Children's books and activities
Cooking and Food
Do you know any budding gourmet chefs or kids who are curious about food traditions from around the world? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about cooking and food.
Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [6] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as cooking and food. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [7], vocabulary [8], and comprehension skills.
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Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Print List
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao
By: Kat Zhang
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Amy loves to make bao with her family. But it takes skill to make the bao taste and look...
Purchase on Bookshop [23]
Purchase on Amazon [24]
Anywhere Farm
By: Phyllis Root
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
"You can grow your own farm anywhere" is the empowering message of this inclusive picture book....
Purchase on Bookshop [25]
Purchase on Amazon [26]
Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic
By: Ginnie Lo
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [27]
Bee-Bim Bop!
By: Linda Sue Park
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [28]
Purchase on Amazon [29]
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
Edna Lewis grew up on a Virginia farm where she developed a deep appreciation for the rhythm of...
Purchase on Amazon [30]
Chicken Sunday
By: Patricia Polacco
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [31]
Purchase on Amazon [32]
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
By: Judi Barrett
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Residents of Chewandswallow were accustomed to their predictable weather which kept them in...
Purchase on Bookshop [33]
Purchase on Amazon [34]
Common Threads: Adam's Day at the Market
By: Huda Essa
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Adam and his family spend an exciting day at the colorful and bustling Eastern Market. But when...
Purchase on Bookshop [36]
Purchase on Amazon [37]
Cook-A-Doodle-Do!
By: Janet Stevens
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [38]
Purchase on Amazon [39]
Cooking Art: Easy Edible Art for Young Children
By: Mary Ann Kohl, Jean Potter
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Art is meant to be enjoyed, and sometimes even eaten! Create, then consume, the attractive,...
Purchase on Bookshop [40]
Purchase on Amazon [41]
Dim Sum for Everyone
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A Chinese family goes out for dim sum ("little dishes"), choosing their favorites off...
Purchase on Amazon [42]
Easy as Pie
By: Cari Best
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [43]
Green Eggs and Ham
By: Dr. Seuss
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [44]
Purchase on Amazon [45]
Green Is a Chile Pepper
By: Roseanne Thong
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [46]
Purchase on Amazon [47]
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food
By: Lucia Gaggiotti
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Purchase on Amazon [48]
Pie Is for Sharing
By: Stephanie Parsley Ledyard
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A picnic, a beach, a pie cut into pieces and shared with good friends. Pie is for sharing. It...
Purchase on Bookshop [49]
Purchase on Amazon [50]
Rainbow Stew
By: Cathryn Fallwell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [51]
Strega Nona's Harvest
By: Tomie DePaola
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
This book is a great lesson in sharing one’s blessings with others. Strega Nona tries to show...
Purchase on Bookshop [52]
Purchase on Amazon [53]
Take Me to Your BBQ
By: Kathy Duval
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [54]
Thank You, Omu!
By: Oge Mora
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Omu is an elderly woman who makes a fantastic pot of thick red stew. The scent from her stew...
Purchase on Bookshop [55]
Purchase on Amazon [56]
The Food Parade: Healthy Eating with Nutritious Food Groups
By: Elicia Castaldi
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [58]
The Honeybee Man
By: Lela Nargi
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [59]
Purchase on Amazon [60]
Tyler Makes a Birthday Cake
By: Tyler Florence
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [61]
Watercress
By: Andrea Wang
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
A child is embarrassed when parents stop the car to harvest wild watercress. Illustrations in...
Purchase on Bookshop [62]
Purchase on Amazon [63]
We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past
By: Jacqueline Woodson
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Teeka has a sharp eye as she describes each member of the family that joins the picnic in the...
Purchase on Amazon [64]
Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?
By: George Shannon
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase on Amazon [65]
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Print List
Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child
By: Jessie Hartland
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [66]
Eating Fractions
By: Bruce MacMillan
Age Level: 6-9 years old
How do two children share one banana? Cut it in half, of course! Healthy foods are shared by...
Purchase on Amazon [67]
Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup!
By: Emeril Lagasse
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The celebrity chef shares his thrill in making kitchen creations in this lighthearted but...
