Here’s a list of engaging educational resources designed to help children develop healthy habits, both in the kitchen and through physical activity. These books and materials are perfect for child care providers, educators, and parents who want to promote fitness, nutrition, and a positive body image in a fun and interactive way. Whether you’re looking for cookbooks that get kids excited about trying new foods, physical fitness guides, or storybooks that teach important health lessons, these resources have something for every young learner.
The ABSEF Physical Fitness Assessment
ABSEF: Fitness for Kids ©1993 Renae Buss
This program is a dynamic and engaging way to get children interested in both exercise and nutrition. Designed with 4-6 minute lessons, ABSEF emphasizes education rather than performance, focusing on aerobic endurance, body composition, strength, and flexibility. It comes with two instructor/parent manuals, a booklet of coloring handouts, five posters, and 55 flashcards, making it a comprehensive tool for promoting healthy habits in kids.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, early elementary
Format: Two instructor/parent manuals, coloring handouts, posters, 55 flashcards
Adventures in Learning with the Food Guide Pyramid
Association for Child Development ©1995
Packed with creative lesson ideas, this book divides activities and games based on the Food Guide Pyramid, and includes a chapter on healthy habits. Each section provides useful nutritional facts for educators, along with fun songs, experiments, and games to keep children entertained and engaged while learning about good nutrition.
Audience: Early elementary, child care providers, sponsors, preschool teachers
Format: 109-page book
The African-American Child’s Heritage Cookbook
Sandcastle Publishing ©1993 Vanessa Roberts Parham
This book celebrates black heritage through kid-friendly recipes designed for children to make with adult help. It includes over 200 recipes, featuring Southern cooking, soul food, healthier alternatives, and Caribbean dishes. The large print and format make it accessible, with sections on African-American traditions, cooking safety, and food history.
Audience: Elementary, child care providers, sponsors, parents, teachers
Format: 289-page book
Am I Fat? Helping Young Children Accept Differences in Body Size
ETR Associates ©1992 Joanne Ikeda
A resource for teachers, parents, and caregivers, this guide addresses children’s sensitivity to weight issues. It provides strategies for promoting body acceptance, handling teasing, and fostering self-esteem through realistic case studies, classroom activities, and nutrition guidelines.
Audience: Teachers, parents, school nurses, child care providers, sponsors
Format: 117-page book
Barely Bear Learns About Good Nutrition: The Path to the Pyramid
National Food Service Management Institute ©1993 Beverly Cross
Follow Barely Bear and his friends on a journey through the Food Guide Pyramid in this 13-page storybook, accompanied by a 6-minute and 12-minute video. The kit also includes a Food Guide Pyramid poster and an instructor’s guide to help teach young children about healthy eating.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, early elementary, preschool teachers
Format: 13-page storybook, video, poster, instructor’s guide
Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook
Better Homes and Gardens Books ©1989 Gerald M. Knox
Designed for kids aged 8-12, this cookbook features more than 50 kid-tested recipes from the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchens. It’s ideal for beginners and those with some cooking experience, making it a fun introduction to cooking for children.
Audience: Elementary, middle school, child care providers, sponsors, parents
Format: 80-page book
Better Homes and Gardens Step-By-Step Kids’ Cook Book
Better Homes and Gardens ©1984
Starting with simple recipes and progressing to more advanced ones, this cookbook provides how-to photos and step-by-step instructions. Kids will learn essential cooking skills by the end of this book.
Audience: Elementary, child care providers, sponsors, parents
Format: 96-page book
Betty Crocker’s Cooking with Kids
Macmillan, A Simon & Schuster Macmillan Company ©1995 Betty Crocker
A fun, interactive cookbook designed for kids, featuring recipes like Dinosaur Calzones and Oh-So-Chocolate Brownies. The recipes are simple, easy to follow, and kid-approved, making it a delightful experience for young cooks.
Audience: Elementary, child care providers, sponsors, parents
Format: 176-page book
Bread and Jam for Frances
HarperTrophy ©1993 Russell Hoban
This charming story follows Frances, a little badger who insists on eating only bread and jam. Her parents decide to let her do just that, teaching a gentle lesson on trying new foods.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, early elementary, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 31-page book
Bread Bread Bread
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard ©1989 Ann Morris
A visually captivating book that showcases the diverse types of bread from cultures around the world, with large photographs and detailed information for educators.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, early elementary, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 28-page book
Breakfast Clubbies: Video and Activity Kit
Food Groupie, Inc. ©1996
This innovative kit, featuring puppets and guest star Cathy Rigby, teaches children the importance of a healthy breakfast. The activities are designed to develop language, math, motor, social, and health skills, while encouraging positive attitudes toward health and awareness of different cultures.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, early elementary, health clinics, preschool teachers
Format: Four short videos (6-11 minutes each), teacher’s guide with 40 activities and reproducibles
Breakfast: Lily Changes A Habit ©1993
In this video, Lily learns about the benefits of eating a nutritious breakfast, with examples based on the USDA Food Pyramid. It’s a useful tool for parents and caregivers to emphasize healthy eating habits in children.
