Welcome to the Top 44 Stories About Food, a delightful collection of tales perfect for children of all ages and backgrounds! These fun and educational stories are designed to capture the imagination of kids, making bedtime an adventure they can look forward to. You can easily access these stories online to read, and many are available to download as a free PDF. Discover printable stories featuring colorful illustrations that will surely kindle the love for reading among children.

These tales come in a variety of formats, from short and easy stories to longer, classic fairy tales, making them suitable for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary students. While our collection caters to both girls and boys, we’ve ensured that each story will provide valuable moral lessons while keeping their attention with entertaining and engaging plots. You’ll also find read-aloud options and audio stories to make story time more interactive.

Stories About Food are not only interesting and enjoyable, but they also offer a unique learning opportunity for early years (EYFS) and toddlers. With food-themed stories, children are introduced to various cuisines, customs, and cultures, all while learning the importance of healthy eating habits and positive attitudes towards food. As a result, these stories provide a solid foundation for lifelong learning, sparking interest and curiosity, and ensuring that children develop a love for reading that will stay with them throughout their lives.

So, gather your little ones and let their imagination soar as you delve into our collection of Stories About Food. Make night time a magical experience they’ll cherish as they drift off into a peaceful sleep, filled with dreams of grand adventures and lessons learned. Whether this is a new tradition or a continuation of your family’s love for story time, our assemblage of food-inspired tales is sure to create fond memories while inspiring the next generation of avid readers.

Top 44 Stories About Food for kids to read online:

1. Hansel and Gretel: In the story, a poor lumberjack and his wife plan to leave their children Hansel and Gretel in the forest to starve because they cannot afford to feed them. Hansel cleverly drops pebbles and breadcrumbs to create a path so that they can find their way back home the first two times. On their third try, they stumble upon a house made of bread and sugar and meet an old woman who turns out to be a wicked witch. The children outsmart her and escape with precious gems. They return home to live happily ever after with their father.
2. The Land of Cockaigne: The Land of Cockaigne is a land made for slackers and gastronomers, where cobblestone is cheese, houses are gingerbread, and roofs are ginger and egg cookies. Even rivers are made out of lemonade or milk, and there are fountains made of chocolate. The trees have sausages, hams, cookies, and muffins instead of leaves. The best part is that there is no need to sow or reap, as everything grows wild and abundantly. People don’t get old and frail, and if you ever find your way to this land, you will need a big stomach and hunger to eat through a huge wall of marzipan to enter.
3. The Ungrateful Son: In this story, a man hides roasted chicken from his old father who shows up uninvited. As punishment, the chicken turns into a vicious duck that clings onto the ungrateful son’s face, forcing him to feed it daily or be torn apart. Eventually, the son realizes his wrongdoing and confesses his greed, receiving forgiveness from his father and causing the duck to turn back into the roasted chicken. They then eat the meal together, with the son grateful for his father’s forgiveness and the taste of the chicken. An ebook (PDF) download is also available.
4. Uncle Wiggily makes a cherry pie: In this story, Uncle Wiggily, an elderly rabbit, declines an offer from a man to stay and receive a fortune with him, preferring to seek his own fortune. He travels and meets a sick hedgehog who is craving cherry pie but doesn’t know how to bake it. Uncle Wiggily teaches him how to make cherry pie and they enjoy it with a circus dog who joins them. There are links to download the story as a PDF.
5. Clever Gretel: The story follows a cook named Gretel, who is asked to prepare two chickens for dinner. While waiting for the guest to arrive, Gretel drinks and eats the chickens, assuming that the guest is not coming. When the guest arrives, Gretel warns him that her master intends to cut off his ears and he runs away. The master chases after him with a knife, thinking that the guest stole his chickens, but it turns out they were eaten by Gretel.
6. The plate of pancakes: In the story, a little boy named Karl wants to take pancakes to his father at work but has to pass through the Enchanted Wood where goblins and fairies live. His grandmother gives him a magical word to use if anything tries to stop him. The first time he takes the pancakes, he is tempted to eat blackberries and they get cold, causing him to be late. The second time, he chases a rabbit and the pancakes are eaten by goblins. The third time, he chants the magical word and successfully delivers the pancakes. From then on, he uses the same word and is never stopped by anything in the Enchanted Wood again.
