Books for Kids on Issue of Hunger

Thank you to Jennifer Fischer on Twitter who clued me in on the September month long campaign, Go Orange, to help fight hunger.

@pragmaticmom Do you have book suggestions that help kids understand the issue of hunger? Thanks! #goorange

Thank you also to Zina, from Let’s Lasso the Moon, for inviting me to join her efforts on this same anti-hunger campaign by inviting me to Moms Fighting Hunger on Facebook. Please feel free to join as well!

When I think about the issue of hunger and wonder how my kids can relate to it, the only thing that comes to mind is when they come home from school, famished because they didn’t like their lunch.

My kids all react to hunger differently. PickyKidPix will have a meltdown and scream about being very, very hungry. My son doesn’t even notice he’s hungry but will, slowly but surely, have a meltdown about something else. Like I don’t pay enough attention to him. My oldest, Grasshopper and Sensei, can feed herself. After that week of cooking camp, she’s now confident with the stove, oven, and blender.

But, truly, they’ve never experienced hunger in a prolonged sense. I tried to have them volunteer at Thanksgiving at homeless shelters but we were rejected because it was not deemed an appropriate venue for children. Many of the homeless guests also suffer from other afflictions like drug addiction.

One way to teach them both compassion, empathy and the issue of hunger is through books. I compiled a list of books to help kids understand the issue of hunger by researching library chat groups. These are the books that come up again and again. In seeing the world from a different perspective:

• How a micro-loan can allow a child in a developing country to attend school
• That a child like themselves can make a difference through something small like gifting their allowance
• What other families around the world possess
• What they can do to help those who are homeless and hungry

I am hoping that reading several of these books will also give them a sense of gratitude. That they recognize how fortunate they are. That they are in a position to help others. That they are capable of changing the world.

p.s. What are your favorite books for teaching your kids about social issues like homelessness, hunger and making a difference?

Teaching Kids About Issue of Hunger Through Picture Books

Please go here to see my post! I’ll be covering these great books and more. Thanks!

p.p.s. I’m excited to contribute to Let’s Lasso the Moon! I met Zina at BlogHer12 while standing in a very long and non-moving line waiting for a unicorn cake to be delivered in time for the evening’s big party. She is a brand ambassador for Melissa and Doug toys, you know, those great old-fashioned wooden-isy toys that might have overtaken a room in the house when your kids were toddlers and preschoolers? We still have some of the stamping kits!

As we stood there talking with her friend, a former work colleague, Tiffany Dahle of Peanut Blossum, I learned many eye-opening things. Tiffany was moving from the Mid-West to the South on her first day back from BlogHer12. And she really didn’t seem to fazed by it. Zina’s brand ambassador position was due to her Pinterest following, Tiffany speculated. How many, I asked, innocently? Guess, she said.

I picked an impossibly high number: “50,000.”

“Higher,” Tiffany said.

“100,000.”

“Higher.”

“200,000?!!”

“More.”

“300,000?!!!!!!”

“Close.”

“350,000.”

But that was last month. This month Zina doubled her Pinterest following. It was like meeting an Urban Legend!! When I asked how she did, she demurred politely, but Tiffany offered up that she is very inclusive in group boards. Unskinny Boppy talks about Zina in her post on How to Go Viral on Pinterest. But to say, “Just add a bunch of contributors” is to sell Zina’s boards short. I studied them. Really studied them. Like, for hours. I noticed:

• Her board descriptions are very thoughtfully written like a mini-post or a perfect book synopsis.
• She invites discussion, so much so, that some people forgot to use their nice words.
• Her boards hit the gestalt of parenting: Parent Water Cooler and Lifetime Love of Learning. Don’t we all need this?!
• As a graphic designer, she has an eye for design and is clearly a perfectionist.
• She pins thoughtfully and carefully, making sure pins have valid links. It’s not a flurry of crazy pinning (like I do) but a more discerning approach.

I’m honored to be included as a guest author on her blog.

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My books:

 Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World

• Junior Library Guild Gold selection
• Massachusetts Book Award Long List
• Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
• Starred review from School Library Journal
• Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
• 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
• Green Earth Book Award Long List
• Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids

 Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me