Are you looking for the gift that keeps on giving? My list of nutrition books for children that parents should read is just what you need!

If you could easily find the best books on health and nutrition for growing children, wouldn’t that be a game changer? 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a book from this list, I will receive a small commission from Amazon.com, which will help me cover the costs of running this site.

Why Parents Benefit from Nutrition Education

We all know healthy foods and good nutrition are essential for raising healthy kids. A great book about child nutrition is an essential resource for parents who want good nutrition information. Resources they can rely on. 

Not the latest food craze or fad diet.

There are articles, blog posts and social media posts about children’s health, teen health and nutrition, literally at your finger tips. But, as a pediatric dietitian and author, I know that these may not provide quality information. Often, it’s a person sharing what they think or what they’ve experienced. 

Not necessarily professional expertise, which is critical when it comes to a healthy diet and healthy eating habits for children. 

An essential resource on kids nutrition and feeding is the perfect answer.

What You Can Expect from a Nutrition Book about Children

I’ve written a couple of books myself. Writing a book isn’t a cake walk. It takes research. Creativity. Time. 

Some of the best books on children’s nutrition are written by healthcare professionals who research their topic. 

Additionally, they’ve had the professional experiences that give them insight and wisdom you may not find on the internet.

They write creatively so you are spared the dry nutrition details or paragraphs upon paragraphs of research summaries.

Often, authors take a deep dive into a particular topic, giving you the importance of nutritious foods and nutritious eating, and sometimes some kid-friendly recipes, too.  

Books on Nutrition Can Be a Big Help

If you’re a parent you are undoubtedly in the throes of feeding kids.

You’re shopping and cooking, gathering and planning, and probably negotiating food to some degree. 

All in an effort to help your child be a healthy kid.

If you’re a grandparent, you may be seeing some undesirable eating habits developing in your grandchildren.

You don’t want to lecture, meddle, or step on any toes. My child nutrition book list includes resources that can help you send a subtle message about good nutrition to your loved ones … without being a meddler. 

I’ve reviewed these books myself, use them in my practice to help parents, and consider them the cream of the crop when it comes to nutrition for kids.

Books on Child Nutrition and Healthy Eating for Parents

I’ve selected what I have read myself and consider some of the best child nutrition books available to help you learn the latest in diet and nutrition advice for kids. 

Of course, there are new books coming out all the time, so I may have missed some.

Books are perfect for the holidays, a baby shower, or a “just because” gift.

They can help anyone who receives them cook better, feed children more effectively, and manage the ins and outs of certain medical challenges in the healthiest of ways.

1. Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School, 2nd edition by Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen 

Written by yours truly together with Maryann Jacobsen, the 2nd edition of this book is an update from our cutting edge, popular first edition (2013).

We teach you what to feed kids, how to do it in a positive way, and why kids behave the way they do around food at each stage of childhood. It’s a great resource for any family, covering 6 months (the high chair) through the teenage years (high school).

2. Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter

The Gold Standard reference book for building trust in feeding children and establishing positive feeding, using the Division of Responsibility. It’s a few decades old, but a must-read for all new parents, in my opinion.

3. It’s Not About the Broccoli by Dina Rose

Take the focus off of food and put it on healthy habits. Rose provides a refreshing change from the “fix it with food” mentality, helping you mold healthy habits in your child.

4. How to Teach Nutrition to Kids by Connie Evers

Want to help kids learn about nutrition? Get creative with the way you present and educate about food!

This book is chock full of ideas and methods to effectively teach children about nutrition in an age-appropriate way. Hat tip to author Dani Lebovitz who has a series of books for young children that highlights all the fun facts about food.

5. Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater by Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock

Teach kids from birth through school-age how to become adventurous eaters, even if they are picky!

Written by a pediatrician and feeding therapist, this book gives you the how-to’s of navigating picky eating and raising adventurous eaters.

6. Born to Eat by Leslie Schilling and Wendy Jo Peterson

Want to embark on baby-led weaning and build a healthy relationship for your child with food? This book will get you started on the right foot from the moment your baby eats solid food.

7. How to Raise a Mindful Eater by Maryann Jacobsen

A step-by-step guide written by a registered dietitian nutritionist, which focuses on 8 principles for raising a mindful eater and cultivating a positive relationship with food in children.

8. 101 Healthiest Foods for Kids by Sally Kuzemchak

Want to know which foods are healthiest and why? This book will tell you everything you need to know along with tips to help any eater eat healthier.

