Reading is so Delicious! 2013

Children’s Summer Reading List

For the Youngest Readers, Board Books:

Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

When spring comes, Bear wakes up very hungry and is treated to great food by his friends.

Dot and Dash Eat Their Dinner by Emma Dodd

Dot the dog and Dash the cat are having dinner, but picky Dash only wants to eat pink food.

Eats by Marthe Jocelyn

Pictures and basic text present animals and what they eat, including anteaters and ants, giraffes and leaves, and whales and squid.

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

A father and child grow vegetables and then make them into a soup.

I Can Eat a Rainbow by Annabel Karmel

Offering a fun look at healthy fruits and vegetables, this book teaches young readers how to eat healthy by enjoying a rainbow of food, from purple plums to red apples to green spinach.

It’s Harvest Time! By Jean McElroy

Invites young readers to guess which fruits or vegetables will emerge from a variety of seeds depicted on a series of fold-out flaps that show them as they take root in the soil, sprout from the ground, and, finally, become healthy foods.

Julius’s Candy Corn by Kevin Henkes

Julius is so impatient for his Halloween party to begin, that he counts and eats the candy corn on top of the cupcakes.

My Foodie ABC by Puck

A delightful educational tool that stresses the importance of having a healthy relationship with food, this board book teaches the letters of the alphabet to tots and other gastronomes in training. Illustrations highlight terms such as Kobe beef, pomegranate, ice cream, and farmer's market.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep. Die-cut pages illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days.

Yum Yum Baby Bundt by Jamie Harper

"Take one hungry baby, add slippery noodles, messy sauce, and fruit (plus one very helpful big sister), and stir up some finger-lickin' fun.”

Yum Yum Dim Sum by Amy Wilson Sanger

Easy-to-read rhyming text introduces children to the varied Chinese foods called "dim sum," which means a little bit of heart.

Preschool Picture Books:

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

When a doting father decides to make an apple pie for his beloved daughter, an enjoyable day is had by all, including the hungry farm animals who hover nearby in the hopes of getting a slice of the pie.

Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson

A family gets together to cook apples for applesauce. Includes a recipe for applesauce.

The Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner

Norris the bear has been waiting patiently for the last ripe fruit to fall from the tree, and when it does he decides to share it with his two new friends.

Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs by Megan MacDonald

During Fun with Food Week in her school science class, second-grader Beetle McGrady tries to work up the courage to eat an ant.

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael Kaplan

From her first bite, young Betty Bunny likes chocolate cake so much that she claims she will marry it one day, and she has trouble learning to wait patiently until she can have her next taste.

The Boy Who Wanted to Cook by Steve Adam

A little restaurant in the south of France called The Good Cow is known far and wide for a tasty beef stew that is made there. Pierre, ten, wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and be great chef there. But his parents continually shoo him out of the kitchen. Will Pierre ever get his chance to show what he can do?

Brownie and Pearl Grab a Bite by Cynthia Rylant

A little girl and her cat enjoy their lunch of cheese, apples, crackers, and milk in different ways.

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

An alphabetical tour of the world of fruits and vegetables, from apricot and artichoke to yam and zucchini.

Fast Food! Gulp! Gulp! By Bernard Waber

All kinds of foods are served faster and faster--until the cook has had enough!

First Peas to the Table by Susan Grigsby

Maya and other students in Ms. Hopkins class study techniques used by Thomas Jefferson as they grow pea plants and compete to see whose will produce a bowl full of peas first. Includes an afterword about Jefferson.

Fortune Cookies by Albert Bitterman

Seven fortune cookies foretell a child's fortunes for each day of the week.

Hampire by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Duck cannot sleep because he is hungry, but while he is preparing a snack the Hampire, who roams the barnyard at night sinking his fangs into food, is creeping near.

Harry Hungry! By Steven Salerno

Harry is a baby so hungry that he eats all the food in his house, then goes outside to find more.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

A humorous story about an old lady who swallows up the Thanksgiving dinner, from the salad to the turkey, growing fatter and fatter.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young child's day.

Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Henry loves to eat books, until he begins to feel quite ill and decides that maybe he could do something else with the books he has been devouring.

Go, Go Grapes: a fruit chant by April Pulley Sayre

So many fresh and delicious fruits can be found at your local market. Rhyming text is used to tell all of the wonderful things about fruits like grapes, oranges, bananas, and strawberries.

Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake by Thomas Taylor

A very small mouse finds a very big chocolate chip, raspberry cream cupcake and must ask for help from his animal friends to get it home--all of whom agree in exchange for a little nibble.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood

Little Mouse worries that the big, hungry bear will take his freshly picked, ripe, red strawberry for himself.

Minette’s Feast: the delicious story of Julia Child and her Cat by Susanna Reich

While Julia is in the kitchen learning to cook up elaborate, delicious dishes, the only feast Minette is truly interested in is that of fresh mouse. Includes biographical information about Julia Child.

Miss Fox’s Class Shapes Up Eileen Spinelli

When Miss Fox realizes that her students do not have healthy habits, she teaches them that healthful living is fun and rewarding, which they find to be true on Field Day.

Mouse Went Out to Get a Snack by Lyn Rossiter McFarland

A hungry mouse finds a tableful of delectable morsels in quantities which illustrate counting from one to ten.

Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig

When Pete is in a bad mood, his parents cheer him up by making a pizza with a very special ingredient.

