Children’s literature has many notable options when it comes to donuts. To help you find the right books for you and your young reader, we’ve compiled a list of the best kids books about donuts.
Our list includes board books, picture books, and chapter books. Board books are best for babies and toddlers from ages newborn to 2 or 3. Picture books are generally great options for toddlers and for preschool and kindergarten age children. Picture books are especially enjoyable for adults to read aloud with young kids. The chapter books on our list are generally best for elementary through early middle school age tween kids. You can filter to sort by the best book type for your kid.
When it comes to children’s stories about donuts, there are a variety of titles. This list covers everything, from classics like The Donut Chef to popular sellers like If You Give a Dog a Donut to some of our favorite hidden gems like Hole Story of the Doughnut.
We hope this list of kids books about donuts can be a helpful resource for parents, teachers, and others searching for a new book!
When his competitor sets up his business right next door to the first doughnut shop in town, culinary chaos ensues as the original doughnut guru and the newcomer try to outdo one another with their crazy creations, including Gooey Coca-Mocha Silk and Peanut-Brittle Buttermilk.
In a mythical kingdom, a knight and a dragon cook up a delicious plan to save their friendship! In Dough Knights and Dragons, a curious knight and an amiable dragon meet serendipitously, and instantly bond over their shared love of baking. But the friends are filled with sadness when, according to the law, the two must duel one another. Can the unlikely pair find a way to evade the law, save their friendship, and spread good throughout the land? Kids will devour this scrumptiously clever tale!
In 1843, fourteen-year-old Hanson Gregory left his family home in Rockport, Maine, and set sail as a cabin boy on the schooner Achorn, looking for high-stakes adventure on the high seas. Little did he know that a boatload of hungry sailors, coupled with his knack for creative problem-solving, would yield one of the world’s most prized and beloved pastries. Lively and inventive cut-paper illustrations add a taste of whimsy to this sweet, fact-filled story that includes an extensive bibliography, author’s note, and timeline.
A generous but increasingly put-upon bear makes batch after batch of doughnuts for her woodland friends without saving any for herself in this delightful debut picture book about counting, sharing, and being a good friend.
LouAnn (a bear) is making a doughnut feast in preparation for her long winter’s nap. But just before she takes the first bite, DING DONG! Her friend Woodrow (a woodchuck) drops by. LouAnn is happy to share her doughnuts, but as soon as she and Woodrow sit down to eat, DING DING! Clyde (a raccoon) is at the door. One by one, LouAnn’s friends come over–Topsy (an opossum) and then Moufette (a skunk) and then Chip and Chomp (chipmunks)–until it’s one big party. Louann welcomes her surprise guests and makes batch after batch of doughnuts, always dividing them equally among her friends. But she makes one BIG miscalculation. Soon LouAnn’s kitchen is bare, winter is near, and she’s had nothing to eat at all!
What is the proper way to ask Mr. Panda for doughnuts? Patiently and politely, Mr. Panda asks the animals he comes across if they would like a doughnut. A penguin, a skunk, and a whale all say yes, but they do not remember to say “please” and “thank you.” Is anyone worthy of Mr. Panda’s doughnuts? Steve Antony has captured a cute panda, delightful animals hungry for doughnuts, and a manners lesson. With adorable black-and-white animals and brightly colored doughnuts, Antony’s art is bold, striking, and engaging — and now available in a hands-on board book version that’s just-right for curious little ones.
Case of the Missing Donut - The sheriff and his deputy dog have been charged with a mission: to bring a dozen donuts home safely. All seems to be going well until the young sheriff peeks inside the box to check on the tasty treats. They’re practically calling his name, and in the blink of an eye (and with just a few nibbles), a donut disappears! Wherever could that missing donut be? Luckily, this is one mystery the sheriff and his deputy are sure to bring to a close.
The Doughnut Whodunit - A hip new doughnut shop known for its bizarre recipes is opening up in Greenfield. At first, the owners of the other doughnut shop in town, Delilah’s, aren’t worried. Their shop has been a fixture downtown since just after World War II. But when the new shop starts making doughnuts that look just like some of Delilah’s greatest hits, the Boxcar Children must figure out if it’s just a coincidence or if someone from the new shop is stealing Delilah’s recipes.
Agent Lion - The Goodfather -
Arnie, the Doughnut - From the author and illustrator of “The Scrambled States of America” comes this deliciously imaginative story about a doughnut named Arnie who sets out to change the fate of all doughnuts. Full color.
In this hilarious ode to the treat with a hole, bright photographic illustrations bring donuts to life like never before! With donut cops (of course), donut pirates (why not), maple bar lumberjacks (eh?), coffee jacuzzis, and a bakeshop full of donut puns, Donuts: The Hole Story is a delicious romp through a world filled with (and made of) everyone’s favorite fat-fried friends.
Chaos might ensue if you were to give a dog a donut.
George, a young explorer, longs to be a dragon-searching hero from long, long ago. So he climbs in his time machine with only a scooter, some cakes, and tasty doughnuts to aid him in his quest. When he arrives in long, long ago he spies a dragon straight away–or does he? This funny adventure story is a perfect rhyming picture book read for boys and girls.
Daisy the Doughnut Fairy and her mermaid fairy friends spend their days making tasty donuts. There isn’t much else for them to do, and eventually find they’ve made so many that there’s no room left in their tower! The fairies try to find new uses for the donuts with disastrous results. All seems lost, but when the Pancake Pirates’ ship hits a rock, a most unusual chain of events unfolds, leading to exciting adventure and unexpected friendship! With fun illustrations and a great story, this book will have children and adults alike laughing!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month!
Superfudge meets The Lemonade War in this funny, heartwarming series debut about change, adventure, family, and of course, doughnuts.
Tristan isn’t Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he’s always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville―a town with one street and no restaurants. It’s like suddenly they’re supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters.
His suspicions about his new town are confirmed when he’s tricked into believing the local general store has life-changing chocolate cream doughnuts, when in fact the owner hasn’t made them in years. And so begins the only thing that could make life in Petersville worth living: getting the recipe, making the doughnuts, and bringing them back to the town through his very own doughnut stand. But Tristan will soon discover that when starting a business, it helps to be both Gifted and Talented, and It’s possible he’s bitten off more than he can chew…
Who Needs Donuts? - Sam’s love of donuts takes him to the Big City where he makes friends with Mr. Bikferd, a world class collector of donuts. But when Mr. Bikferd falls in love with Pretzel Annie, the prophecy of an old homeless woman comes true: “Who needs donuts when you’ve got love?” Mr. Bikferd bequeaths his donut collection to Sam, who uses it to save the old homeless woman from drowning in a basement flooded with coffee. This is a reissue of Mark Alan Stamaty’s masterpiece of the absurd, first published 30 years ago and out of print nearly as long. With an illustration style that mixes a benign Hieronymus Bosch with an urban Where’s Waldo?, Stamaty’s off-the-wall humor is on target for little kids and big kids today.
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