7. The Gingerbread Man’s Secret Recipe: In a forest, Ginger the gingerbread man is famous for his delicious and sought-after cookies. The cunning fox, Rupert, wants to steal Ginger’s secret recipe, but ends up being caught by Ginger and his friends. The real recipe is safely hidden away, while the fox runs away embarrassed, vowing never to bother Ginger again. The story ends with Ginger and his friends celebrating their victory with a batch of gingerbread cookies. An eBook download link is provided for offline reading.
8. The great birthday cake mystery: A girl named Madison was excited for her fifth birthday party. During the party, her birthday cake disappeared. Despite searching for it, they couldn’t find the cake until Madison noticed a family of birds in a nearby tree eating the cake. Madison was happy that the birds got to enjoy the cake and didn’t get angry. Later on, the bird family gave Madison a birthday cupcake and other gifts, showing their gratitude for the cake they had eaten. Madison blew out the candles on the cupcake and made a wish.
9. Grandma’s Chicken Soup: In a small town hit by a flu outbreak, a group of grandmothers decided to make chicken soup to help their community heal. However, they faced a problem of not having a chicken, until they asked Farmer Joe, who gladly provided one in exchange for a bowl of the soup. With fresh vegetables and pasta, the grandmothers cooked the soup, and the aroma brought out the town people, who sat together, sipping the soup and chatting with their neighbors. Soon, the town began to recover, and they celebrated Chicken Soup Day every year, remembering the love and compassion that had helped them heal.
10. The Strawberry Shortcake: The story tells of a family making a strawberry shortcake with the help of little Ben who picks the berries, Cousin Pen who caps them, and their mother who bakes it. Father comes home and is surprised to find the delicious dessert on the table, which nobody mentioned before. The story is available to download as an ebook in PDF format.
11. The Fruit Smoothie Party: A group of fruits in a kitchen decide to make a smoothie using a blender, and are delighted by the result. They share their discovery with the children of the house, but the kids’ parents find the drink too sweet. The fruits continue to experiment with different combinations and invite vegetables, nuts and oatmeal to join their party, creating amazing smoothies, which become the family’s favourite breakfast. The fruits make smoothies all the time, surprising the kids with new recipes each morning.
12. The Johnny Cake: In this story, a little girl named Ava is asked by her grandmother to make her a johnny cake. In her attempt to find the necessary ingredients, Ava faces a series of obstacles, from empty barrels to unhelpful farmers. However, with persistence and hard work, Ava finally obtains the meal needed to make the johnny cake for her grandmother. The story teaches the value of perseverance and determination in the face of adversity.
13. Nero at the Bakery: A baker takes his freshly baked bread to the store when a little girl named Sophie asks for a loaf. Just as she’s leaving, a big shaggy dog named Nero walks in with a basket in his mouth. The baker greets him and Nero hands over the money for a loaf of bread he wants. The baker gives him the bread, and Nero walks out with Sophie following behind him. Sophie sees Nero cross the street and enter a house where a lady is watching for him. When she reaches home, she tells her family about the clever dog who bought a loaf of bread.
14. The One Hundredth Princess: This is a story about a king who enjoys hunting animals. The Green Enchantress, who lives in the forest, is unhappy about this and tries to enchant the king. But he cannot be enchanted, and she ultimately decides to give up her witchcraft and work as a kitchen maid in the palace. The king helps her find ingredients to cook with, and eventually, he declares her as the hundredth princess at a palace party. The story ends with the king giving up hunting and everyone in the kingdom being happy with their hearts in the right place.
15. Mr. Fox’s House Party: Mr. Fox moves to the first floor of the forest and discovers a house built in the branches of a large tree. He invites his friends to a house party, but Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Badger can’t climb the tree. Mr. Fox borrows a ladder from Mr. Man, but decides to keep it for his own use after his friends come over. Mr. Fox later discovers Mr. Dog in his house party, who eats all the soup and falls asleep. Mr. Fox jumps out of the window to escape, and Mr. Dog tumbles down the ladder, along with other guests. They all forgive Mr. Fox after discovering Mr. Dog ate all the soup. In the end, Mr. Fox decides that the ground floor is safest and has a new house party without Mr. Dog.
16. Hilda’s Mermaid: A young girl named Hilda lives alone in a cottage by the coast and yearns to meet a mermaid. One stormy night, she discovers a mermaid who has sought refuge in her cottage. The two become friends, and the mermaid tells Hilda about life under the sea, including their home and parties. Hilda hopes to see her new friend again on her boat trips and listens for the sound of whales spouting, which signifies the mermaids’ return home. The story is available for download as a PDF.
