hiromi’s Hands written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch (Lee & Low)
After a trip to the fish market with her restaurant-owner father, Hiromi convinces him to teach her the art of sushi and eventually becomes one of the first female sushi chefs in New York. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements written by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Schwartz/Atheneum)
Seven courses-cum-chapters present Fannie’s mission to make cookery “an art and science that anyone can learn.” Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

The Cod’s Tale written by Mark Kurlansky, illustrated by S. D. Schindler (Putnam)
This socio-economic history shows cod’s prominent place in western development. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.

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