6 Sweet Books Celebrating the Magic of Ice Cream

Should I Share My Ice Cream?, by Mo Willems
This is a raging debate in our home, capable of sending certain members of my family into a dramatic, daylong tizzy. Should one share one’s ice cream? Regardless of your personal stance on this very essential issue, one you probably should discuss before embarking on any lifelong partnership, watching Elephant Gerald struggle through his own conflicting feelings is purely enjoyable.

Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star, by Kevin Henkes
Without a doubt, Wemberly knows where she stands in the great ice cream sharing debate. As the proud recipient of an ice cream star treat, she instantly worries that her stuffed friend Petal doesn’t have any, and sets out to remedy the situation. Wait along with Wemberly as she patiently dangles the ice cream star over two bowls so no one has to go without.

From Milk to Ice Cream, by Stacy Taus Bolstad
Field trip time! In this book we’re taking a trip through an ice cream factory where we can view each stage of ice cream production, from milking cows to enjoying the sweet stuff with friends. Full color photographs of each stage fill pages opposite straightforward text explaining the process of how ice cream is produced in an industrial setting. Concepts like pasteurization are simplified and explained in uncomplicated words, making this book ideal for young children who are curious about how ice cream is made.

I Scream! Ice Cream!: A Book of Wordles, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Serge Bloch
Wordles are “groups of words that mean different things but sound exactly the same” begins this fun exercise in word-play. Each spread introduces a phrase (“Princess Capes”) and a clever illustration that often spills over onto the next (“Prince Escapes!”), encouraging readers to guess what the next situation is going to be. While not staying firmly frozen on the subject of ice cream, this book of “Wordles” will entertain any budding punster or linguistic enthusiast.

Ice Cream: The Full Scoop, by Gail Gibbons
In 32 pages, Gail Gibbons manages to convey an awful lot of information about ice cream! Starting with its likely invention 3000 years ago (made by combining milk, snow, and rice) and illustrating how ice cream has been made by individuals since that time up until the mass production of today, Ice Cream: The Full Scoop is a quick, comprehensive history. Along the way, Gibbons shows a detailed view of how an ice cream maker works, discusses which cows give creamier milk, and describes all the different ingredients that make up ice cream and how they get to the factory. Factory production is discussed in clean prose, with simple, colorful illustrations keeping readers hooked. Unless you’re already employed making this stuff, you are going to learn something about ice cream from this book.

Ice Cream Summer, by Peter Sis
I get it, Mr. Sis: you want me to eat more ice cream. The subtle message adorning every page is simply: ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream. The narrator of the book, a little boy named Joe, responds to his grandfather’s letter with what he must imagine Grandpa wants to hear when asked about his learning over the summer: He reads every day, he practices math, he’s even learning cartography at camp! Of course it’s all about ice cream, as it should be. Joe sees ice cream in everything, and sweetly, his grandfather does too.