9. Adventures in Veggieland by Melanie Potock

Help your child learn to love vegetables with this book which is100% focused on vegetables! You’ll find 101 tips, activities and recipes.

10. The Smart Mom’s Guide to Starting Solids by Jill Castle

Whether you spoon feed your baby or use a baby-led weaning approach, you still need to know about nutrients, preventing food allergies, and positive feeding. This book covers it all. Hat tip to registered dietitian Malina Malkani, and her new book, Safe and Simple Food Allergy Prevention.

11. Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete by Jill Castle

I wrote this book to provide a guidebook for parents and coaches about sports nutrition for kids and young athletes.

It includes everything you need to know about fueling the young athlete from age 8 – 18 years, compiling the latest research available and turning it into practical, livable advice. Learn what to feed and how to grow a performing machine.

12. Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It by Scott Sicherer

Set up in a Q & A format, food allergies expert Sicherer, covers the most common (and some uncommon) questions about food allergies in this informative book.

13. Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion and Feeding Disorders by Katja Rowell and Jenny McGlothlin

Family doctor specializing in childhood feeding, Katja Rowell, joins forces with speech pathologist, Jenny McGlothlin, to support children with food aversion and end meal-time anxiety (for your child and you) once and for all.

14. Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child’s Diet by Cheri Fraker, Mark Fishbein, Sibyl Cox and Laura Walbert

Revealing a new approach to helping picky eaters expand their diets, Fraker and co-authors teach the system they use in their daily practice with picky eaters. Years of experience and success with picky eaters informs their unique approach, helping kids “bridge” what they like to eat to something new. 

15. How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder by Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling

Using the Plate Method and a family-based therapy approach, this book will help you feed your child and recover from an eating disorder.

16. Differently Wired by Debbie Reber

Neuro-diversity is real, especially with the growing rates of ADHD, autism and exceptionalism. Learn what you can do to be the best advocate for your child, from optimal schooling and beyond.

17. Try New Food: How to Help Picky Eaters Taste, Eat & Like New Foods (The Workbook edition) by Jill Castle

Whether you have a new eater, picky eater, or extremely picky eater, there are basic steps to make trying new foods fun, enjoyable, and pressure-free.

18. ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family by Sally Sampson

Simple, healthy, and delicious dishes the whole family can make together. This cookbook is jam-packed with kitchen basics, ingenious tips, and meals that taste great and are fun to make.

19. Best Lunch Box Ever by Katie Sullivan Morford

Katie has filled this cookbook with recipes, ideas, and strategies for packing creative and healthful lunches for kids, solving what is for many parents the most taxing of daily chores. 

20. Rise & Shine by Katie Sullivan Morford

The answer for every parent who has struggled to get breakfast on the table and to get their child to actually eat it! With 75 breakfast recipes that are entry-level-easy, at least half of which require no more than five minutes of hands-on prep time, every delicious recipe is an exercise in good nutrition and good taste. 

21. The Everything Kids Cookbook by Sandra Nissenberg

Nissenberg makes sure to showcase the importance of healthy eating. Each recipe in this cookbook tells your child how hard it is and lets you know exactly what ingredients to buy at the grocery store, and the equipment they will need so that they (and you!) can plan ahead. You’ll both find something you like no matter what! 

22. Baby Led Feeding by Jenna Helwig

A cookbook with over 100 recipes for getting babies off to a healthy start and including them in family meals from an early age.

23. Real Baby Food by Jenna Helwig

A cookbook for parents who want to make real baby food from scratch. You’ll find simple recipes, good food ideas, and common sense.A cookbook for parents who want to make real baby food from scratch. 

24. The Body Image Book for Girls by Charlotte Markey

More than 50% of girls are dissatisfied with their bodies. This book is written for young girls as an essential resource to help them appreciate and care for their bodies.

25. Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys by Charlotte Markey

Body image issues are increasing in boys. Many boys want to be bigger (more muscular) or smaller (thinner) and this is taking a toll on their self-esteem. This book will help your son navigate the tricky issues of growing up in a world that focuses on perfect bodies.

26. Kids Thrive at Every Size: How to Nourish Your Big, Small, or In-Between Child for a Lifetime of Health and Happiness by Jill Castle

My latest book is focused on helping parents cultivate the essential health habits for physical health and emotional wellbeing, at every size.

Resources

Do you have a favorite child nutrition book?  

Check out my favorite nutrition books for children that help them learn about food.

Jill Castle is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

This post was updated in December, 2024