Picky-eating: Books For Kids
Having a picky eater can be tricky, especially with so many opinions on how to approach it as a parent. We’ve gathered our favorite children’s books to read with your picky eaters to help them realize that trying a new food might turn out in their favor. Whether your child just doesn’t like broccoli, or they hate any food that doesn’t start with the letter “P,” we’re positive you’ll find some help and laughs through these fun reads!
This book is pretty well known at this point, and for good reason. The illustrations are charming and the story about Little Pea who REALLY doesn’t want to eat his candy for dinner is remarkably clever. It’s on the longer side in terms of amount of text for a board book but is absolutely worth it, and until your baby/younger toddler has a long enough attention span go for the paraphrasing the story as you go along because this is definitely one worth owning. By turning the classic childhood distaste for vegetables on it’s head this book hits the perfect note of silly for a message that might actually sink in.
Ten years ago, Amy Krouse Rosenthal burst into children’s books with Little Pea, a book destined to become a classic. Her witty text about a little pea who won’t eat his sweets combined with the whimsical yet warm hearted art by Jen Corace create a go-to baby gift, a hilarious read-aloud, and the perfect intervention for picky eaters.
Seven fussy eaters find a way to surprise their mother.
Such a darling, fun book! Along with the fun of talking about Escargot and racing to the salad at the end of the book, this has a great message of trying something new (like carrots) that you don’t think you’ll like, but end up loving. Plus, you’ll learn a little French vocabulary along the way!
Bonjour! Escargot is a beautiful French snail who wants only two things:
To be your favorite animal.
To get to the delicious salad at the end of the book.
But when he gets to the salad, he discovers that there’s a carrot in it. And Escargot hates carrots. But when he finally tries one—with a little help from you!—he discovers that it’s not so bad after all!
A charming and interactive picture book ideal for picky eaters and animal lovers alike.
Gregory, the Terrible Eater, wants orange juice and eggs for breakfast. His parents are terribly upset! Why can’t Gregory eat striped ties and violins, like the rest of the goats? Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey have entered into the spirit of Mitchell Sharmat’s upside-down, turned-around world with bold, wacky, expressive illustrations. The trio’s exuberant collaboration provokes healthy laughter and even includes a colorful chart which gives fresh meaning to the concept of “junk food.”
This book is perfect for any picky eaters! When the chicks refuse to eat things, once they try a bite, they actually love it! I like the fun rhymes and that some of the words are playful like the way little ones talk (chocolate chippy and treaties). :)
Wash your wings, and take a seat. What will these tiny chickies eat? With the help of Cow, Pig, and Sheep, soon the chickies learn to cheep, “Pass the carrots. Pass the peas. Pass those yummy broccolis!” With engaging rhymes, endearing illustrations, and a soft padded cover, this book is perfect for babies and toddlers to enjoy, especially those picky chickies.
D.W. the Picky Eater - D.W. is very picky about what she eats. She doesn’t seem to like anything. Her dining out days with her family are cut short when she refuses to eat her salad and flings it to the floor. Will her table manners improve in time for her Grandma Thora’s special dinner out? Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.
Green Eggs and Ham - Mom of Boys - This has always been a favorite of mine since I was a child, and it continues to be as I read it with my boys. The really fun thing is seeing my oldest (he is only in kindergarten) as he tries to read it to his little brother before bed. The rhymes are really something else. They are so fun and silly. We have loved this book during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday with the green eggs but just as well as every other day of the year. We often bring up this story at meal times as well. When our boys don’t want to try a new dish, we will quote this story and it brings a smile to their face and a brave bone in their body to help them give it a try.
How to Feed Your Parents - Who’s feeding whom? Matilda Macaroni loves to try new foods! Unfortunately, her parents don’t. They only like pizza delivered, burgers from a bag, and noodles from a box. What’s a girl with adventurous tastes to do? The engaging heroine of this fun, twisted picture book manages to turn the tables on her finicky parents and teach them that dinner can be more than chicken nuggets. There’s also a recipe for quiche that young cooks can try!
Bear Likes Jam - The Goodfather - We are big fans of Ciara Gavin and her characters and stories. We love that Bear Likes Jam is based on her own experiences as a mother trying to help her picky eater (and eating maybe a bit too much jam herself)! It’s a fun, inventive story and a great way to help tackle the topic of picky eating habits with a young reader.
Lola is a fussy eater. A very fussy eater. She won’t eat her carrots (until her brother Charlie reveals that they’re orange twiglets from Jupiter). She won’t eat her mashed potatoes (until Charlie explains that they’re cloud fluff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji). There are many things Lola won’t eat, including - and especially - tomatoes. Or will she? Two endearing siblings star in a witty story about the triumph of imagination over proclivity.
How does a dinosaur eat all his food?
Does he burp, does he belch, or make noises quite rude?
Does he pick at his cereal, throw down his cup,
hoping to make someone else pick it up?
Just like kids, dinosaurs have a difficult time learning to behave at the table. However, with a little help from Mom and Dad, these young dinosaurs eat all before them with smiles and goodwill.
