What's Cooking?
How to explore this theme:
- Choose books and book-related activities
- Explore more hands-on activities
- Try some summer writing
- Dig deeper with these websites
- Play and learn with interactive mobile apps
Reading Adventure Packs
Hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. In each themed reading adventure pack you’ll find great book suggestions plus three related activities to do together with your child. Just download and print the PDF.
- Bees (3rd Grade)
- Cooking (1st Grade, 2nd Grade)
- Farms (Kindergarten)
- Food (Kindergarten)
- Green Eggs and Ham (Kindergarten)
- Weather (1st Grade, 2nd Grade)
- Where the Wild Things Are (Kindergarten)
Great Fiction & Nonfi ction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic
By: Ginnie Lo | Illustrated by: Beth Lo
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Bee-Bim Bop!
By: Linda Sue Park | Illustrated by: Ho Baek Lee
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis
By: Robbin Gourley
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Edna Lewis grew up on a Virginia farm where she developed a deep appreciation for the rhythm of nature, the beauty in growing things, and the warmth in sharing a home cooked meal. Edna's early life and passion led to a career as a professional chef known for preserving cooking traditions. Several recipes are included in this handsome, lively book.
Chicken Sunday
By: Patricia Polacco
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Cook-A-Doodle-Do!
By: Janet Stevens | Illustrated by: Susan Stevens Crummel
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Dim Sum for Everyone
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
A Chinese family goes out for dim sum ("little dishes"), choosing their favorites off the restaurant cart and sharing with each other. The illustrations evoke the textures and patterns in this traditional meal, and an endnote provides background on the cultural history and customs surrounding dim sum.
Easy as Pie
By: Cari Best | Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Green Eggs and Ham
By: Dr. Seuss
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food
By: Lucia Gaggiotti
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Ever wonder how the food we eat came to be in a lunchbox? Brief text and lively illustrations describe food starts as well as healthy eating habits.
Rainbow Stew
By: Cathryn Fallwell
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Take Me to Your BBQ
By: Kathy Duval | Illustrated by: Adam McCauley
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?
By: George Shannon | Illustrated by: Julie Paschkis
Age Level: 3-6 years old | Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child
By: Jessie Hartland
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Eating Fractions
By: Bruce MacMillan
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
How do two children share one banana? Cut it in half, of course! Healthy foods are shared by dividing them into in thirds and quarters in this cogent introduction to fractions. Crisp photographs and clear graphics create an appealing book to make sense of fractions.
Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup!
By: Emeril Lagasse | Illustrated by: Charles Yuen
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
The celebrity chef shares his thrill in making kitchen creations in this lighthearted but informative and oversized cookbook. It's ideal for beginner cooks.
Emeril's There's a Chef in My World! Recipes to Take You Places
By: Emeril Lagasse | Illustrated by: Charles Yuen
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Tastes from around the world will emerge from your kitchen as you try these simplified and easy-to-follow recipes from an appealing (if somewhat hammy!) celebrity chef. Recipes are presented step by step, with photographs and humorous illustrations.
Fannie in the Kitchen
By: Deborah Hopkinson | Illustrated by: Nancy Farmer
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Animated illustrations combine with lively text to reveal the story behind the woman whose name is synonymous with cooking. Before Fannie Farmer took to the kitchen, recipes were not as easy to follow!
Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss
By: Georgeanne Brennan | Illustrated by: Frankie Frankeny
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual
By: The authors of Klutz | Illustrated by: Jim McGuinness
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Kids' Multicultural Cookbook: Food and Fun Around the World
By: Deanna Cook
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Take a culinary tour around the world, with foods and activities from a variety of countries and cultures. Each recipe is ranked for difficulty, and is sometimes a familiar dish with an exotic name!
Little Kitchen: 40 Delicious and Simple Things that Children Can Really Make
By: Sabrina Parrini
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Tasty meals begin with healthy, balanced recipes. Clear instructions for broadly appealing meals are presented in easy-to-follow and appealing photographs.
Pinch and Dash Make Soup
By: Michael Daley | Illustrated by: Thomas Yezerski
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
The Kids Can Press Jumbo Cookbook
By: Judi Gilles, Jennifer Glossap
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
The Ugly Vegetables
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
In a neighborhood of flower gardens, a Chinese-American girl and her mother plant what the child considers to be ugly vegetables. The ugly vegetables, however, become attractive and help build community when made into a delicious soup! A recipe is included.
The Vegetables We Eat
By: Gail Gibbons
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
Some are perennials, others are annuals, but one thing is for sure: vegetables are grown to be eaten! This introduction to edible plants will inform and may lead to discussions of where vegetables grow, how we eat them, and when they are harvested.
To Market, to Market
By: Nikki McClure | Illustrated by: Nikki McClure
Age Level: 6-9 years old | Reading Level: Independent Reader
A child and his mother go to a farmers' market to get fresh produce and goods. On alternating pages, the person responsible for growing each kind of food is introduced, bringing to light many unknown jobs as well as food sources. The bold linear illustrations are created by handsome paper cut-outs.
Growing Readers: Parent Tips
Hands-on Activities and Crafts
Summer Writing
Great Websites for Kids
Mobile Apps