Piggies in the Kitchen by Michelle Meadows

Piggies make a surprise treat for their mama while she is out of the house.

Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin

A little girl thinks her mother's garden is the ugliest in the neighborhood until she discovers that flowers might look and smell pretty but Chinese vegetable soup smells best of all. Includes a recipe.

Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? By Bonnie Lass

A skunk tries to find out which of his animal friends stole the cookies.

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

A hungry wolf's attempts to fatten a chicken for his stewpot have unexpected results.

Yum Yum What Fun by Mara Bergman

A series of animals sneak into the house, looking for something to eat.

Early Readers:

Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off by Herman Parish

Amelia Bedelia inadvertently enters a baking contest and goes from being a smart cookie to a fortune cookie.

The Best Chef in Second Grade by Katherine Kenah

A famous chef is coming to visit Mr. Hopper's second grade class, and everyone is excited about bringing in their family's favorite dish to share except Ollie, who loves to cook but cannot find a dish his whole family likes.

Cake Soup by Erica Farber

When friends gather to prepare a birthday party for Lowly, there are many surprises including a most unusual cake.

Food from Farms by Nancy Dickman

Photographs and easy-to-follow text introduce early readers to the different types of foods that can be grown on a farm.

Funny Lunch by David Catrow

Max Spaniel is chef at his own diner, where he serves up a variety of tasty meals.

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

'I do not like them Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham.' But Sam-I-am persists in offering them here, there, with a mouse, in a house, with a fox, in a box, in a tree, on a train, in the rain, with a goat, and on a boat.

Harriet’s Halloween Candy by Nancy Carlson

Harriet learns the hard way that sharing her Halloween candy makes her feel much better than eating it all herself.

Healthy Snacks by Mari Shuh

Healthy snacks are discussed with information about snacks from all the food groups.

Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch by Cynthia Rylant

Mudge looks forward to the Mother's Day surprise that Henry and his father cook up for Henry's mother.

A Monster is Coming! By David Harrison

When Inchworm overhears Mama Bug tell Baby Bug that she eats like a monster, he cries out in fear and sets off a chain reaction of animals trying to hide from the horrible beast they believe is coming.

Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup by Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter and Tabby go to their neighbor's house to make soup, but Zeke the dog makes it very difficult for them.

Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider

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.

Time to Eat at the White House by Marge Kennedy

An overview of the White House chef’s job and a few presidents' food preferences, along with a recipe from Laura Bush for hot chocolate.

Graphic Novels:

Bake Sale by Sara Varon

Cupcake runs a successful bakery with his best friend, Eggplant, but dreams of going abroad to meet his idol, Turkish Delight, who is the most famous pastry chef in the world.

Garfield and Co.: Fish to Fry

Garfield stands trial in a fish court for crimes against fishkind.

Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit by Jarrett Krosoczka

Lunch Lady, Betty, and the Breakfast Bunch must figure out who is stealing the goods from the bake sale.

Mal and Chad: Food Fight! By Stephen McCranie

When Chad begins having scary dreams, Mal builds a dream portal to defeat Chad's nightmare beast once and for all. Something goes wrong, though, and the beast follows Mal back to reality. Now Megan and her friends are in danger . . . but Mal is there to come to the rescue.

Taro and the Terror of Eats Street by Sango Morimoto

Calling upon the prehistoric power of a monstrous coelacanth and the sneaktastic skill of Tattle-tail, the eraser-happy king has turned the restaurants of Eats Street from delightful to frightful! Terrie and Hippity are on the case, but they need your help!

Children’s Fiction:

Alexis and the Perfect Recipe by Coco Simon

Alexis Becker loves to organize and plan and set goals, which is why she is in charge of the business end of the Cupcake Club. But when she suddenly develops a major crush on Matt Taylor - who happens to be Emma's brother - things get a little disorganized.

Big Mouth by Deborah Halverson

Fourteen-year-old Sherman Thuff, a student at the tomato-obsessed Del Heiny Junior High, has his hopes set on being a competitive eater, but when his training regimen begins to seriously interfere with his enjoyment of life and he even starts losing his friends, he decides he should rearrange his priorities.

The Boy Who Ate Fear Street by Stephen Ross

Sam Kinney must find out if the weird spice Aunt Slyvie puts in his macaroni and cheese is causing him to eat everything he sees, including paste, dishwashing soap, dog food, and dirt.

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass

When four twelve-year-olds, including Logan, who has grown up never leaving his parents' Life Is Sweet candy factory, compete in the Confectionary Association's annual contest, they unexpectedly become friends and uncover secrets about themselves during the process.

Cold Cereal by Adam Rex

A boy who may be part changeling, twins involved in a bizarre secret experiment, and a clurichaun in a red tracksuit try to save the world from an evil cereal company whose ultimate goal is world domination.

The Cupcake Caper by Gertrude Chandler Warner

People line up around the block to buy Mama Tova's cupcakes. But who could be trying to steal her secret recipe? The Boxcar Children follow clues to a cupcake contest, where they must use their mystery-solving skills to find a thief.

Eggs Over Evie by Alison Jackson

Evie feels unsettled and sad after her parents divorce, her father remarries and takes the family dog, and his new wife becomes pregnant, but a cooking class and helping the elderly lady next door with her cat give Evie a way to cope with the changes in her life. Includes recipes

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

Eleven-year-old Primrose living in a small fishing village in British Columbia recounts her experiences and all that she learns about human nature and the unpredictability of life in the months after her parents are lost at sea.