A Smorgasbord of Picture Books About School Lunches


This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s currently a freelance writer and editor, and in addition to Book Riot, her pieces have appeared in School Library Journal, BuzzFeed News, The Lily, Parents, StarTrek.com, and more. She particularly loves children’s books, fantasy, science fiction, horror, graphic novels, and any books with disabled characters. You can read more about her bookish and parenting shenanigans in Book Riot’s twice-weekly The Kids Are All Right newsletter. You can also follow her kidlit bookstagram account @BabyLibrarians, or on Twitter @AReaderlyMom.

Happy Tuesday, kidlit friends! Today is my daughter’s first day of first grade, and I will likely be crying off and on all day. On Sunday, I reviewed back-to-school children’s books. Today, I’m focusing specifically on school lunches. But first, here are two great new releases!

New Releases

Cover of The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers, illustrated by Sam WinstonCover of The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers, illustrated by Sam Winston

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers, illustrated by Sam Winston

It will probably come as no surprise to Oliver Jeffers readers that his latest picture book is ambitious, imaginative, and incredibly detailed. It’s about a dictionary who longs to tell a story like the other books on the shelf. So she decides to use some of her words for a story, but the words get a little out of hand and cause much chaos. Beyond the main story, the background illustrations of her pages show funny word definitions. There’s so much detail. It’s a longer-than-average picture book, and possibly my favorite by Jeffers so far. It’s sure to get lots of laughs.

Cover of Who's in Charge? by Stephanie Allain & Jenny Klion, illustrated by Marissa ValdezCover of Who's in Charge? by Stephanie Allain & Jenny Klion, illustrated by Marissa Valdez

Who’s in Charge? by Stephanie Allain & Jenny Klion, illustrated by Marissa Valdez

This is a vibrantly illustrated and joyous picture book about consent, boundaries, and bodily autonomy. It follows a simple but catchy pattern: “Who’s in charge of your [body part]?” “I am!” Each phrase is accompanied by kids playfully using that body part, like blowing bubbles for “lips” and snorkeling for “thighs.” It’s the kind of picture book toddlers and preschoolers will want to read on repeat. It’s a perfect picture book to introduce consent and boundaries to those age groups.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Picture Books About School Lunches

When I was in school, I felt like only rich kids brought school lunches. Most of us at my elementary school had free or reduced lunches. I’ve since learned that it’s often the opposite at other schools; it can be cheaper to bring your own lunch! My daughter’s school also has free lunches, but I know that’s not often the case.

There are also cultural factors to bringing your own lunch to school, as many of these picture books show. Bringing lunch to school can be a taste of home and a taste of a child’s culture.

Cover of Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry MoCover of Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo

Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo

This is such a heartwarming picture book about immigration. Jun has moved from Hong Kong to America and only knows a few English words. She writes the words on her palm so she won’t forget, but at school, she keeps saying the wrong things, and she feels overwhelmed by all the unfamiliar sounds. That is, until lunch. When she opens up her lunchbox, she’s surrounded by home and all her favorite foods. This is one of my favorite picture books released this year.

Cover of This is Not My Lunchbox by Jennifer Dupuis, illustrated by Carol SchwartzCover of This is Not My Lunchbox by Jennifer Dupuis, illustrated by Carol Schwartz

This is Not My Lunchbox! by Jennifer Dupuis, illustrated by Carol Schwartz

While the other picture books are about school lunches, this one is a different kind of book. A child is on a camping trip and it’s time for lunch. Every time he opens his lunchbox, inside is a critter’s lunch, not his. This is a fun picture book exploring the diets of different forest animals.

Cover of What's That? by Karen Chan, illustrated by Basia TranCover of What's That? by Karen Chan, illustrated by Basia Tran

What’s That? by Karen Chan, illustrated by Basia Tran

On Jax’s first day of school, his grandmother packs him all his favorite Chinese dishes for lunch. However, at lunchtime Jax notices everyone else is eating sandwiches. He sits by himself, too embarrassed to eat. Then Meena sits beside him and shares her food, and the two strike up a conversation and a friendship over their shared delight in food.

Cover of Lunch from Home by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Jing LiCover of Lunch from Home by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Jing Li

Lunch from Home by Joshua David Stein, illustrated by Jing Li

This picture book has a similar premise but is broader in its approach by centering four children with different cultural backgrounds. Preeti brings dhokla cake, Mina brings gimbap, Niki brings a bagel with lox, and Ray brings a tortilla. As they sit down to eat their culturally diverse lunches, sandwich-eating students make fun of them, and the next day, the students bring sandwiches instead. However, do they really want to eat the same thing every day?

Bookish Good

Bookish Lunchbox by TheEclecticDomesticBookish Lunchbox by TheEclecticDomestic

Bookish Lunchbox by TheEclecticDomestic

What a perfect school lunchbox! $27+

Did you read this on bookriot.com? Get The Kids Are All Right newsletter delivered to your inbox by signing up here.


Cats reading books, the kids are all rightCats reading books, the kids are all right

My daughter’s stuffed cats went to the ‘library’ (our bookshelves) and checked out some cat books for home. What’s not shown in this picture are the dozens of other cat stuffed animals with books on the floor, making for perilous walking.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, X @AReaderlyMom, Bluesky @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.

All the best,
Margaret Kingsbury





Source link

About The Author

Scroll to Top