Bread and Jam for Frances is a classic originally published in 1964 about little Frances who loves bread and jam and refuses to try anything else. Eventually, her parents stop offering other food, and after Frances eats bread and jam for breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, and dinner, Frances starts to get tired of it and discovers a new interest in trying new foods. The earliest readers may not appreciate the lesson unless they have some helpful prompting from someone reading with them. But if the reading happens together, it might be a great way to talk about the picky eating together. As a bonus, the book might introduce young readers to some new, old-fashioned words—like the “doily” Frances uses to set out a nice little school lunch picnic.
Frances is a fussy eater. In fact, the only thing she likes is bread and jam. She won’t touch her squishy soft-boiled egg. She trades away her chicken-salad sandwich at lunch. She turns up her nose at boring veal cutlets. Unless Mother can come up with a plan, Frances just might go on eating bread and jam forever!
Piper the piglet is a very picky eater, who will only eat food beginning with the letter “P”—and somehow her parents must break her of this strange quirk, and get her to eat other good foods.
Illustrations and rhyming text reveal how imagination can spice up even the healthiest meal.
Now I Eat My ABC's - “Babies and toddlers will love the eye-catching photographs of asparagus, blueberries, peas, strawberries, and more in this yummy alphabet book!”—Cover back.
The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster - A young American girl’s picky eating habits transform a small worm into the famous Loch Ness monster. Includes facts about the biology of pickiness.
Mealtime - Simple text and illustrations explain how to behave during mealtime.
Prince Peter the Picky Eater - Prince Peter does not like to eat his vegetables. But when his father, the king, insists, Peter ends up eating a few strange things, and strange things start happening. This tale just might embolden any picky eater to give veggies a try.
What’s for breakfast? This age-old question is not taken lightly by young Evan, an expressive, brown-haired boy carefully contemplating his first meal of the day. AN OMELET FOR EVAN is a rhyming account of Evan’s thought processes and ultimate healthy decision, delighting children and adults alike.
Cece loves science! In this STEM-themed picture book, Cece asks one of life’s most pressing questions: Do dogs eat vegetables? Cece and her best friend, Isaac, head to the lab to find out.
This picture book is perfect for fans of Ada Twist, Scientist, and anyone who enjoys asking questions.
Cece’s parents say she was born curious. She asks: Why? How? What if? When her teacher, Ms. Curie, assigns a science project, Cece knows just what to ask—do dogs eat vegetables? She teams up with her best friend, Isaac, and her dog, Einstein, to discover the answer. They investigate, research, collect data, and analyze, using Einstein as their case study. Their final conclusion is surprising, and a lot of fun!
Illustrated by Vashti Harrison, whose Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History is a New York Times bestseller and an NAACP Image Award winner. Cece Loves Science is just right for fans of Rosie Revere, Engineer; What Do You Do with an Idea?; and anyone who loves learning.
When picky eater Felix finds himself in a pickle, his best friend, Fiona, gently helps him widen his culinary horizons. Felix brings the same lunch to school every day: sprouts on buttered oat bread. He will also eat pasta with butter. And he loves macaroni and cheese. No need to try anything new. But on the night of his friend Fiona’s half-birthday celebration, Felix finds himself facing down an unfamiliar — and anxiety-provoking — menu. Will he leave the restaurant hungry, or can Fiona convince him to give new tastes a try? With singular compassion and humor, Rosemary Wells once again shows how the balm of friendship can help buffer a familiar moment of childhood angst.
Pigeon learns about sharing when a curious duckling keeps asking questions about the hot dog Pigeon has found.
Picky eater Nicky declares that she would rather eat bees and parrots than peas and carrots until her inventive family devises a clever plan to overcome her finicky habits. Original.
Tales for Very Picky Eaters - A father tells outlandish stories while trying to get his young son, who is a very picky eater, to eat foods he thinks he will not like.
The Runaway Dinner - What happens if someone’s dinner decides that, well, it doesn’t want to be eaten? For a hungry little boy named Banjo and a savory sausage named Melvin, it’s a plight that can only result in a breathless escape — and what a chase it is! Off speeds the sturdy sausage — leading fork, knife, and plate, chair and table, a handful of fries with various French names, and three fat little peas — out the door, down the street, and around the park, with poor Banjo taking up the rear. Will the famished boy ever catch them? And what (gulp) happens to Melvin if he does? Allan Ahlberg is in his element with this fast and funny tale, while Bruce Ingman’s kid-friendly illustrations add visual comedy to the chase.
Can I Eat That? - A whimsical–yet factual–series of questions and answers about the things we eat… and don’t eat! Food critic Joshua David Stein whets the appetite of young readers with a wondrous and informative approach to talking about food. This humorous, stylized and entirely unexpected set of food facts will engage both good eaters and resisters alike. With questions both practical (“Can you eat a sea urchin?”) and playful (“Do eggs grow on eggplants?”), this read-aloud text offers young children facts to share and the subtle encouragement to taste something new! Food and textile illustrator Julia Rothman brings an authenticity to the text that Stein has written from the heart, for his own three year-old and for pre-schoolers everywhere. Created for ages 3-5 years
Did you enjoy our children's book recommendations? Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!