7 great children’s books for picky eaters

The following is a list of 7 great children’s books about picky eaters. My daughter Ally, 4, and I have read and enjoyed each of these books. They are not ranked in any special order.

1. How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? (Jane Yolen and Mark Teague) – How do dinosaurs eat their food? Do they burp? Fidget in their chair? Spit out their food? No. Dinosaurs say “please.” Try at least one bite of each new food and eat everything with a smile. The fun pictures of dinosaurs misbehaving at the dinner table will amuse young children. And the book might make children realize that sometimes they do the very same things as the dinosaurs.

Buy it: How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?

2. D.W. The Picky Eater (By Marc Brown) – D.W. has a whole list of foods that she refuses to eat. But most of all, she hates spinach. Because of D.W.’s picky eating habits, she has to stay home when her family goes out to dinner. Soon, D.W. begins to realizing that she’s missing out on the fun. So for the family’s next dinner out, she agrees to eat something from the menu. D.W. ends up loving her dinner and eating every last bite. When she asks the waiter for the recipe, she finds out that she just ate a whole lot of spinach!

Buy it: D.W. The Picky Eater

3. Picky Nicky (By Cathy East Dubowski) – Nicky only likes spaghetti. Since her family is having grapes, pears, peas and carrots, she heads over to her friend’s house for dinner. Her friend’s family is having spaghetti, but they are also having grapes, pears, peas and carrots. So Nicky hides the grapes, pears, peas and carrots under her spaghetti. But at the end of the meal, her plate is empty. She ate all the fruits and vegetables without even realizing it. Nicky tells her parents that she will eat anything as long as she can hide it in spaghetti. This is a picture reader, which means that some of the words are represented by pictures. Therefore, young children can help read along.

Buy it: Picky Nicky

4. Green Eggs and Ham (By Dr. Seuss) – This is the classic story of a picky eater who would not try green eggs and ham. Throughout the book, he turns down the green eggs and ham over and over. Finally he agrees to try them to prove that he won’t like them. But surprise, he likes green eggs and ham! This is a great early reader book with simple rhyming words that repeat throughout the book.

Buy it: Green Eggs and Ham

5. Bread and Jam for Frances (By Russell Hoban) – While the rest of her family eats a variety of foods, Frances only wants to eat bread and jam. Soon her parents decide to only give her bread and jam for every meal. She finds bread and jam on her breakfast plate, in her lunchbox at school and at dinner. Soon Frances gets very tired of bread and jam. She asks if she can eat the spaghetti and meatballs that the rest of the family is eating. The next day, she is happy to find a wide variety of foods in her lunchbox.

Buy it: Bread and Jam for Frances

6. Little Pea (Amy Krouse Rosenthal) – Little Pea loves rolling down hills, playing with his pea pals and listening to Mama Pea’s stories. But Little Pea does not like candy, and that’s what peas eat for dinner every night. Papa Pea and Mama Pea ask Little Pea to eat his dinner of candy, saying that it will make him big and strong and he can have dessert if he eats it. So Little Pea eats the candy and is excited to get his favorite dessert – spinach!

Buy it: Little Pea

7. Pinkalicious (By Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann) – One rainy day, a girl makes pink cupcakes with her mom. She gobbles up several of the pink cupcakes and the next day she is pink! Her dad tries to wash off the pink. But when that doesn’t work, her mom takes her to see the doctor, who says she has a rare case of pinkititis. The doctor says she can’t eat anymore pink foods and to return to normal, she must eat a diet of green foods. The girl doesn’t listen and eats more cupcakes. But then she turns red! She decides to follow the doctor’s advice and eats spinach, artichokes and grapes. Soon she is back to normal, but uh-oh, now her little brother is pink!

Buy it: Pinkalicious