“What are the best Children’s books about Food?” We looked at 271 of the top Kids Food books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 21 titles, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Kids Food” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 250 titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 21 Best Children’s Books About Food

21 .) Bee-bim Bop! written by Linda Sue Park

Lists It Appears On:

• Dessert For Two
• Fatherly
• Pragmatic Mom

A child, eager for a favorite meal, helps with the shopping, food preparation, and table setting.

20 .) Can I Eat That? written by Joshua David Stein

Lists It Appears On:

• Fatherly
• Food And Wine
• On My Kids Plate

This humorous, stylized and entirely unexpected set of food facts will engage both good eaters and resisters alike. With questions both practical (‘Can you eat a sea urchin?’) and playful (‘Do eggs grow on eggplants?’), this read-aloud text offers young children facts to share and the subtle encouragement to taste something new!

19 .) Eating The Alphabet written by Lois Elhert

Lists It Appears On:

• Eminence Kids Foundation
• Family Education
• Kitchen Concoctions

While teaching upper- and lowercase letters to preschoolers, Ehlert introduces fruits and vegetables from around the world. A glossary at the end provides interesting facts about each food.

18 .) Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food written by Lizzy Rockwell

Lists It Appears On:

• Family Education
• Kinder Care
• Kitchen Concoctions

Describes the six categories of nutrients needed for good health, how they work in the body, and what foods provide each.

17 .) If You Give a Mouse a Cookie written by Laura Numeroff

Lists It Appears On:

• Food And Wine
• Genius Kitchen
• Kitchen Concoctions

Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young child’s day.

16 .) Kids Fun and Healthy Cookbook written by Nicola Graimes, Illus. by Howard Shooter

Lists It Appears On:

• Chef Ann Foundation
• Early Childhood Education Zone
• Eminence Kids Foundation

A collection of over 100 simple recipes designed to be both tempting and healthy for young cooks.

15 .) Pancakes, Pancakes! written by Eric Carle

Lists It Appears On:

• Dessert For Two
• Kitchen Concoctions
• Read Brightly

By cutting and grinding the wheat for flour, Jack starts from scratch to help make his breakfast pancake.

14 .) Strega Nona written by Tomie dePaola

Lists It Appears On:

• Good Parenting Brighter Children
• Kitchen Concoctions
• Village Voice

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.

13 .) The Seven Silly Eaters written by Mary Ann Hoberman

Lists It Appears On:

• Kitchen Concoctions
• My LIttle Poppies
• We Are Teachers

Seven fussy eaters find a way to surprise their mother.

12 .) The Ugly Vegetables written by Grace Lin

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Pragmatic Mom
• Read Brightly

A little girl thinks her mother’s garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all. Includes a recipe.

11 .) To Market, to Market written by Anne Miranda

Lists It Appears On:

• Fatherly
• Simple Bites
• We Are Teachers

Starting with the nursery rhyme about buying a fat pig at market, this tale goes on to describe a series of unruly animals that run amok, evading capture and preventing the narrator from cooking lunch.

10 .) James and the Giant Peach written by Roald Dahl

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Food And Wine
• Genius Kitchen
• Good Parenting Brighter Children
• Kitchen Concoctions

A young boy escapes from two wicked aunts and embarks on a series of adventures with six giant insects he meets inside a giant peach.

9 .) The Very Hungry Caterpillar written by Eric Carle

Lists It Appears On:

• Dessert For Two
• Food And Wine
• Kitchen Concoctions
• Taste Of Home
• Village Voice

Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep. Die-cut pages illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days.…

8 .) Bread and Jam for Frances written by Russell Hoban

Lists It Appears On:

• Family Education
• Food And Wine
• Kitchen Concoctions
• On My Kids Plate
• Read Brightly
• Simple Bites

Frances decides she likes to eat only bread and jam at every meal–until to her surprise–her parents grant her wish.

7 .) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory written by Roald Dahl

Lists It Appears On:

• Food And Wine
• Genius Kitchen
• Good Parenting Brighter Children
• Kitchen Concoctions
• The Childrens Book Review
• Village Voice

Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.

6 .) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs written by Judi Barrett

Lists It Appears On:

• Food And Wine
• Genius Kitchen
• Kitchen Concoctions
• Simple Bites
• Taste Of Home
• Village Voice

Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers–until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

5 .) Gregory the Terrible Eater written by Mitchell Sharmat

Lists It Appears On:

• Eminence Kids Foundation
• Family Education
• Good Parenting Brighter Children
• Kinder Care
• Kitchen Concoctions
• We Are Teachers

A very picky eater, Gregory the goat refuses the usual goat diet staples of shoes and tin cans in favor of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and orange juice.

4 .) I Will Not Never Ever Eat a Tomato written by Lauren Child

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Kinder Care
• Kitchen Concoctions
• On My Kids Plate
• Read Brightly
• We Are Teachers

A fussy eater decides to sample the carrots after her brother convinces her that they are really orange twiglets from Jupiter.

3 .) Blueberries for Sal written by Robert McCloskey

Lists It Appears On:

• Dessert For Two
• Food And Wine
• Good Parenting Brighter Children
• Kitchen Concoctions
• Read Brightly
• Simple Bites
• Village Voice

What happens when Sal and her mother meet a mother bear and her cub? A beloved classic is born! Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk! Sal and her mother a picking blueberries to can for the winter. But when Sal wanders to the other side of Blueberry Hill, she discovers a mama bear preparing for her own long winter. Meanwhile Sal’s mother is being followed by a small bear with a big appetite for berries! Will each mother go home with the right little one? With its expressive line drawings and charming story, Blueberries for Sal has won readers’ hearts since its first publication in 1948.

2 .) Dragons Love Tacos written by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Dessert For Two
• Family Education
• Fatherly
• Kitchen Concoctions
• On My Kids Plate
• Read Brightly
• Taste Of Home

Explores the love dragons have for tacos, and the dangers of feeding them them anything with spicy salsa.

1 .) Green Eggs and Ham written by Dr. Seuss

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes & Noble
• Family Education
• Food And Wine
• Genius Kitchen
• Kitchen Concoctions
• On My Kids Plate
• Read Brightly
• Simple Bites
• Taste Of Home
• Village Voice
• We Are Teachers

In verse, Sam-I-am tells of the virtues of green eggs and ham.

The 250 Additional Best Kids Books About Food

31 Best Kids Food And Healthy Eating Book Sources/Lists