Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books and song/video in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This year I have been sharing some summer themes to explore with your kids and keep them off screens, get outside and family time! One of my favorite topics for summer themes or even any time of the year theme. It is food! With food you can talk about growing it, cooking it, different cultures, and where it comes from. Last month I shared a review of my favorite book of 2025 thus far, The Traveling Taco by Mia Wenjen. I'm not the only one who loves this book!! In fact Mia actually asked Daria to write a song to go with the book! Daria shared her fun song, "The Traveling Taco Song," with me and asked if I would share it with you!! Check out her new video that goes with it too! You can stream the song here.

How fun is this song? I love that it shares a few of the foods from the book. I can see kids loving to hear this song and really learning a bit about where some favorite foods come from and then of course there is the book. Be sure to check out the book!! Like I said it is one of my favorite new books of the year!

Grow It:

The first thing to do with food is to grow it yourself! Get your family outside and save some money this summer!! Grow your favorite vegetables, spices, herbs, fruits, etc. To get you started I have a fun book all about organic gardening. It is The Manga Guide to Organic Vegetable Gardening by Hideki Yoda.

About the Book:

Make the most of your organic garden—with this playful yet wonderfully detailed guide!

Manga artist and passionate home gardener Hideki Yoda illustrates the joy and simplicity of raising vegetables in your own small home garden. He covers everything from creating the rows and preparing the soils to building the trellises and keeping the pests and weeds away without the use of any chemicals.

Hundreds of detailed step-by-step color photos and drawings throughout the book explain the techniques and guide you through each step. This book is loaded with great advice on:

What to grow, when to plant it, and how to get started
What seedlings to purchase and how to make good compost
Homemade organic fertilizers and chemical-free ways to keep pests and diseases at bay
Companion planting and natural weed control techniques
How to use your limited garden spaces more efficiently
And so much more!

Yoda's lighthearted illustrations and cartoon "assistants" keep it all fun. They show you how to grow beautiful potatoes, peppers, taro, tomatoes, melons, edamame, turmeric and dozens of other vegetables, fruits and herbs—over 50 varieties in total.

The perfect book for beginners who like a playful, illustrated approach to information!

From Me:

Manga is a fun way to present the material on gardening. This book is very complete. It talks about everything from preparing the soil to harvesting your vegetables. It goes through different vegetables to grow in the various seasons. Kids will be interested in this book because of the manga. The pages are created with illustrations and photographs. They are easy to read and follow and it presents the information clearly.

I love how it gives information for the novice gardener. It does not assume you know something about plants which also makes it great for kids! For each vegetable it shares a photo, information about it and where it grows and when to plant depending on your region. It shows you how to prepare the soil and plant the seed. It also gives advice on purchasing seeds, varieties and more. There is a section about companion plants as well. The book truly covers everything you need for growing your own vegetables!

Cook It:

Once you grow your food you need to cook it! I love exploring food from around the world. I always liked to teach Hazel about different cultures and countries with books, videos, music, food, and crafts! Of course, you can also take your kids out for food if you don't want to cook, if you can find the various cultural restaurants in your area. Today we are sharing a fun cookbook for one of our favorite foods--noodles. It is The 5-Minute Japanese Noodle Cookbook by Etsuko Ichise.

About the Book:

Calling all noodle lovers! Learn to prepare a delicious and satisfying bowl of noodles in less time than it takes to order takeout!

Etsuko Ichise is a woman on a mission—her motto is: "Delicious and easy-to-prepare homestyle cooking!" She shows you how to make simple, homestyle noodles that are incredibly flavorful and healthy yet take only minutes to prepare. Her recipes are light, tasty and healthy thanks to the use of fresh seasonal ingredients purchased at your local supermarket.

And, you will never have to make the same noodles twice! Her mix-and-match ingredients and toppings use chicken, beef, pork, bacon, tofu, eggs and vegetables—whatever you have in the fridge. Each recipe has multiple variations and extra toppings for flavor and complexity—green onions, grated cheese, corn kernels, roasted peanuts, shredded nori, grated ginger, toasted sesame, bean sprouts or chili oil…to name just a few!

Discover an entire universe of noodle flavors:

Noodles in a Soy-Based Broth — Like Hot and Sour Noodle Soup with Pork and Mushrooms or Pork, Kimchi and Soy Milk Udon
Noodles with a Dipping Sauce — Like Ramen with Crab Sticks and Lemon Dipping Sauce or Mixed Soba with Tuna, Wakame and Ginger
Noodles in a Miso Flavored Soup — Like Sesame Miso Somen Champuruu with Spinach or Simmered Miso Udon with Pork Belly and Leek
Stir-fried Noodles — Like Yakisoba Stir-fried with Shirasu, Tomato and Egg or Stir-fried Soba with Sausage and Buttered Corn
Cold Noodles & Noodle Salads — Like Salad-style Hiyashi Chuka with Bacon and Lettuce or Somen with Thinly Sliced Pork, Umeboshi and Cucumber
And many more!

Creamy, slurpy, saucy—as good noodles should be—or dipped into an umami-rich broth. Piping hot, or chilled and finished with delightful fresh toppings. With this much variety, your every noodle craving will be fulfilled!

From Me:

I have been exploring different ramen and noodle recipes to make for my family because they love noodles. I see them as a way to get the protein and vegetables in them with the noodles. This book provides some quick and easy recipes to make with various types of noodles. The recipes are mostly Japanese but do explore some other types of food. The other night I made the Lemony Noodles with Chicken and Lettuce (the chicken was a substitute for pork). Steve who doesn't usually like anything too lemony, said he liked this better than my other ramens. I also substituted green onions for red onions since I don't like raw red onions.

This dish is served cool and is perfect for the summer. I have many more recipes bookmarked to try. The recipe was easy to follow. Most of the ingredients are easy to find at the grocery store. The recipes are simple, and the flavor is good. I am excited for this book!

I love how there are substitute ingredient suggestions in case you have trouble finding an ingredient or don't like one. Each recipe has a photo of the main ingredients like the one above. The steps are easy to follow, and all of the recipes are quick and made with fresh ingredients. It is a wonderful way to add some cultural meals onto your family table!

Resources Roundup:

To go with this fun summer theme, I have many resources!! In the past I have done various series with other bloggers including Around the World in 12 Dishes, Global Learning for Kids and our solo one of Tea Parties Around the World. There are various sources, recipes, crafts and more in each of the posts in these series. These will help you and your kids to explore various cultures and countries at home. I have had many posts and product reviews in the categories shared in this post! And of course check out The Traveling Taco!!