Talking and sharing stories with babies and children is important for their development. Don’t worry if your reading’s not the best.
You can give your child a great start by talking, singing, playing and sharing simple books together.
Tips:
- use the pictures to tell a story
- talk slowly
- make sounds and use different voices to create fun and excitement
- point to the pictures as well as the words
- let children ask questions or guess what’s going to happen in the story
- let children turn the pages
- make it fun and an enjoyable time together
- make some time every day.
Using storybooks, you can talk about:
- colour and shape using different vegetables and fruits
- togetherness and sharing through stories about eating as a family and with friends
- difference by showing how each family and culture does not eat or do things the same way
- who we are through understanding what we eat is about culture and history
- how food is grown and prepared
- looking after the world through exploring food waste and use of water
- movement through understanding what our bodies can do.
‘Health on the Shelf’ in partnership with LINC Tasmania is a collection of suggested storybooks for parents and educators. It also includes some books suitable for upper primary school children.
Books about growing, cooking and eating food, colour, shape and days of the week
| Title | Author | About the book |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Denise Flemming | A hungry mouse eating vegetables and fruit |
| The Beastly Feast | Bruce Goldstone | A group of animal friends sharing a meal |
| Eating the Alphabet | Lois Ehlert | All about the ABC's |
| Growing Vegetable Soup | Lois Ehlert | All about growing vegetables and making soup to eat |
| The Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle | Eating different foods and days of the week |
| Strawberries are red | Petr Horacek | Explore colour using fruit. |
| I Like Fruit | Lorena Siminovich | About enjoying foods, getting involved in growing foods |
| I Like Vegetables | Lorena Siminovich | About enjoying foods, getting involved in growing foods |
| I’m having a rainbow for dinner | Australian Nutrition Foundation | Encouraging eating different coloured vegetables |
| Cook it! | George Birkett | Cooking food |
| Grow it! | George Birkett | Growing food |
Leslie Bockol | Children enjoying growing and eating fruit and vegetables | |
| Blueberries for Sal | Robert McCloskey | A girl and her mother picking fruit to store for the winter. |
| Kindy kitchen : where fruit and vegies come to life | Jessica Rossman | Fun and interactive rhymes about food |
| Eileen Browne | Explore cultural diversity through food | |
| Dr Seuss | Humorous book about trying new foods | |
| Lauren Child | Trying new foods | |
| Mitchell Sharmat | Trying new foods | |
| What if vegetables were people | Kate Wengier | Creating fun, positive associations with vegetables |
| What if fruit were animals | Kate Wengier | Creating fun, positive associations with fruit |
| At my family table | Mandy Dos Santos | Eating together |
Books about active play and having fun outdoors
| Title | Author | About the book |
|---|---|---|
| Pamela Allen | Going to the beach for a play and sharing a picnic | |
| Rosemary Nastnak | Dancing and dressing up fun with grandma | |
| I Can Do It | Jana Novotny | Exploring all the things to do on the first day of preschool |
| Jackie French | Everyone can have dreams to do what they want | |
| Michael Rosen | Using imagination and getting active | |
| Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Ride, Ride, Ride Your Bike | Wes Magee | Nursery rhymes to encourage active play |
| Sam McBratney and Charles Fuge | Using imagination to encourage being active | |
| Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes and Clap, Wiggle, Stretch and Jump | Brian Moses and Lisa Smith | Being active indoors and using your imagination |
Books about looking after your body and diversity
| Title | Author | About the book |
|---|---|---|
Sigrun Danielsdottir | Positive body image and body diversity | |
| Shapesville | Andy Mills and Becky Osborn | Body confidence and body diversity |
| Trace Maloney | About love and friendships | |
| Trace Maloney | Understanding feelings | |
| Tom Skinner | Growing up and and fitting in | |
| Jez Alborough | A book about loneliness and friendship | |
| Wonder | R Palacio | WONDER is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Born with a terrible facial abnormality (upper primary) |
| Diary of a Wimpy kid (series) | Jeff Kinney | A humorous look at growing up and fitting in (upper primary) |
First best friends | Margaret Wild | Promotes active travel to school with a safety message |
| When Penny was Mum | Margaret Wild | General health |
| Don’t forget the cheese pa | Gwenda Smyth | General health, road safety messages |
| Dr Seuss | About looking after your teeth | |
| Dora Show Me Your Smile | Christine Ricci | About looking after your teeth |
| Maisy, Charlie and the wobbly tooth | Lucy Cousins | About looking after your teeth |
| Loving Comfort | Julie Dillemuth | A toddler weaning story |
| Mama's milk is all gone | Ann Pauline Vernon | Breastfeeding and weaning |