Purchase on Bookshop [68]
Purchase on Amazon [69]
Fannie in the Kitchen
By: Deborah Hopkinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Animated illustrations combine with lively text to reveal the story behind the woman whose name...
Purchase on Bookshop [70]
Purchase on Amazon [71]
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Martin shares the remarkable life story of former professional basketball player Will Allen,...
Purchase on Bookshop [72]
Purchase on Amazon [73]
Food Trucks!
By: Mark Todd
Age Level: 6-9 years old
What’s got “shoots and roots and dried fruits, cucumbers, carrots, and croutons to boot”? Why it...
Purchase on Bookshop [74]
Purchase on Amazon [75]
Fresh Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers’ Market
By: Michelle Schaub
Age Level: 6-9 years old
As the weather warms farmers’ markets begin to open. Celebrate the start of the season through...
Purchase on Bookshop [76]
Purchase on Amazon [77]
Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss
By: Georgeanne Brennan
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [78]
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
By: Tony Hillery
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Discover the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. Tony...
Purchase on Bookshop [79]
Purchase on Amazon [80]
Independence Cake
By: Deborah Hopkinson
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Since little is known about the real Amelia Simmons, the author invites readers to imagine what...
Purchase on Bookshop [81]
Purchase on Amazon [82]
Jasmine Toguchi: Mochi Queen
By: Debbi Michiko Florence
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Jasmine is only 8 years old but wants to do what the boys do. It’s her family Japanese tradition...
Purchase on Bookshop [83]
Purchase on Amazon [84]
Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual
By: The authors of Klutz
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [85]
Kids' Multicultural Cookbook: Food and Fun Around the World
By: Deanna Cook
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Take a culinary tour around the world, with foods and activities from a variety of countries and...
Purchase on Amazon [86]
Little Kitchen: 40 Delicious and Simple Things That Children Can Really Make
By: Sabrina Parrini
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Tasty meals begin with healthy, balanced recipes. Clear instructions for broadly appealing meals...
Purchase on Bookshop [87]
Purchase on Amazon [88]
Maddi's Fridge
By: Lois Brandt
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
This story addresses issues of poverty with honesty and sensitivity while instilling important...
Purchase on Bookshop [89]
Purchase on Amazon [90]
Nacho's Nachos: The Story Behind the World's Favorite Snack
By: Sandra Nickel
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Meet Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya and learn the true story of how he invented the world's most beloved...
Purchase on Bookshop [91]
Purchase on Amazon [92]
Our Little Kitchen
By: Jillian Tamaki
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A crew of resourceful neighbors comes together to prepare a meal for their community. With a...
Purchase on Bookshop [93]
Purchase on Amazon [94]
Our School Garden!
By: Rick Swann
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The garden at Michael’s new school is full of fresh sensations. Thirteen poems describe holding...
Purchase on Amazon [95]
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott
By: Dee Romito
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The life story of Georgia Gilmore, a woman whose pies and delicious homemade cooking helped...
Purchase on Bookshop [96]
Purchase on Amazon [97]
Pinch and Dash Make Soup
By: Michael Daley
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [98]
Purchase on Amazon [99]
Stone Soup
By: Marcia Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Based on an old French folktate, the story is about how three hungry soldiers outsmart the...
Purchase on Bookshop [100]
Purchase on Amazon [101]
Purchase audio version [102]
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred
By: Samantha Vamos
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Start with a farm maiden and a pot, invite some friends to help her, and before you know it, you...
Purchase on Amazon [103]
Purchase audio version [104]
The Hole Story of the Doughnut
By: Pat Miller
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A seafaring cook named Hanson Crockett Gregory is credited with inventing the sweet fried treats...
Purchase on Bookshop [105]
Purchase on Amazon [106]
The Kids Can Press Jumbo Cookbook
By: Judi Gilles, Jennifer Glossap
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase on Amazon [107]
The Ugly Vegetables
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In a neighborhood of flower gardens, a Chinese-American girl and her mother plant what the child...
Purchase on Bookshop [108]
Purchase on Amazon [109]
The Vegetables We Eat
By: Gail Gibbons
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Some are perennials, others are annuals, but one thing is for sure: vegetables are grown to be...
