Picture Books about Food
I love food. I like cooking and baking. When I travel, I love to find new restaurants and delicacies. When we’re eating lunch, I like to discuss what we’ll have for dinner. My favorite “water cooler” conversations at work are about food.
Here is a selection of picture books that love food as much as I do. Some are silly, some are magical, and some may make you very hungry! Bon appetit.
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (1948)
In this favorite from my childhood, Sal goes berry picking with her mother. So do a bear cub and his mother. When the children get swapped, both mamas panic. But all ends well with full bellies and blueberry-stained faces.
Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months by Maurice Sendak (1962)
This small book contains 12 short poems, odes to chicken soup and the changing seasons. Sendak’s familiar characters celebrate all times of year.
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban (1964)
A delightful story for kids and a parenting manual for adults. Frances does not want to eat anything but bread and jam. Her mother goes along with this preference with a vengeance, serving the same thing to Frances for every meal, until Frances decides there might be other foods worth trying. The best part is her friend Albert’s enviable and deluxe lunches.
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri (2012)
This beloved book explains how much dragons love tacos, but reminds us to read the small print on salsa jars. Why? Because dragons + spicy food = disaster and a visit from the fire squad. Luckily, dragons are also excellent workers who will help you rebuild your house in exchange for tacos.
The Knish War on Rivington Street by Joanne Oppenheim and Jon Davis
In the early 1900s in New York’s Lower East Side, two rival knish bakeries compete for customers. Who will prevail: the round baked knishes or the square fried ones? The mayor has to intervene to stop the battle and remind everyone that two kinds of knishes are better than one.
How to Eat Pizza by Jon Burgerman (2018)
This silly book is written from the perspective of the pizza, who really doesn’t want to be eaten. The slice is persuasive and determined but also so delicious.
Foodie Faces by Bill Wurtzel and Claire Wurtzel (2020)
The Wurtzels would argue that you should play with your food. They love to make faces out of fruit, vegetables, pitas, and yogurt. Then they use those faces to talk about feelings. Yum!
The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz (2024)
A charming story of a small dragon who has no hoard. When he finds a bakery in the nearby town, he discovers another kind of treasure: freshly baked golden loaves of bread. Soon all the dragons are carbohydrate fanatics.
Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta by Aimee Lucido and Mavisu Demirag (2024)
This rhyming story celebrates all kinds of pasta and family, while introducing Italian words for food and relatives. Do not read on an empty stomach! The collage illustrations are colorful and vibrant.