fruits and veggies block party animation for kids • healthyfeels

With spring-time here and summer approaching, we’re looking forward to warmer weather and an abundance of seasonal produce with bright colors and crunchy textures.

The kids in this animation pick healthy fruits, vegetables, and legumes like watermelon radish, white beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, lemon, and shallot to create a beautiful asparagus ribbon salad to eat.

Watch this video and look for hidden fruits and vegetables in the lovely illustrations by Megan Pendergrass for a great way to interact with each other and bond!

It's like an interactive Where's Waldo that introduces new spring and summer produce, making them fun to eat and cook with.

colorful illustration of spring vegetables (asparagus, sugar snap peas, watermelon radish, shallots, lemon) and white beans in a circular formation as if dancing with kids celebrating ingredients for a salad.

tips for engaging with your kids when watching videos together

Try playing a "find that fruit or veggie" game with your kids when watching this animation as a family
Ask, "what color is that fruit or veggie?"
Talk about your favorite ways to eat the different ingredients
Ask them what sound they think the fruit or veggie will make when you eat them

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES INTRODUCED IN THIS ANIMATION

watermelon radish
white beans
sugar snap peas
lemon
asparagus
shallots

lyrics for this fruits and veggies block party animation for kids

Summer time in the city
Playing with our friends
Warm and sunny, hungry tummy
Let’s have a snack!

Summer time in the city
Playing with our friends
Warm and sunny, hungry tummy
Hope this never ends!

Don’t be shy, just reach out to a friend
They may like to try, a veggie or a fruit with you~

Summer time in the city
Playing with our friends
Warm and sunny, hungry tummy
Let’s have a snack!

Summer time in the city
Playing with our friends
Warm and sunny, hungry tummy
Hope this never ends~

Watermelon radish!
White beans!
Sugar snap peas!
Lemon!
Asparagus! and
Shallots!

All these fruits and veggies
All around to see
Play and eating healthy
Gives us energy!
Hey c’mon and celebrate with me!

cooking with kids

This asparagus ribbon spring salad is the perfect dish to make as a family after celebrating the ingredients in this video.

Asparagus ribbon salad with sliced sugar snap peas, sliced pink watermelon radish, cooked white beans, and grated white cheddar cheese on a large, round, white plate over a blue surface. Tie-dye yellow, pink, and white dotted napkin with forks shown in the upper right.

Kids are more likely to try foods that they help create, so here are some fun cooking steps that they can get involved with.

COOKING WITH KIDS - what can the kids help with?

help wash fresh produce
place asparagus ribbons in ice water and watch them curl
taste asparagus ribbons and sugar snap peas for crunch
juicing lemon
mix salad dressing base ingredients
whisk salad dressing while a parent holds the bowl and adds olive oil
help with assembly and plating

behind the scenes

Curious about how these animations are created? We start by picking which fruits and vegetables we want to feature and then write a script for the video.

For this animation, we worked with the talented musician, Justin Matley, who created an upbeat song based on the story we wanted to tell.

Here's a gallery of storyboards we used as a starting point before the background and characters were animated.

storyboard illustrations

video credits

story by: cindy chou
design and illustrations by: megan pendergrass
animations by: harry tanielyan and greg chen
music and vocals by: justin matley

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you and your kids enjoyed the most in the animation. We would love to hear from you and create animated stories that you love!