Audience: Child care providers, sponsors, parents, health clinics, general adult
Format: 11-minute video
This resource list provides a wealth of engaging materials for child care providers, educators, and parents to foster healthy nutrition and fitness habits in children through interactive activities, recipes, and storytelling.
Care Connection Training Program
National Food Service Management Institute ©1997
The Care Connection Training Program consists of 10 video lessons and printed materials, designed for Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors of child care homes and centers. It trains caregivers in providing quality care for children, covering topics such as CACFP requirements, meal planning, food preparation, sanitation, and food safety. Available as center/home or specific training packages.
Audience: CACFP sponsors
Format: Video lessons, sponsor guide, written materials
Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards
American Public Health Association ©1992 Apha Collaborative Project Staff
This book outlines health and safety standards for child care programs, recommended by the American Public Health Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It covers topics like staffing, child activities, health promotion, nutrition, disease control, and licensing, with rationale and comments provided for each standard.
Audience: Child care providers/sponsors
Format: 410-page book
Chef Combo’s Fantastic Adventures: In Tasting & Nutrition
National Dairy Council August 1996
Chef Combo, a puppet with an accompanying teacher guide, is designed for 4- and 5-year-olds. The kit encourages children to cook and try new foods, with a 192-page guide divided into themes like farms, seasons, colors, and holidays.
Audience: Child care providers, early elementary, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 192-page manual, puppet, audiocassette, rubber stamp
Chicken Little
William Morrow & Company ©1985 Steven Kellogg
This children’s book tells the classic story of Chicken Little and his friends, who believe the sky is falling, only to be tricked by Foxy Loxy.
Audience: Child care providers, early elementary, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 30-page book
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
1991 Ellyn Satter
This handbook covers feeding from pregnancy through a child’s early years. Topics include breastfeeding, bottle feeding, introducing solids, and feeding toddlers. Later chapters discuss diarrhea, food intake regulation, and obesity.
Audience: Child care providers, parents
Format: 463-page book
Children’s Choices: A Cookbook for Family Child Care Providers
©1995 California Department of Education
This spiral-bound cookbook offers step-by-step recipes with ingredient quantities and serving sizes tailored for different age groups. It also includes tips on meal planning, a four-week menu cycle, party ideas, and nutrient information.
Audience: Child care providers/sponsors
Format: 166-page book
Connecticut Cooks for Kids: A Collection of Recipes from Childcare Providers Throughout Connecticut
Connecticut State Department of Education ©1996 Ellen L. Shanley
This cookbook includes over 100 taste-tested recipes that appeal to kids, along with nutrition information and CACFP meal pattern contributions. It also provides nutrition education activity ideas.
Audience: Child care providers/sponsors
Format: 126-page book
Consuming Concerns: Nutrition Concerns in Early Intervention
1996 Frances Stern Nutrition Center
This video addresses feeding issues for children with special healthcare needs, explaining common concerns and emphasizing the importance of nutritional screening for all children in early intervention programs.
Audience: Child care providers, parents, health clinics
Format: 17-minute video
Cooking Up the Pyramid: An Early Childhood Nutrition Curriculum
Katherine M. Brieger
This curriculum addresses the nutrition needs of children ages 3-8, especially those in poverty. It offers simple, multicultural recipes and activities to promote healthy eating habits, with resources for teachers to incorporate food experiences into early childhood education.
Audience: Early elementary, child care providers, preschool, health clinics
Format: 63-page manual, 78 activities/recipes, nutrition bingo game, 10 bilingual newsletters
Cooking Up U.S. History: Recipes and Research to Share with Children
Teacher Ideas Press ©1991 Suzanne I. Barchers
This book combines U.S. history with cooking. Recipes are linked to historical periods such as the American Indians, the Revolutionary War, and the westward expansion, offering teachers a unique way to engage children in social studies.
Audience: Elementary, child care providers/sponsors
Format: 187-page book
Cooking with Kids
©1997 Oregon Dairy Council
This resource introduces basic culinary skills and promotes healthy food choices for children. It’s suitable for classrooms, daycares, or home use and offers numerous benefits, including teaching kids lifelong positive food habits.
Audience: Child care providers, elementary, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 15 food activities, 20 recipes, teacher’s guide
Cool Cooking for Kids
Fearon Teacher Aids ©1976 Pat McClenahan
This activity guide helps teach nutrition, cooking, and health to young children, featuring over 100 recipes—many that require no heat.
Audience: Kindergarten, child care providers, parents, preschool teachers
Format: 176-page book
Count to 5…Count to 6! Fun with Fruits, Vegetables & Grains
The Vermont Department of Health ©1996
An activity book designed to introduce preschoolers to fruits, vegetables, and grains. It contains fun activities, nutrition information, recipes, menus, and food prep tips for child care providers and educators.
Audience: Preschool teachers, child care providers, health clinics
Format: 48-page activity book
Cuisine for Kids: Celebrating Taste and Health in Schools and Child Care
©1997 The California Department of Education
A 12-hour course designed for child nutrition staff in California, focusing on healthy food preparation. Six sessions, co-taught by a chef and a nutritionist, provide classroom and hands-on kitchen experience.
Audience: Nutritionists, food service managers, chefs, child nutrition staff
Format: 162-page instructor’s manual, 96-page student workbook