THIS POST IS A PART OF A 31 DAY SERIES TO INVITE OUR KIDS INTO THE KITCHEN. FIND THE REST OF THE SERIES HERE.
Not too long ago, visiting the library with my kids was not as appealing to me as it is today. Chalk it up to late fines hanging over my head and a location which required parking in a parking deck. I struggled with returning the books on time, and walking very far at all while toting our book bags and making sure nobody ran into the busy street was not my idea of a fun way to spend the morning.
I am so glad that we have since found a different library we love in a convenient location near a few of our other favorite spots. Now library visits are much more regular and we are taking advantage of the free resources in our homeschooling and daily lives.
The library also happens to be a great place to support kids in the kitchen too!
With sooooo many books on food science, food stories, and recipes, the motivation and inspiration you need to start your kids with a healthy relationship to food is at your fingertips! And it doesn’t cost a thing! (Unless you struggle with prompt returns like me).
Today I am sharing a few of our recent favorite food books so you can look for them at your local library too. But remember, this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you have a favorite food book you enjoy with your kids, please share it as well. Also, keep reading until the end for a fun activity and recipe you can do with your kids after reading one of the books.
5 “Kids in the Kitchen” Books Worth Checking Out
1. Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious
Alice Waters is a very successful chef and restaurant owner. In 1995 she started the Edible Schoolyard Project with the goal of teaching children about growing and enjoying delicious fresh food.
This biographical book was a delight to read. Personally, I love all the connections made between fresh food and great taste. The story encourages children to taste and try new foods in a no pressure format. I highly recommend checking it out!
2. What’s So Yummy? All About Eating Well and Feeling Good
This book offers a lot of conversation starters and simple ideas about the role of food in our health and our communities. The pages are fully illustrated with small paragraphs of text and comment bubbles, so even young children could follow along.
I appreciate how the book discusses how different families eat different kinds of food- and that’s okay. It’s also nice to have a book reinforcing what I am teaching my kids about the importance of healthy snacks–
“Sometimes [between meals] we feel a little hungry or tired, cranky, upset, or even angry. That’s because our bodies need something to eat or drink. If we eat a piece of fruit, or cut-up vegetables, crackers and cheese, popcorn, veggie chips, hummus, nuts, or drink a smoothie or a glass of milk– chances are we’ll feel better.”
Topics such as picky eating, food allergies, exercise are also all touched on. I highly recommend this book and am considering adding it to our home library too!
3. The Apple Orchard Riddle
Making connections between books and real life is a great way to foster understanding and help kids learn in a lasting way. We recently took a trip to an apple orchard, and are studying apples in our lessons this week too.
If you have visited the orchard recently, or are planning to do so, this would be a great book to check out.
4. Edible Science: Experiments You Can Eat
This book is FULL of pictures, facts, and experiments to try in the kitchen. It would be fun for science-oriented kids to read through, and to pick a few experiments to try together.
5. The Popcorn Book
This book has been the children’s favorite and has been read numerous times. Anything Tomie de Paola writes is worth reading and this one does not disappoint.
The book tells the story of two brothers who decided to make popcorn for a snack one afternoon. Weaved together throughout the book, one brother reads historical facts about popcorn from his book while the other brother explains step by step how he is making the popcorn on the stovetop.
Of course, we had to make our own popcorn after reading this book over and over. Directions to make stovetop popcorn can be found below. The Popcorn book is another one we will be adding to our home library.
How to Make Stovetop Popcorn
These step-by-step directions were originally published here with the recipe for peanut butter popcorn (which is another delicious afternoon snack!).
Ingredients List
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 C popcorn kernels
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- salt to taste
Method
1. Melt oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in popcorn kernels to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot with a lid.
2. Heat the popcorn kernels over medium-high heat. Agitate (slide back and forth on the stove) the pot as the kernels pop. Remove from heat once you no longer hear consistent popping.
3. Transfer to a large bowl and top with melted butter and sprinkle with salt.
Find the rest of the Kids in the Kitchen posts on the series page.
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Ingrid says
“How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World” is a neat book we found via Five in a Row. An excuse to bake an apple pie on a chilly fall day as “real-life application” is an added bonus!
Lisa says
Thanks for the book idea Ingrid! So fun to see your comment here. 🙂
Natalie Busch @Messy Mom says
What a great series! I LOVE the library and I agree having a good branch to visit can make or break the whole experience for sure! I am not in love with our current library, but it’s better than nothing. Definitely interested in a few of these books and we read through and really enjoyed the popcorn book recently (got it from the library of course). We ate some Jiffy pop popcorn afterwards, but never managed to make any on the stove like that. Very cool!
Lisa says
Love that you guys just enjoyed the popcorn book too! I’m hoping to find it at a used book sale because we liked it so much.