Top 16 Books About Vegetables Updated 04 /2024

For 18 years, I have been a preschool teacher. I can tell you for sure that books are a great way to open the world to young children. As long as they have a couch or bed, kids can be taken to fairytale villages, go on extraordinary adventures with knights, or see creatures and places they've never even thought of.

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Books can also be used to teach kids about difficult things in a way that is both fun and understandable. They can show kids other people's journeys and help them talk about things they might not be able to say. Books open the door to having a conversation with other people.

As far as vegetables go, it doesn't matter.

During my preschool class last week, I made Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins with them. Yes, muffins that are almost like a green, veggie-filled smoothie in muffin form. My kids love them, and they are one of the most popular recipes I have on the blog. If you want some kids to try a new, unknown (and green!) food, you have to do extra.

As if you were reading. It's about spinach. She thought she didn't like spinach. She didn't like the green vegetable until she had a great, hands-on experience with it that changed her mind. Sylvia's Spinach is a book.

 

There was a book I read before I let the preschool kids help me make green muffins. They were not all veggie lovers. The book told a story that a lot of the kids could relate to. It was about being afraid to eat spinach. Seeing Sylvia come back at the end made them wonder if they might like spinach.

A moment of wonder just opened the door for a lot of the kids to try the Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffin...

Many people found a way to like spinach that they didn't even know about.

There were so many great books about vegetables for my students and my daughter that I started to think about them after this little project that I had done. Vegetable books that made them fun and interesting, instead of scary and strange.

Here are some of my favorite veggie-heavy children's books that I've read and think are great for kids.

Sylvia’s Spinach

best for ages 4+

Sylvia thought she didn't like spinach until she was asked to grow some for her school garden. One of the things it does is tell a story that a lot of kids can relate to. It shows how Sylvia went from not liking spinach to eating it for the first time.

Plants Feed Me

best for ages 3+

Illustrations in this book make it easy for kids to learn about the different types of food plants make, how they are eaten, and what plants need to grow.

Sophie’s Squash

best for ages 4+

When a little girl goes to the farmer's market, she makes friends with a squash. It talks about the fun, imaginative adventures Sophie and her squash go on together. It also talks about how plants die and how they grow as part of the story.

Edible Numbers

best for ages 2+

A simple book about counting and numbers with pictures of a lot of different fruits and vegetables to help you learn. A great way to teach young kids how to count and recognize numbers while also talking about a lot of different plants that are good for them to have.

Edible Colors

best for ages 2+

This book has pictures of fruits and vegetables that are very beautiful and colorful. It shows that the same food can come in many different colors, like carrots can be yellow, white, orange, red, or purple. It also shows how many different types of produce have the same color.

Anywhere Farm

best for ages 3+

You don't have to live on a farm or have a lot of dirt to your name to grow your own food! This is great for the urban farmers in all of us, and it gives us some great ideas for how to grow vegetables in our own little corner of the world.

Growing Vegetable Soup

best for ages 2+

In this easy-to-follow book, you'll learn everything you need to know about how to grow your own food. When you read this book, you and your child will be able to make vegetable soup together!

If You Pant a Seed

best for ages 3+

This book is easy to read and beautiful to look at. It shows how a seed grows into a plant, as well as how compassion and generosity are important.

Tops & Bottoms

best for ages 4+

A fun story about a lazy bear and a clever hare. This book teaches kids about the parts of plants and crops that we eat, as well as how to be fair and honest.

Rah, Rah Radishes

best for ages 2+

Is your child a fan of repetition? If they find a phrase in a book that they can chant with me, I know they will be very happy about it. This short story will have your kids reading along with you and show off a lot of different vegetables at the same time.

There were a lot of things I liked in this collection. I usually love any book that lets kids be a part of the story and helps them improve their phonemic awareness in a fun way. When this book came out, the kids were right in the middle of chanting along. It has a lot of different kinds of vegetables, so we also talked about a lot of different kinds. Children will be able to see the pictures clearly and get a good picture of what they are seeing. We read this book a lot this week. Some days, we read again to find words that rhyme. In the past, we clapped the words in each vegetable name.

The Carrot Seed

best for ages 2+

They told him it wouldn't grow, but the little boy didn't listen. He kept watering and taking care of it until it did. It's also about carrots that taste great.

Before We Eat: From Farm to Table

best for ages 4+

All of the people who work to make the food we eat are shown in this colorful book. It's about a lot more than just vegetables. It's a great story about how food is made and how to be thankful for the hard work of other people.

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