17. King Alfred and the Cakes: In this story, King Alfred of England is hiding from his enemies in a forest when he comes across a woman’s cottage. The woman lets him in and asks him to watch her cakes while they bake, promising him supper in return. But the King becomes distracted and the cakes burn, causing the woman to scold him, not knowing that he is the King. When her husband returns and recognizes the King, the woman apologizes and the King forgives her in return for spoiling her supper.
18. The Revenge of the Gnomes: The story describes how the Fairies threw a party and invited the Goblins, but forgot to invite the Gnomes who lived deep underground. The Goblins ruined the beautiful tablecloth, spilled the lemonade, and crumbled the cake at the party. The Queen and her Fairies worked hard to get the Goblins’ brothers out of captivity by the Gnomes. In the end, the Goblins complained about losing their dinner and asked for breakfast, but the Queen and her fairies punished them by using their wands and making little sparks, which pricked the Goblins and left red marks on their faces.
19. Easter fun with family: The story is about a boy named Mick and his family’s annual Easter gathering on his aunt and uncle’s farm. Throughout the weekend, they engage in various Easter-themed activities and games such as egg toss, egg races, egg painting, and Easter brunch. The weekend concludes with an egg hunt, and Mick feels grateful for the memories he has made with his family. A downloadable PDF version of the story is available.
20. Easter brunch at school: The story follows Suzie who is excited about preparing an Easter brunch for her friend Nikki as part of a class activity. With the help of her mother, Suzie carefully selects Nikki’s favorite bread toppings and chocolate eggs from the bakery. She also decorates her Easter basket with grass and toy chickens and presents it to Nikki the following day. During the Easter brunch, the children enjoy their food, listen to their teacher’s stories, sing songs, and play games. Suzie feels grateful for having participated in such a lovely class activity and celebrates a happy Easter with her friends.
21. Asim’s First Ramadan: The story is about a young boy named Asim who is excited to participate in Ramadan for the first time. Ramadan is a special month for Muslims, where they fast from dawn until sunset to reflect, practice self-discipline, and worship. Asim finds fasting challenging at first, but as he adapts, he begins to appreciate the peaceful and reflective atmosphere of Ramadan. As the month ends, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a time of forgiveness, love, and happiness. Asim learns that Ramadan is not just about fasting, but also a time of spiritual growth and self-reflection, and Eid al-Fitr is a time of celebration and community.
22. The festival of breaking the fast: A Muslim family prepares to celebrate Eid al-Fitr by making sweets and decorating their home. They invite their non-Muslim neighbours to join the celebration and exchange warm wishes. The family explains the significance of the festival, sharing their culture with their neighbours who leave with happy hearts, having learned about a festival they had never celebrated before. The Muslim family is happy to have brought their community closer together through their celebration.
23. Sweet Porridge: The story is about a poor girl who receives a magic pot from an old woman in the forest. The pot produces sweet porridge by itself when the magic word is spoken and stops cooking when another magic word is spoken. The girl and her mother use the pot to end their poverty, but the mother overindulges in the porridge and forgets the magic word to stop it from cooking. The porridge spills out of the house and fills the whole town. The girl returns and says the magic word, stopping the pot from cooking. A free eBook (PDF) download of the story is available.
24. Letter A Story: In Alphabet Land, the letter A and its friends B, C, and D have a fun picnic in Letter Park where they eat, play games, and make a promise to have more fun days together. They even play the Animal Alphabet game, where they take turns naming an animal beginning with the first letter of their names, and soon the other letters in Alphabet Land join in too. A thanks their friends for a wonderful day and they all make a special promise to meet up and play more games in Letter Park.
25. Sunflowers and Strawberry Shortcake For Mother’s Day: This is the story of Lottie, a little girl who wants to do something special for her mom on Mother’s Day. She enlists the help of her friends to create a sunflower garden and bake a strawberry shortcake. Her mom is overjoyed with the surprise and they spend the day together in their magical sunflower garden. Mother’s Day becomes a cherished celebration filled with love, laughter, and heartwarming memories.
26. Little Gustava and her animals: In the story, a cheerful girl named Gustava enjoys a spring morning sitting on her porch, feeding bread and milk to her animal friends including a little gray cat, a hen, doves, and a terrier named Rags. Even though she invites a sparrow and a crow to join in, they stay outside. When Gustava’s mother brings more food, they all enjoy a delightful meal together. Gustava loves all creatures, and sharing breakfast with her animal friends brings her immense joy. A PDF ebook of the story is available for download.
