Books About Trying New Foods: 8 Picture Books for Picky Eaters

In short: Books about trying new foods work because they let children meet carrots, broccoli and peas without any pressure. Good picture books for ages 2–7 include I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, Green Eggs and Ham, Gregory, the Terrible Eater and Eating the Alphabet. In our two personalized books, the one who tries the vegetables is your child – cooking Grandma's soup in The Empty Soup, or growing a gigantic carrot in The Very Big Carrot.

Picky eating usually peaks between two and six. Stories won't fix it overnight, but they make unfamiliar food familiar – and familiar food is easier to taste.

8 picture books about trying new foods

1. I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child – carrots become "orange twiglets from Jupiter".
2. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss – try it, you might like it.
3. Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat – a goat who only wants people food.
4. Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert – fruit and vegetables from A to Z.
5. Rah, Rah, Radishes! by April Pulley Sayre – a vegetable chant.
6. Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks – or do they?
7. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – eating through the week.
8. A personalized book where your child is the one who tries – below.

When the brave taster is your child

Children connect most strongly when the character who tries the food is them – their own face, their own name.

• The Empty Soup – it's Grandma's birthday and your child cooks the soup. "No vegetables!" – so it tastes like nothing, until your child bravely tastes carrots, peas, tomatoes and broccoli, one spoonful at a time.
• The Very Big Carrot – Grandma makes a deal: plant four packets of seeds, and your child gets the first bite of everything that grows – including a gigantic carrot.

Illustrated from one photo, with your child's name on every page. Ages 3–7; free cover preview; paperback $34.90, hardcover $44.90, e-book $12.99; free US shipping.

How to use a food story

1. Read it away from meals, when nobody is hungry or tired.
2. Bring the book to life: buy the vegetable from the story, look at it, smell it, cook it together.
3. One "hero bite" is enough. No pressure afterwards.
4. Repeat. Many children need to see a food 10–15 times before they taste it.

More: how to get your toddler to eat vegetables: 15 tips · personalized books for picky eaters · picture books for picky eaters

Questions parents ask

What are good books about trying new foods?

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, Green Eggs and Ham, Gregory the Terrible Eater, Eating the Alphabet – and Fablewish's personalized The Empty Soup and The Very Big Carrot, where your child is the one who tries.

Do books really help picky eaters?

They help make new foods familiar and give you a pressure-free way to talk about them. Combined with repeated, relaxed exposure, that's what helps most children taste.

What age are the Fablewish food books for?

Ages 3 to 7.