Guest Contributor: Trista Riggs, Former Public Librarian
Each year on October 16th, we celebrate World Food Day around the globe. The celebration is marked by the establishment of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. The included booklist supports this years theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow" showing the diverse ways we grow,consume,and share food within communities. These titles also highlight important cultural practices, engaging readers with stories on how we can use food to foster connection with one another,and the land we live on. Many of the titles include recipes, which would make great ideas for storytime activities or programs, and are available in multiple languages as noted, or have integrated multiple languages through the texts. Discover more about World Food Day with additional program resources here.
Download the book list (PDF)
Aunt Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic
Author: Ginnie Lo / Illustrator: Beth Lo
Publishing Date : 2017 / Publisher: Lee & Low Books ($11.95)
Awards: Booklist-Editor’s Choice, CCBC Choices, Charlotte Zolotow Award Commened Title, Oregon Spirit Book Awards Winner, Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year
Subjects & Themes : Asian American & Pacific Islander, Cooking & Food, Family
About: “Unique illustrations painted on ceramic plates lend a quirky charm to this lighthearted intergenerational story. Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic is a delicious celebration of family traditions, culture, and community that will have readers asking for seconds, thirds, and more.”
Sandwiches and Samosas
Author: Suhani Parikh / Illustrator: Reshma Srinivas
Publishing Date: 2021 / Publisher: Modern Marigold Books/Sambasivan & Parikh ($19.99)
Awards: NYC Big Book Award Winner
Subjects & Themes: Cooking and Food, Social; Themes-New Experience, Multiculturalism
About: “In this multicultural picture book, readers will explore foods from around the world and be inspired to celebrate the unique food traditions of their home.”
Plátanos are Love (Available in multiple languages)
Author: Alyssa Reynoso-Morris / Illustrator: Mariyah Rahman
Publishing Date: 2023 / Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers ($19.99)
Awards: Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Primary Title, NCTE Charlotte Huck Outstanding Fiction Recommended Title, Rhode Island Latino Book Award Nominee, Bank Street Best Spanish Picture Books
Subjects & Themes: Grandmothers, Cooking (Plantain banana), Spanish language materials
About: “A delicious picture book about the ways plantains shape Latinx culture, community, and family, told through a young girl’s experiences in the kitchen with her abuela..”
Our Little Kitchen
Author / Illustrator: Jillian Tamaki
Publishing Date: 2020 / Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers ($18.99)
Awards: Eisner Award Winner for Best Publication for Early Readers
Subjects & Themes: Community kitchens, Cooking, Food, Neighborliness, Voluntarism
About: “This rousing picture book tells the story of a crew of resourceful neighbors who come together to prepare a meal for their community.”
What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street (Available in multiple languages)
Author / Illustrator: Felicia Sala
Publishing Date: 2019 / Publisher: Prestel ($14.95)
Awards: Eisner Award Winner for Best Publication for Early Readers
Subjects & Themes: International cooking, Cookbooks, Creative Non-Fiction, Recipes
About: “Combining simple, fresh flavors with recipes from around the world, this book will nourish and inspire budding cooks while whetting the appetites of their more experienced helpers.”
Welcome to Our Table: A Celebration of What Children Eat Everywhere
Author: Laura Mucha and Ed Smith / Illustrator: Harriet Lynas
Publishing Date: 2023 / Publisher: Nosy Crow ($21.99)
Awards: Children’s Book of the Year at The Week Junior Book Awards
Subjects & Themes: Food habits, Cross-cultural studies
About: “A unique, warm-hearted book that will teach children understanding, empathy, and respect, and inspire a love of food and flavor.”
Every Night is Pizza Night
Author: J. Kenji López-Alt / Illustrator: Gianna Ruggiero
Publishing Date: 2020 / Publisher: W.W. Norton ($17.95)
Awards: New York Times Bestseller
Subjects & Themes: Food habits, International cooking, Neighborhood, Pizza
About: “A story about open-mindedness, community, and family. With a bonus pizza recipe for young readers to cook with their parents,”
Rice and Rocks
Author: Sandra L. Richards / Illustrator: Megan Kayleigh Sullivan
Publishing Date: 2016 / Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing ($17.99)
Awards: IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold and Silver Medal Winner, Indie Reader Discovery Awards
Subjects & Themes: Customs and Practices, Food Habits, Jamaican
About: “This exciting story celebrates the varied traditions of every culture while also highlighting the delicious similarities that bring us all together.”
Magic Ramen : The Story of Momofuku Ando (Available in multiple languages)
Author: Andrea Wang / Illustrator: Kana Urbanowicz
Publishing Date: 2019 / Publisher: Little Bee Books ($17.95)
Awards: Sakura Award Winner, Smithsonian Magazine '10 Best Children's Books of 2019′ List
Subjects & Themes: Ramen, Inventions, Biography, Convenience Foods
About: “World War II was over, but in Japan, lines for a simple bowl of ramen noodles wound down the sidewalk. What Momofuku Ando did next would change food forever. Andrea Wang, author of Watercress (a Newberry honor book and winner of the Caldecott Medal), tells the true story behind the creation of one of the world's most popular foods.”
Black-Eyed Peas and Hoghead Cheese: A Story of Food, Family, and Freedom
Author: Glenda Armand / Illustrator: Steffi Walthall
Publishing Date: 2022 / Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers ($18.99)
Subjects & Themes: Black history, Cooking, Grandmothers
About: “A celebration of the stories that connect us, this picture book urges us to think about the foods we eat and why we eat them. This book was inspired by the author’s own childhood and includes her family’s very own recipe for pralines in the back!”
Berry Song (Available in multiple languages)
Author / Illustrator: Michaela Goade
Publishing Date: 2022 / Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers ($18.99)
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, Kirkus Best Children’s Book, SLJ Best Book
Subjects & Themes: Indigenous, Berries, Ancestors
About: “Michaela Goade’s luminous rendering of water and forest, berries and jams glows with her love of the land and offers an invitation to readers to deepen their own relationship with the earth.”
Empanadas for Everyone
Author: Jackie Azúa Kramer / Illustrator: Lenny Wen
Publishing Date: 2023 / Publisher: Simon and Schuster Book for Young Readers ($18.99)
Awards: Silver Award for Best Children's Fiction Picture Book at the International Latino Book Awards
Subjects & Themes: Communities, Hispanic and Latino, City Life
About: “In the vein of ”Thank You, Omu!” and “Bilal Cooks Daal” comes a lyrical and nourishing tale about the importance of food to a community—and value of community to the experience of cooking—as told through the eyes of a young girl helping her tía.”
Tomatoes for Neela
Author: Padma Lakshmi / Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal
Publishing Date: 2021 / Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers ($17.99)
Awards: CSMCL Best Multicultural Book 2021
Subjects & Themes: Farm Laborers, Asian American Pacific Islander, Tomatoes, Family Traditions
About: “Bestselling author and host of Bravo’s Top Chef and Hulu’s Taste the Nation Padma Lakshmi takes young readers on an intergenerational journey full of delicious flavors and fun food facts that celebrates a family’s treasured recipes. And Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal brings this circle of women to life with vivid detail and warmth. Tomatoes for Neela lovingly affirms how we can connect to other cultures, as well as to our own, through food.”