These 10 books are great for teaching children where our food comes from. Each of these farm to table stories will help preschoolers understand our connection to the natural world, the work that goes into providing food, and the art of cooking.
Farm to Table Stories:
1. Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle–
Jack wants a big pancake for breakfast. But before he can eat, he has to go through all of the steps involved in making pancakes from scratch. Preschoolers are introduced to the process of making flour, fetching eggs, milking cows, churning butter, and mixing ingredients.
2. Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert–
Lois Ehlert teaches young gardeners the steps to growing their own vegetable soup! With bright illustrations, and not a lot of words, this books shows the necessary tools to tend a garden, planting seeds, caring for your garden, and then harvesting your vegetables and preparing the soup! Ehlert’s art style will keep your preschooler enthralled with the garden process and pique their interest in growing their own vegetables. The book also includes a recipe for vegetable soup.
3. The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi–
Learn all about the honey-making process in this story! The amazing collage style pictures and the sweet story about the love a beekeeper has for his bees makes this a fantastic addition to your read aloud time with your little one. This is a beautiful way to learn about the importance of bees and where honey comes from.
4. Plants Feed Me by Lizzie Rockwell–
This book gives a great overview of the different parts of plants that we eat. Preschoolers will learn about edibles leaves, roots, bulbs, seeds, and fruit. Simple text and detailed illustrations show where these edible things grow–underground, trees, bushes, on vines, etc. My favorite part is when seeds from wheat are used to make flour, and that flour is used to make bread.
5. Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper–
Duck, Cat, and Squirrel and three good friends who like to make pumpkin soup together. Everyone has a specific job to do. One day, Duck decides he wants to switch jobs, which leads to a fight among the friends. Duck leaves in a huff. Soon Cat and Squirrel go in search of their friend. Will Duck want to come back and make soup with them? Kids will love Cooper’s illustrations and enjoy going on the fall journey with these characters. The book also includes a recipe for pumpkin soup that you and your kiddo can make together! (non-holiday story)
6. Little Red Hen by Diane Muldrow–
In this classic tale of a hardworking red hen and her lazy animal friends, readers learn all of the hard work that goes into the creation of bread. Follow the steps from wheat seed to oven, and finally to table. The humorous ending provides an important lesson about the importance of teamwork and helping out.
7. Grandma’s Garden by Mercer Mayer —
Little Critter is a preschool favorite! In this story, Little Critter and Little Sister help Grandma grow a vegetable garden. They pick their seeds and carefully plant them. Little Critter learns that plants need water to grow and that he has to keep the weeds away so that the little veggies have room to grow. Wow, gardens take a lot of work! In the end, all of their hard work pays off and they get to enjoy a yummy meal made from their garden!
8. Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson–
This book gives a great look at how food gets to grocery stores. It has short, rhyming sentences and detailed illustrations that are perfect for young children. This book is a loving tribute to all of the work that goes into providing the food that we eat. It shows the effort farmers put into growing food and tending livestock, the hard work of fishermen, and all of behind the scenes work of packing and transporting the food.
9. 10 Hungry Rabbits by Anita Lobel–
In this story, a rabbit family must all work together to make dinner. The 10 rabbit children each go outside to collect yummy foods and seasonings that can be used for vegetable soup. Daddy rabbit chops up all of the food, and then mommy rabbit puts all of the ingredients together to make a delicious soup. Bonus, this book is also great for color recognition in identifying the color of each thing the rabbits find, and a terrific counting story too.
10. Jamberry by Bruce Degen–
In this whimsical story, a boy and bear show readers where berries grow. Can you spot the strawberries, black berries, and blue berries they are collecting? Take a look at all of foods, like jam and jelly, that are made from berries. Bright, fun illustrations accompany this story full of rhymes and silliness that preschoolers love.
Check your library for these and other farm to table stories. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I may get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂
