The Truth on Health

By Connie Evers MS, RD, LD – Nutrition for Kids

Connie’s Healthy Eating Blog – Reading About Eating
Part 2 – Children ages 9 to 12

Encourage kids and tweens to check out the following titles. I chose books that emphasize current issues in food and nutrition as well as a few just for fun.

These books should elicit questions and also motivate kids to become more educated and caring consumers.

Janey Junkfood’s Fresh Adventure! Making Good Eating Great Fun!
by Barbara Storper (FoodPlay Productions, 2011)
This book uses a colorful scrapbook-style format to teach children how to decipher food labels, the importance of eating breakfast, the effects of a junk food diet, fun ways to enjoy fruits and vegetables and more. Children follow “Ace Food Detective” Tobe Fit as she discovers that healthy eating habits are the missing ingredient to Janey’s success at making the National Junior Juggling Team.

The Good Garden: How One Family Went From Hunger To Having Enough
by Katie Milway & Sylvie Daigneault (Kids Can Press, 2010)
This is a moving story that explores global hunger and food insecurity from the perspective of one poor farm family in Honduras. An interactive companion website to this book is located at www.thegoodgarden.org.

What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks and Chopsticks
by Patricia Lauber & John Manders (Simon & Schuster, 2009)
Starting with cavemen and moving throughout history, this delightful and humorous book covers the history of eating utensils and customs.

The ABCs of Fruits and Vegetables and Beyond
by Steve Charney, David Goldbeck, & Marie Larson (Ceres Press, 2007)
This title is two books in one. The first half of the book is geared towards early childhood and includes colorful visuals with clever rhymes. The second half – the “beyond” section – is packed with information, trivia, geography, recipes and website/book recommendations that will be of interest to older children.

TEENS

Fueling The Teen Machine: What It Takes To Make Good Choices For Yourself Every Day
by Ellen Shanley & Colleen Thompson (Bull Pub. Co., 2011)
Although focused on adolescents, this is an excellent and accurate nutrition title packed with information that will motivate kids to make better decisions about eating. Nutrition basics, fueling for sports, vegetarian diets, weight management, eating disorders and more are covered in this book.

What The World Eats
by Faith D’Aluisio & Peter Menzel (Tricycle Press, 2008)
The author and photographer are cultural geographers who traveled the world, documenting the food habits of twenty-five families in twenty-one countries. This book features fascinating stories and full-colored photographs, including a display of a week’s worth of food and groceries for each family.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma For Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat
by Michael Pollan (Dial Books, 2009)
Based on Pollan’s best-selling book aimed at adults, this version is written for older kids and teens who want to delve more deeply into the complex issues surrounding food systems and agriculture.

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