Whether you are celebrating National Homemade Soup Day, holding a soup themed Family Dinner Book Club, or just want to read about a very yummy food, you’ve landed in the right place. Enjoy reading these children’s books about soup and stew with the kids.
Books for Kids About Soup and Stew
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Ladle up a bowl of yummy books. You can even create a book themed Family Dinner Book Club with my free resources. Downloadable conversation starters, themed menu, and a printable book list are included below.
Okra Stew A Gullah Geechee Family Celebration by Natalie Daise is the story of a boy and his father as they prepare a family feast. The day is filled with family traditions from the collection of items to the stew itself. The okra stew recipe is included in the backmatter.
Freedom Soup by Tami Charles is about the Haitian tradition of making Freedom Soup for the New Year.
Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the delicious soup using the same recipe her grandmother used to teach her. More importantly, as they cook, she shares the history behind the soup. A recipe for soup is included.
Community Soup by Alma Fullerton is about a group of children harvesting veggies to make soup for the community. But, one child’s goats are trying to have their meal too. Is there enough for everyone?
Carrot Soup by John Segal by John Segal used to be a favorite in our house. Rabbit plants his carrots, but when he returns to harvest them, they are all gone. Little does he know that his friends have picked his carrots to create carrot soup for him. A carrot soup recipe is included in the book.
The Whole World Inside Nan’s Soup by Hunter Liguore is a conversation between child and grandparent about everything that goes into a pot of soup. From the seeds that grow the vegetables to the workers that carry those vegetables to the market. It takes the connected world to make it all come together.
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert shows a father and son preparing a garden full of vegetables to make vegetable soup. I love Ehlert’s illustrations and all the labels she uses within the pictures.
Chik Chak Shabbat by Mara Rockliff is the story of Goldie Simcha who makes her wonderful cholent for neighbors each week to celebrate Shabbat. But, one day Goldie is ill and unable to send the aromas of cholent throughout the apartment building. Her neighbors come together to bring cultural dishes to the table that are reminiscent of the ingredients in cholent. It’s a wonderful story of diversity, being a kind neighbor, and savoring time.
Soup Day by Melissa Iwai is a great one for younger listeners. In this story, we meet a mother and daughter on a cold day as they shop for soup ingredients, prepare it, and then let it simmer while enjoying each other’s company.
Beets tend to leave people in one of two camps- love them or hate them. I’ve tried them prepared a few different ways and I hate to say I am in the hate them camp. But, I do like the book I Hate Borsch! by Yevgenia Nayberg. In this story, a young child doesn’t like borsch. But, when that child moves to the US, she misses her family and home country so she turns to a found recipe to try and give the dish another chance.
Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell is the story of a family visiting their grandfather on a rainy day. The rain doesn’t keep them from picking all the different colors of vegetables in the garden. They take their ingredients and make a wonderful stew to eat.
Don’t miss the Book Dive I have for you to accompany this book.—> Rainbow Stew Book Dive
Another book to read alongside Rainbow Stew is The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. In this story, one family has a garden like no other in the neighborhood. For theirs holds the yummy ingredients for a delicious ugly vegetable soup. Of course, the recipe for that soup is included in the back of the book.
I also have some book activities to accompany this book.—> The Ugly Vegetables Book Activities
Dinner on Domingos by Alexandra Katona is a lovely pick. Celebrate family centered around a Sunday meal in this warming and yummy read-aloud. The author’s note includes background information about the author’s family moving from Ecuador to Michigan. There is also a recipe for the family’s traditional Ecuadorian locro.
Hot Pot Night! by Vincent Chen is interactive in that it invites children to join in on the repetitive phrase, “hot pot, hot pot…” In this story, it is time for dinner but no one has enough ingredients to make their own meal. So, a clever child has the idea for a hot pot. Each neighbor brings a different ingredient to add to the pot. Soon the meal comes together. The last pages explain the different countries that have their own unique hot pot recipes. And, a hot pot recipe is included.
Birthday Soup by Grace Seo Chang introduces us to a young birthday girl who learns about her family’s tradition of birthday soup. I love that the Maia embraces her family and culture and feels great about sharing it with her friends. The book includes two recipes for Miyeok Guk.
Family Dinner Book Club
Use the books above to create your very own Family Dinner Book Club. I have everything you need to have a successful book club.
- Great Book List
- Conversation Starters
- Themed Menu
Books About Soup and Stew for Kids
Our featured read-aloud for Family Dinner Book Club is Okra Stew A Gullah Geechee Family Celebration by Natalie Daise, but you could also read a different book from the list above or even more than one. A printable list of books is included below.
Conversation Starters
Here are a few discussion starters to jumpstart your dinner book club conversation. These are also included in the printable below.
Themed Menu
Enjoy these menu ideas and recipes for a fun and festive dinner while you discuss the book of the month. The menu and links are also included in the free printable below.
Printable Cook Book List and Family Dinner Book Club Resource Guide
Grab a printable copy of the book list of all the books above along with your Family Dinner Resource Guide.