Purchase on Bookshop [110]
Purchase on Amazon [111]
To Market, to Market
By: Nikki McClure
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A child and his mother go to a farmers' market to get fresh produce and goods. On...
Purchase on Bookshop [112]
Purchase on Amazon [113]
Watch Me Grow! A Down-to-Earth Look at Growing Food in the City
By: Deborah Hodge
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Growing fruits and vegetables doesn't take a lot of space; they can even grow in crowded...
Purchase on Amazon [114]
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Print List
Cool World Cooking: Fun and Tasty Recipes for Kids!
By: Lisa Wagner
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Purchase on Bookshop [115]
Purchase on Amazon [116]
Fanny in France: Travel Adventures of a Chef's Daughter, with Recipes
By: Alice Waters
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fanny is a girl who knows a lot about food and cooking since she’s grown up in and around the...
Purchase on Bookshop [117]
Purchase on Amazon [118]
National Geographic Cookbook: A Year-Round Fun Food Adventure
By: Barton Seaver
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Foodies and cooking aficionados as well as those only marginally interested in food are sure to...
Purchase on Bookshop [119]
Purchase on Amazon [120]
Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Cooking
By: Frances O’Roark Dowell
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Phineas MacGuire is not thrilled when his mom assigns him the new chore of cooking dinner for...
Purchase on Bookshop [121]
Purchase on Amazon [122]
Rutabaga the Adventure Chef
By: Eric Colossal
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Rutabaga loves traveling through the fantastic forests, seeking out new and exotic ingredients...
Purchase on Bookshop [123]
Purchase on Amazon [124]
The World in Your Lunch Box: The Wacky History and Weird Science of Everyday Foods
By: Claire Eamer
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Purchase on Amazon [125]
Hands-on Activities
Build on what you're learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.
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Chef's Hat [126]
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Farmers Market Math [127]
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Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie [128]
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Is There Kelp in Your Cupboard? [129]
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Learning About Morocco [130]
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Map Your Food [131]
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Solar Oven [132]
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Sun S'Mores [133]
Summer Writing
Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.
Great Websites for Kids
Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.
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Chef for the Day [137]
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Combo Kitchen [138]
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Dairy Farm [139]
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Kitchen Explorers [140]
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Make a Virtual Pizza! [141]
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Moo Milk [142]
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MyPlate Kids' Place [143]
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Science of Cooking [144]
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Spatulatta: Cooking 4 Kids Online! [145]
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Start a Community Garden [146]
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The Science of Baking [147]
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Think Garden [148]
Great Podcasts for Kids
Listen and learn with these podcasts especially for kids. These podcasts are free and easy to listen to from any device via Apple Podcasts [149], Google Podcasts [150], or Stitcher [151] — or from Listen Notes [152], a podcast search engine.
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But Why: How Do We Taste Food? [153]
Vermont Public Radio -
Edible Insects Are on the Menu! [154]
Wow in the World (NPR)
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Mystery Recipe [155]
America's Test Kitchen Kids
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Potatoes, Tomatoes, Ice Cream Cornucopias and Chicken Pie [156]
The Past and the Curious
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Sandwiches: A Hillel By Any Other Name [157]
Brains On: Forever Ago
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The Science Of Slower Melting Ice Cream [158]
Wow in the World (NPR)
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Totally Spiced Out! [159]
Wow in the World (NPR)
Educational Apps
Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.
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Cake Doodle [160]
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Cookie Doodle [161]
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Fizzy's Lunch Lab Fresh Pick [162]
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Motion Math: Cupcake! [163]
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Motion Math: Pizza! [164]
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Sesame Street Alphabet Kitchen [165]
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Space Chef [166]
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Toca Kitchen 2 [167]
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More Themed Resources
Growing Readers Tip Sheets
Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.
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Grocery Store Literacy [168]
Download PDF: English [169] | Spanish [170] -
STEM Tools at Home [171]
Download PDF: English [172] | Spanish [173] -
Teaching Sequence [174]
Download PDF: English [175] | Spanish [176]
Our Summer Blog
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Take Reading Outside [180]
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A Taste of Nature [181]
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Elevating Family Reading [184]
Washington DC for Kids
Places
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Eastern Market [186]