Book Snacks - When There Just Isn't Time to Cook

It's Spring Break so I've traded in my oven mitts for my Disneyland shoes. Instead of a new recipe this week I'm posting some favorite books with some themed snacks. Because sometimes there's just not enough time to cook. (But there's almost always time for a book.)

Pair Kelly Bennet's sweet Not Norman: A Goldfish Story with a bowl of goldfish crackers. (NOTE: Pepperidge Farms Goldfish are not gluten-free and I've yet to find a similar gluten-free product. Much to my dismay.) We love this endearing story about a boy who is not quite thrilled with his first pet.

Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too go great with Annie's Bunny Grahams. And they do make a gluten-free version (pictured below--they're the ones in the blue box)! These books hold a special place in our hearts because, well, because we love everything by Mo Willems but mostly because they hit a little too close to home: my four year old's favorite possession is the blue stuffed bunny he received for his first Easter. And we've survived a few Knuffle Bunny-ish scenarios of our own.

  

Have an apple and read Shel Silverstein's classic, The Giving Tree. If you have time follow this up with some of Silverstein's poetry from Where The Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. My kids--especially my six year old--are very interested in poetry right now.

  

As far as I'm concerned, most of Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond's "If You Give a Mouse..." books are just right for book snacks. But I am partial to the original If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the newest book in the series, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. (Fun fact: the copy of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie that I read to my children is my copy from my own childhood and signed by the author.) One might think that my older son, at six, is almost too old to enjoy these books but he enjoys reading them to his brother. 

 




Normally I'm pretty wary of giving my kids snacks that have hues not found in nature but we all love Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers (sour gummi worms). What better book to pair them with than Chris Barton's excellent The Day-Glo Brothers? Get this book--the true story of how two brothers invented Day-Glo colors--for any kid who is interested in science or the way things work.



The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith begs to be served with string cheese. It's up to you whether you serve the traditional mozzarella variety or something...stinkier.

And one final book snack, just because we're in Disneyland. People may debate the literary merit of books featuring licensed characters, but I happen to think the Little Golden Books based on the Disney/Pixar films have absolutely stunning artwork. They are illustrated in a cool, retro style--many of them by Pixar artists. Here's the Finding Nemo title (though I prefer the Wall-E and Toy Story ones). And here's a Nemo marshmallow pop that can be found in many Disneyland (and, I would assume, Walt Disney World) candy shops. These are among my kids' favorite Disneyland treats.

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