What's for Dinner?

Next week is Thanksgiving, and that’s got me thinking about food! Turns out I’m not the only one thinking about food …and it also turns out that I am omnivorous! Here’s a pair of books that explore animals and their eating habits. 

themes: animals, food chains, nonfiction

This is Not My Lunchbox 

by Jennifer Dupuis; illus. by Carol Schwartz 

32 pages; ages 4-8

Tilbury House Publishers, 2024

The book opens with a child camping in the forest. The tent is up, and he’s searching in his backpack for something.

Time to eat. Here is my red lunch box. What have you packed for me today?

Carpenter ants? Beetles? Spiders? Not MY lunch! But it’s the perfect lunch for a downy woodpecker. In each spread, the boy opens a lunchbox to discover all kinds of things that he Absolutely, Positively Would NOT eat! But the animals in the forest – from mouse to mantid to moose – would, because that’s what they normally eat. Finally, FINALLY!, he opens a lunchbox with yummy people food.

What I like about this book: I love the way this book introduces animals and their diets. I love that each lunchbox is a different color. And I really love that a diversity of animals are invited to the table, from bugs to birds, foxes and frogs. Back matter challenges kids to match pictures of the animals with their eating habits: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore. 

Menus for Meerkats and Other Hungry Animals 

by Ben Hoare; illus by Hui Skipp 

48 pages; ages 6-10

‎Kane Miller, 2024

Every animal has to eat … But what is food, exactly?

The first page introduces readers to the importance of food: animals need to eat to keep their bodies working, to grow, to look after their young. There’s a quick explanation of what herbivores are, and carnivores, and omnivores – and even a brief mention that some animals are Very Fussy eaters! And then an invitation to see what’s on the menu for a ten wild creatures.

What I like about this book: I like how the book is structured, introducing each animal with a menu page. Each menu comes with a note; for meerkats it includes a warning that some of their food fights back. The menu is arranged with Main Course on the left page (insects, grubs, scorpions, spiders) and Sides and Drinks on the right. There’s also a map showing where the animal lives. The spread following the menu tells more about the animal and its place in the food web: what it eats – and what eats them! In addition to meerkats, there are macaws, grizzly bears, white sharks, koalas, dung beetles, orangutans, Indian cobras, blue whales, and lions. A table of contents, glossary, and index help make this a useful reference book. 

Beyond the Books:

What’s your favorite animal? It could be a bird, mammal, insect, amphibian, reptile, or fish. Make a list of all the things it eats. Draw a menu or a lunchbox for that animal and put in its favorite foods.

How does your favorite animal fit into the food web? Do any animals eat it? Make a chart or drawing to show what you learn.

What's in YOUR lunchbox? If you’re like me, you might be thinking about Thanksgiving right now… draw a menu for your feast. Or, draw a lunchbox showing what you usually eat for lunch.

Ask an adult to help you make something that you like to eat. Maybe it’s a cheese and pickle sandwich, or maybe it’s pancakes.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.