This booklist invites young readers on a global, culinary adventure while fostering a deeper understanding of cultures. These books tend to incorporate three themes: learning about one’s heritage, appreciating food of one’s own culture and others’, and recognizing the role of shared meals in community building and organizing. By exploring food traditions, children can learn about the skills required to prepare particular dishes; challenge stereotypes; understand how food traditions are shaped by geography, creativity, and economics; and appreciate the diversity of recipes from around the world.

These carefully selected books offer a delicious opportunity for teachers and parents to ignite conversations about culture, heritage, and the socio-geographic-economic origins of food traditions.

Related booklists: Food and Water Justice and Learning about Culture & Language

Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews are noted with an asterisk (*). Some titles are recommended with a caveat.

Abuelita and I Make Flan

By Adriana Hernández Bergstrom

Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao

By Kat Zhang, Charlene Chua

Anni Dreams of Biryani

By Namita Moolani Mehra and Chaaya Prabhat (Illustrator)

A Banquet for Cecilia: How Cecilia Chiang Revolutionized Chinese Food in America

By Julie Leung and Melissa Iwai (Illustrator)

Bee-Bim Bop!

By Linda Sue Park, Ho Baek Lee (Illustrator)

Berry Song

By Michaela Goade

Bilal Cooks Daal

By Aisha Saeed, Anoosha Syed

Child of the Civil Rights Movement*

By Paula Young Shelton, Raul Colon (Illustrator)

Resource: Comfort Food: A Lesson for Child of the Civil Rights Movement

Cora Cooks Pancit

By Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore

A Day with Yayah *

By Nicola I. Campbell and Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Dim Sum for Everyone!

By Grace Lin, Grace Lin (Illustrator)

Everybody Bakes Bread

By Norah Dooley

Freedom Soup

By Tami Charles

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story*

By Kevin Noble Maillard, Juana Martinez Neal

Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to Family *

By Elizabeth Zunon

Granny's Kitchen: A Jamaican Story of Food and Family

By Sadé Smith and Ken Daley (Illustrator)

Hiromi's Hands

By Lynne Barasch

Hot, Hot Roti for Daddy-Ji

By F. Zia, Ken Min

Jayden's Impossible Garden

By Mélina Mangal and Ken Daley (Illustrator)

Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story

By Reem Faruqi, Lea Lyon (Illustrator)

Lana Makes Purple Pizza: A Palestinian Food Tale

By Amanda Najib and Loren Bassey (Illustrator)
Winner of 2024 Palestine Book Award

Magic Ramen The Story of Momofuku Ando

By Andrea Wang, Kana Urbanowicz

Octopus Stew

By Eric Velasquez

The Only Way to Make Bread

By Cristina Quintero and Sarah Gonzales (Illustrator)

The Pie Reports

By Hayley Lowe

Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott*

By Dee Romito

Plátanos Are Love

By Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and Mariyah Rahman (Illustrator)

Ramadan on Rahma Road: A Recipe Storybook

By Razeena Omar Gutta, Faaiza Osman, and Atieh Sohrabi (Illustrator)

Ruby's Reunion Day Dinner

By Angela Dalton and Jestenia Southerland (Illustrator)

Sankofa: A Culinary Story of Resilience and Belonging

By Eric Adjepong and Lala Watkins (Illustrator)

Sopa de Frijoles / Bean Soup: Un Poema Para Cocinar / A Cooking Poem

By Jorge Argueta and Rafael Yockteng (Illustrator)

Soul Food Sunday

By Winsome Bingham and C. G. Esperanza (Illustrator)

Soup Day: A Picture Book

By Melissa Iwai

Tea Cakes for Tosh*

By Kelly Starling Lyons

Tofu Takes Time

By Helen H. Wu and Julie Jarema (Illustrator)

Tomatoes for Neela

By Padma Lakshmi and Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)

The Ugly Vegetables

By Grace Lin, Grace Lin (Illustrator)

When We Gather (Ostadahlisiha): A Cherokee Tribal Feast *

By Andrea L. Rogers and Madelyn Goodnight (Illustrator)