There are many benefits to reading with children from cognitive and language development, to increasing attention span and sparking creativity. Children who develop strong reading skills perform better in school and have a healthier self-image. Literacy is the gateway to lifelong learning.
Incorporating books about health and nutrition into children’s lives can create exposure to new foods and encourage healthy eating. The following is a list of books about health and nutrition to read with young children.
Toddler Book List
- Baby, Let’s Eat! by Amy Pixton
- Eat Your Colors by Amanda Miller
- Edible Colors: See, Learn, Eat by Jennifer Vogel Bass
- Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
- Mealtime by Elizabeth Verdick
- Mrs. Peanuckle’s Vegetable Alphabet by Mrs. Peanuckle
- My First 100 Food We Eat by Wonder House Books
- My First Book of Growing Food by Duopress Labs
- Pandas Love Pickles by Liz Lynch
- We’re Going to the Farmers’ Market by Stefan Page
Preschool Book List
- All The Yummy Foods: A Children’s Healthy Eating Adventure by Phoenyx Austin
- Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed
- Eat More Colors by Breon Williams
- Every Night is Pizza Night by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
- Give It a Go, Eat a Rainbow by Kathryn Kemp Guylay
- Gregory, The Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat
- How to Feed Your Parents by Ryan Miller
- I Can Eat a Rainbow by Olena Rose
- I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
- Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
- My Friends on the Inside by Kemi Tijani
- My Magical Foods by Becky Cummings
- Sneaky Spinach by Alexis Schulze
- The Boy Who Loved Broccoli by Sarah A. Creighton
- The Princess and the Peanut Allergy by Wendy McClure
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
School Age Book List
- Are You What You Eat? by DK
- Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban
- Good Enough to Eat: A Kids Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell
- Eat Your Greens, Reds, Yellows, and Purples by DK Children
- Healthy Heather and Her Magic Fruits and Vegetables by Dr. Kristen Poe
- Healthy Plates: Eating Healthy by Valerie Bodden
- How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?: The Story of Food by Chris Butterworth and Lucia Gaggiotti
- It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! True Food Facts from Around the World and Throughout History by James Solheim
- Let’s Eat!: Mealtime Around the World by Lynne Marie
- N is for Nutrition: Rhymes by the Alphabet by Todd Skene
- See What We Eat! A First Book of Healthy Eating by Scot Ritchie
- Try It by Mara Rockliff
- Tyler Makes Spaghetti by Tyler Florence
- Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies by Jorge and Megan Lacera