My newest picture book is out, celebrating food as immigrants. In celebration, I made a list of other multicultural picture books about food that has traveled.
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I am also giving away three signed copies of The Traveling Taco. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom!
6 Picture Books Featuring Food as Immigrants
The Traveling Taco: by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong
Did you know that some of your favorite foods have traveled great distances? Take the taco, for example. Most people think the taco comes from Mexico, but the Al Pastor taco traveled from Lebanon to Puebla in Mexico. Fish and Chips might seem quintessentially English, but it actually comes from Portugeuse Jews who were escaping the Portuguese Inquisition. Instead of using the more common lard, which wasn’t kosher, they fried their fish in more expensive oil. Learn more fascinating “food as immigrants” stories, including ice cream, pasta, and French fries! [picture book, ages 5 and up]
Dumpling Day by Meera Sriram, illustrated by Inés de Antuñano
Ten families share dumplings from their culture at a neighborhood potluck party! This multicultural dumpling party also teaches counting from one to ten. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
The Have a Good Day Café by Frances Park and Ginger Park, illustrated by Katherine Potter
Mike and his family have a food cart business where they sell American food such as hot dogs and pizza. When other carts set up shop nearby, their business suffers. They decide to try a different approach and make food from their native Korea. Their [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Bread Bread Bread by Ann Morris, photographs by Ken Keyman
Learn about different types of bread, including flatbreads, pizza, pretzels, and more. Photographs give a glimpse into cultures around the world . [picture book, ages 2 and up]
Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley, illustrated by Peter J. Thornton
Rice is another beloved universal favorite at the dinner table. Carrie’s little brother Anthony samples different dinners at their neighbors’ homes where he tries rice dishes from all over the world. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Food Trucks by Mark Todd
Eat around the world from these food trucks as they rumble around the city! Readers will meet food trucks selling BBQ, falafel, sushi, tacos, curry, and more in this rhyming picture book celebrating diverse food. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
3 Signed Book Giveaway of The Traveling Taco
I am also giving away three signed copies of The Traveling Taco. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. I can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.
Mia Wenjen is half Japanese and half Chinese American and married to a Korean American. This unusual ethnic combination made her seek out all kinds of Asian representation in children’s books for her three kids. She started a blog, PragmaticMom.com, to share her favorite books, and a nonprofit, Read Your World, to celebrate and give away diverse children’s books.
Her debut picture book, Sumo Joe (Lee and Low, 2019), was selected as a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year. She wrote Asian Pacific American Heroes for Scholastic (2020) and Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes as a Kickstarter pandemic project, which was eventually sold to Scholastic. Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World (Barefoot Books) received a starred review from School Library Journal, is a Junior Library Guild Gold selection, and made Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best list, among other honors.
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court (Red Comet Press) and Boxer Baby (Eifrig Publishing), released in 2024. We Sing From the Heart is a Junior Library Guild Gold selection. The Traveling Taco, Barbed Wire Between Us, Fortune Cookies for Everyone, and Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist (Red Comet Press) release in 2025 and 2026. Follow her @pragmaticmom on social media.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Latest posts by Mia Wenjen (see all)
- Top 10: Diwali Books for Kids - October 13, 2025
- Multicultural Picture Books about Food that Has Traveled - May 6, 2025
- We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants Reclaimed Power - December 2, 2024
I love this list! We do a grocery and restaurant theme in my classroom at different points of the year and one of my favorite food series that I’ve come across for my preschoolers is from Chunky Deli, they have mini books about pasta, cheese, spices, and cookies. These books provide a great intro to different types of foods that my students haven’t experienced and I like that the books are hardcover as they last longer in a 3-5 mixed-age classroom.