27. How the Beans Came Up: The story is about a little girl named Alice who longs to plant a flower seed in her small garden. When she tells “Uncle Peter,” the milkman, about her desire, he gives her Lima beans to plant instead. However, Alice doesn’t know how to properly care for the beans, and they don’t sprout until after she covers them countless times. Eventually, Uncle Peter teaches her how to take care of the beans, and they grow into vines with white blossoms and ripe beans. Alice’s family enjoys the beans for dinner, and the next year, Alice plants more beans successfully. The story teaches children about patience and proper plant care.
28. How the Monkey Got Food When He Was Hungry: A monkey wants to make porridge but has no money for meal. He borrows meal from several animals, promising to pay them back the next day. The next day, he tells them he’s sick and they come to visit, but he’s really pretending. The monkey’s bed breaks when the tiger demands repayment for the meal, and the other animals eat each other in a chain reaction. The tiger is still trying to catch the monkey.
29. How the Monkey Escaped Being Eaten: In this story, a man tries to catch a monkey who always escapes. One day, the monkey is caught and put into a box to be cooked for supper. But, by playing music on his guitar, the monkey tricks the man’s children into letting him out of the box and putting dry sticks and an empty coconut shell into the cooking pot instead of him. The monkey escapes and moves to another part of the country, and the man never tries to catch and eat a monkey again.
30. The Cinco de Mayo Celebration: A Mexican family in California wants to teach their children the importance of Cinco de Mayo, so they magically transport themselves to a Mexican marketplace where they learn about the traditions and history of the holiday. They return home with newfound knowledge and appreciation, starting their own family tradition of celebrating Cinco de Mayo with respect. As the years go by, they share their traditions with their community and spread the holiday’s true meaning of unity, courage, and resilience. The story emphasizes remembering the historical significance of the holiday while still enjoying its celebrations.
31. Calico Pie: The story is about a magical tree that bears delicious Calico Pies, and the creatures that come to feast on it, such as birds, fish, mice, and insects. However, all these creatures never return to the narrator, leaving them to marvel at their beauty and sweet memories, hoping they might return someday. The story comes with a downloadable ebook in PDF format.
32. Uncle Wiggily’s Picnic: A group of animal children and Uncle Wiggily go on a picnic in the woods. While they are playing, it starts to rain and they take shelter. After the rain stops, they eat their lunch and realise they have extra food. Uncle Wiggily suggests that they give the food to some real children who had their picnic ruined by the rain. The animal children climb trees to lower the extra food to the real children’s table, and when the real children see it, they think the fairies left them a “fairy lunch”. Everyone ends up having a jolly time.
33. Uncle Wiggily and the July Bug: Uncle Wiggily and a white cat meet a July bug who offers to send invitations to all their friends for a picnic in the woods. The bug manages to invite many animals to the fun event, and they happily munch on food that Uncle Wiggily and the cat have gathered. The party is interrupted by two bad foxes, but the brave July bug scares them away with his fast flying. Despite the danger, the animals have a lovely time and Uncle Wiggily prepares to continue his travels the next day.
34. The Friendly Playmate: A group of children from Espesett Farm went berry-picking and made a new playfellow, a big friendly brown “pig”, who ate the berries with them and shook a pine tree so they could make play animals from its cones. As they headed home, the “pig” stopped to eat ants, and the children tried to brush them off its back while a milkmaid’s voice made the “pig” hurry off towards the woods. The children told their parents about their new friend, who was revealed to be a clever, good-natured bear, and safe to play with. The children never forgot their friendly brown playmate, as it became a favorite bedtime story for generations.
35. The Candy Pig: The story is about a little girl named Kaisa who received a wonderful candy pig as a gift during Christmas and decided to cherish it for life. However, she eventually succumbs to temptation and eats the ears, then the legs, and eventually the entire candy pig. After suffering from a terrible stomach ache, Kaisa learned the hard way that moderation is key when it comes to sweets.
36. The Gingerbread Rock: In the story, Hans and Lisbeth live with their cruel uncle who gives them very little to eat. One night, they venture into the woods and discover a rock made of gingerbread. They begin to eat it and soon find out it’s a gingerbread house. They meet an old man inside who tells them he lives there and they offer to bake him more gingerbread and repair his house. The old man turns out to be a wizard who reveals to them their uncle’s hidden treasure. The children become wealthy and live happily ever after, never forgetting the kindness they showed the old man and the gingerbread house.
