Crunchy carrots or Ding-Dongs? We all know what the healthy choice is, but do our kids?

As health career coordinator of the Southwest Missouri Area Health Education Center, Bobbi Bellamy’s mission is to teach young children healthy eating and exercising habits by providing their parents and caregivers with the information they need to make this happen.

“We want to urge parents to be good role models because children are influenced by what they do,” said Bellamy, who thinks the public library is a great place to get the word out. “Everyone goes there.”

This month, she and local pre-med students will lead a half dozen sessions of “5-A-Day Puppet Play” for kindergarteners and first- and second-graders at six branches of the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

“We have hand-held puppets made from colored bags. Reba Raspberry and her friends will teach kids how to eat healthy by putting colors on their plates while the Fit Kidz puppets teach them the importance of physical activity,” explained Bellamy.

She says a trip to the supermarket is a wonderful opportunity to talk with children about how fruits and vegetables will keep them healthy and strong. “Include them in the shopping and have them choose a fruit or vegetable from each of the color groups.”

She also encourages parents to include their children in age-appropriate meal preparation, and make it fun: “It only takes a few minutes, a few raisins and banana slices to turn an open-faced peanut butter sandwich into a piece of kid-pleasing art.”

And, guess where you can find the latest kids’ cookbooks? Check the library shelves or computer catalog for these new titles: “Kids’ Kitchen” by Amanda Grant; “Cooking Rocks!” by Rachael Ray; “Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Family!” by Emeril Lagasse; “Mom and Me Cookbook” by Annabel Karmel; “Semi-homemade Cool Kids’ Cooking” by Sandra Lee; “The Nancy Drew Cookbook: Clues to Good Cooking” by Carolyn Keene.

5-A-DAY PUPPET PLAYS

• Thursday, January 17, 3:30 p.m., Fair Grove Branch

• Friday, January 18, 4:30 p.m., Library Station

• Tuesday, January 22, 4:30 p.m., Republic Branch

• Wednesday, January 23, 3:30 p.m., Midtown Carnegie Branch

• Saturday, January 26, 10 a.m., Brentwood Branch

• Thursday, January 31, 4 p.m., Willard Branch

Jeanne C. Duffey, the community relations director for the Springfield-Greene County Library District, can be reached at jeanned@thelibrary.org.