I can’t believe we’re getting ready to go back to school already! Just this morning, I was thinking about classroom schedules and supply orders and books. Of course, books. I was reminded earlier this week of one of my favorite picture books, Pie is for Sharing. Whether it’s pie, a picnic, a tree, or friends, Stephanie Ledyard and Jason Chin gently hold our hands as we walk through the ups and downs of sharing with each other. I love starting the year with this book to help me guide the little hearts of my students towards loving their neighbor and toward learning my classroom expectations. As I was thinking about this book, my mind, naturally, wandered to food.
The Gospel is all about food. “I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells us. His first miracle was turning water into wine. He was constantly feeding his disciples and those who were following him. His parables involved food. The sacrament of communion is centered around a meal. Even the Old Testament points us all the way back to the garden, where humanity’s downfall was through the medium of food.
There is a lot of emotion tied to food. When we’re sad, there are certain foods that comfort us. When we celebrate, many times a great meal is involved. There are particular meals that I will remember for the rest of my life! And not just for the times of delight or sorrow, food is, of course, needed to just survive day to day. Much of history is made on the hunt for food.
What does this have to do with the beginning of school? There is a lot of anxiety around moments of food, especially at school. Who will you sit with? Will you like what is packed in your lunchbox? Will other people have an opinion about your meal? And if you’re at home, making lunch adds to the list of other tasks piling up.
How do we ease some of this anxiety for our kiddos? By opening the door to conversations about food and enriching the imaginations of our children. As we prepare to go back to school, I encourage you to open the door by reading books about foods your child might not be accustomed to. Talk about language and what kind, uplifting words sound like. Instead of saying “Ew! I don’t like that,” encourage phrases like “I don’t care for that, but thank you for offering” or “I may not care for it, but thank you for showing me or sharing with me” are good places to start. Try a new food at home. Talk about Jesus sharing food with us and how that can model how we share kindness and openness to others.
The books below are a diving board into those kinds of conversations. They are a mix of at school and at home books, books about meals from around the world, books about big feelings around school and food.
Many blessings as you prepare for the school year! If you are looking for Start of School books, you can find my list here.
We encourage you to order books through our friends at Hearts & Minds, Nooks, Landmark, Eighth Day, or your favorite local independent bookstores.
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This post was written by Carey Bustard, one of the co-editors of Wild Things and Castles in the Sky.
Pie is for Sharing • Bread and Jam for Francis • Yoko • Fry Bread • Thank You, Omu • Cora Cooks Pancit • Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao • Tomatoes for Neela • The Whole World Inside Nan’s Soup • Ohana Means Family • Thunder Cake • I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato • Escargot • Felix Eats Up • Watercress