37. The Goblins’ Feast: Two siblings, Florence and Nicholas, meet a goblin who rushes to food-filled trees in a hidden orchard where he lives. The goblin says the trees bear edible treats only once a year. The goblin allows them to join but warns them they have to scavenge for themselves. Florence and Nicholas fill their pockets with cakes, sandwiches, potato chips, and ice-cream cones and soda from the well — everything they eat makes them even hungrier. They notice strange sleeping goblins who snored loudly and ran away. They stop and fall asleep by a rock while the siblings breathe like the sleeping goblins. They barely escape before turning into rocks or trees. They feel hungry again after consuming everything at Goblin’s feast and run home in time for dinner.
38. Mr. Fox and the Stoat Family: In this story, the Four-Footed Club is gathered around a fire and complaining about the lack of food during wintertime. Mr. Fox blames the Stoat family, who have new white coats which make them hard to spot in the snow and may be taking food from the local farms. Mr. Fox comes up with a plan to use spilled black paint to ruin the Stoat’s coats and cause them to leave the area. The plan works, and the Stoats disappear. The story ends with the animals enjoying a delicious bird, thanks to Mr. Fox’s idea. A free ebook download is available.
39. Mr. Bear’s Farewell Party: Mr. Bear decides to throw a farewell party before going into hibernation, inviting all his animal friends. After everyone leaves, Billy Possum and Tim Raccoon stay back to help Mr. Bear clean up and wish him good night before locking him in his cave for the winter. However, Mr. Bear realizes he forgot his nightcap and returns to his house to find Billy and Tim in his bed. Angry, he throws them out of the window and they limp home, regretting their actions.
40. Grandmother Rabbit’s Story: Patty Rabbit is bored with her storybook of only boy rabbits and expresses her desire to read about a girl rabbit to her grandmother Rabbit. Her grandmother Rabbit tells her the story of Susie Rabbit who ate her doll, which ends up being the story that is printed in a book for all to read. Downloads are available for an ebook version of the story.
41. Reynard’s Scheme: Reynard, a fox, gathers all the wood folks and tells them that they must give up stealing food from the farmers near them, and must start living on what they find in the woods. Everyone agrees, and they form the Good Club. However, Reynard cannot resist stealing food from the farms, and little Woody Chuck catches him, but Reynard tricks them into thinking he was bringing the food to throw a surprise party for the Good Club. The animals accept his explanation and continue with the Good Club, which now means good food.
42. The Oat Cake: The story is about an oat cake that doesn’t want to be eaten and goes on a journey to see the world. It rolls into various homes where people try to catch and eat it. Eventually, it falls into a fox’s hole and gets eaten. The oat cake could have avoided all its troubles if it had just been eaten by the farmer in the first place.
43. Robin Redbreast’s Cherry Pie: In the story, Robin Redbreast demands cherry pie from his wife, who explains that it is not yet the season for cherries. Robin accuses her of not wanting to make the effort, and Mrs. Redbreast seeks advice from an older bird who encourages her to make a pie from unripe cherries to teach Robin a lesson. Robin eats the pie and becomes seriously ill, leading to a visit from Doctor Raven. After recovering, Robin apologizes for his behavior, promising to appreciate and not criticize anything his wife cooks.
44. Tricky Red Fox: The story tells of Reddy Fox, who is hungry and has no food. He visits his friends to try and get something to eat but is unsuccessful. He then tricks Mr. Bear into throwing a dinner party to which everyone in the wood is invited. Reddy Fox steals all of Mr. Bear’s food before the party, leaving Mr. Bear with nothing to offer his guests. As a result, Reddy Fox loses all of his friends and spends the summer alone, finally realizing that it does not pay to be tricky with your friends.

In conclusion, the Top 44 Stories About Food not only bring excitement and joy to young readers, but also teach valuable lessons about the importance of healthy eating, sharing, and appreciating the food we have. These imaginative tales highlight the adventures of delightful characters from various cultures, promoting an understanding and love for diverse cuisines. As each story unfolds, children learn about the magical world of food and its significance in our daily lives. Encouraging kids to explore the exciting tastes and flavors from around the world, the Top 44 Stories About Food inspire young minds to appreciate the connection between food, family, and tradition. So grab a healthy snack, and let the adventure begin!