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 (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, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

Cooking and Food

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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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...

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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....

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Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic

By: Ginnie Lo

Age Level: 3-6 years old

While on a visit to her aunt and uncle in Illinois, the narrator and her family unexpectedly find a...

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Bee-Bim Bop!

By: Linda Sue Park

Age Level: 3-6 years old

What's better than just eating a favorite dish? Anticipating it while preparing it, of course!...

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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...

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Chicken Sunday

By: Patricia Polacco

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Love and caring extend across generations and cultures as a young Jewish girl from a Russian...

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cover of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" showing man with umbrella catching a meatball falling from a cloud

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...

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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...

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Cook-A-Doodle-Do!

By: Janet Stevens

Age Level: 3-6 years old

A charming picture book about a hen who decides to make a strawberry shortcake with her friends......

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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,...

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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...

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Easy as Pie

By: Cari Best

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Jacob learns a great deal from his favorite television baker, Chef Monty. And he puts those skills...

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Green Eggs and Ham

By: Dr. Seuss

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Sam-I-Am tirelessly tries to convince the other guy that he'll just adore green eggs and ham....

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drawing of two children taking care of a chili plant

Green Is a Chile Pepper

By: Roseanne Thong

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Colors introduce foods and more Mexico and other Spanish-speaking counties. Naïve style...

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How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food

By: Lucia Gaggiotti

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Nonfiction

Ever wonder how the food we eat came to be in a lunchbox? Brief text and lively illustrations...

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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...

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Rainbow Stew

By: Cathryn Fallwell

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The children are distressed that it's raining while visiting their grandfather. But Grandpa has the...

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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...

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Take Me to Your BBQ

By: Kathy Duval

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Willy's barbeque is about the best around, even attracting green, 3-eyed, barbeque-loving aliens!...

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Book cover for Thank You, Omu!

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...

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The Food Parade: Healthy Eating with Nutritious Food Groups

By: Elicia Castaldi

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The mayor of Food Town introduces each of the five groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, protein, and...

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illustrated cover of "The Honeybee Man" showing a man in a bee keeper's outfit

The Honeybee Man

By: Lela Nargi

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Fred is an urban beekeeper who shares the fruits of his work with neighbors. Information about...

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Tyler Makes a Birthday Cake

By: Tyler Florence

Age Level: 3-6 years old

When Tyler forgets his dog’s birthday, he goes to Mr. Baker to learn how to bake a cake. There the...

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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...

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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...

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Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?

By: George Shannon

Age Level: 3-6 years old

The ingredients needed to make cookies launch a journey around the world to find out who...

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Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child

By: Jessie Hartland

Age Level: 6-9 years old

She wore a size 12 shoe, was a spy during World War II, and her name became synonymous with classic...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Dr. Seuss

By: Georgeanne Brennan

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Eat chocolate rocks? Or sizzling hot pebbles? Real — and edible — recipes inspired by green eggs...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual

By: The authors of Klutz

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Dr. Seuss could have come up with the names of these lip-smacking delights! Frozen Bananoids, Soap...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Pinch and Dash Make Soup

By: Michael Daley

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Pinch is too lazy to make his own soup so visits his friend, Dash who is making some. With...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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The Kids Can Press Jumbo Cookbook

By: Judi Gilles, Jennifer Glossap

Age Level: 6-9 years old

From soup to desserts, this book introduces the reader to a wide variety of recipes. There is...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Cool World Cooking: Fun and Tasty Recipes for Kids!

By: Lisa Wagner

Age Level: 9-12 years old

Delicious and very nearly foolproof recipes from Mexico, France, Italy, Africa, the Middle East,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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The World in Your Lunch Box: The Wacky History and Weird Science of Everyday Foods

By: Claire Eamer

Age Level: 9-12 years old

An assignment from the school cooking teacher prompts a boy to investigate the ingredients in his...

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