Books About Picky Eaters

Is anyone else the parent of a picky eater? (Who you don’t want to starve — and who doesn’t like anything?) These picture books for picky eaters not only will entertain your kids but might just help them consider trying new foods.

Might.

That being said, I have a child with a sensory processing disorder who struggles with textures and tastes, and for her, there is NO getting her to eat certain foods. She’s not being stubborn; it’s a neurological situation, not a defiant one. (She, and kids like her, will not eat when they are hungry.)

With neurotypical kids, while it’s often tricky when they are little, it’s more likely that neurotypical children can and will expand their eating palettes as they age.

And perhaps with enough exposure, a child can find more foods to enjoy! (Or maybe just when their taste buds die?!)

Books About Picky Eaters

Fussy Flamingo by Shelley Vaughan James, illustrated by Matthew Rivera
Lola doesn’t want to eat the soggy, yucky, muddy shrimp so she finds other foods that turn her feathers NOT pink colors. Finally, her mami convinces Lola to give shrimp a try– and Lola turns pink! Just like she’s supposed to.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace
If only Little Pea would eat his candy! He must force down a few bites if he wants dessert — spinach!

Peyton Picks the Perfect Pie: A Thanksgiving Celebration by Jack Bishop, illustrations by Michelle Mee Nutter
Peyton agrees to try one new food for Thanksgiving — pie. Each guest arrives and brings a different kind of pie — Boston Cream Pie, whoopie pies, ruffled milk pie, plum galette, Mississippi mud pie, and more — to add to Peyton’s mom’s apple pie.

But I Don’t Eat Ants by Dan Marvin, illustrated by Kelly Fry
He’s an anteater who loves food, all food except ants. He’ll eat anything else. But not ants. In fact, you’ll get to see all the many fun things he does eat. Until dinnertime when his mom serves him something delicious. What can it be? Ants, of course!

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
A crowd favorite in my house because everyone can relate. Lola does not want to eat certain foods until her imaginative brother Charlie thinks up playful substitute names for the foods such as orange twiglets from Jupiter instead of carrots.

Gregory, the Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat, illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
Gregory’s parents are horrified that he prefers to eat not-goat foods like vegetables. when they take him to the doctor, he develops the taste for pig food. What will his parents do?

Masha Munching by Amalia Hoffman
A silly story about a goat who in search of different foods leaves the farm and goes to a restaurant where she finds delicious foods that she loves — including a table leg and breadbasket.

What’s Cooking? by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Julia Rothman
What a kooky, fun book! “If I toss a salad, can I throw a salad?” asks one page. Or “If turkeys are stuffed with stuffing, what else can I stuff?” (The following page answers: “You can stuff peppers with rice and cabbage with meat and even meat with meat. That’s called a ballotine.“) This is a wordy way to play with your food…

What Does an Anteater Eat? by Ross Collins
On his journey to find out what he eats, the anteater meets many kinds of animals. What does an anteater eat anyway? The funny ending just might surprise you.