Fruit, Fun and Feel-Good Learning: Hakuna Fruitata Hits Derbyshire!

This summer, over 5,000 children across Derbyshire will be getting their hands on something fruity, fun, and full of positive vibes — and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of it.

Say hello to Hakuna Fruitata: a vibrant, jam-packed activity book created in collaboration with Derbyshire City Council for their Let’s Talk About Food training and Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.

Designed for children aged 5–11, the resource is more than just colouring pages and quizzes (though there’s plenty of those too!). It’s a playful but powerful toolkit to help children – and the adults who work with them – talk about food in a healthy, confident way. Even better? Every book comes with a plantable pencil, ready to grow something great.

So, what’s inside?

Hakuna Fruitata is bursting with energy, colour, and content rooted in three big ideas:

• Healthy Eating

• Healthy Lifestyles

• Positive Behaviours

From hands-on food prep tips and calming mindfulness prompts to activities about food journeys (seed to feed!) and movement that doesn’t feel like exercise, we’ve made sure every page has purpose.

Highlights include:

• Knife skills & kitchen confidence – how to safely prep fruit & veg using the bridge and claw grip

• Talking about food – encouraging positive food language and challenging diet myths

• Macro magic – making sense of calories and nutrients in a kid-friendly way

• Sustainability & food waste facts – empowering young eco-champions

• Recipe ideas – easy meals kids can help make at home

• Growing pages – linked to food journeys from farm to fork

• Hydration, sleep, NEAT movement & mindfulness – habits that help kids thrive

A pencil that grows with you

Every book comes with a plantable pencil — a little nod to the idea that good things grow when we take care of them (whether it’s our bodies, our brains, or a pot of basil on the windowsill).

Why it matters

Let’s be honest – talking about food, health, and habits with children isn’t always easy. But when the tools are this engaging, those big conversations become a whole lot more doable (and fun!).

By giving HAF providers an easy-to-use, ready-to-go resource, we’re helping take the pressure off delivery while boosting long-term impact.

Hakuna Fruitata is more than a book. It’s a mindset. One that says: food should be joyful. Movement should feel good. And healthy habits are for everyone.

Want something similar for your programme or project? We’d love to help.

Get in touch; hello@thewondercompany.co.uk