Books That Cook
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-- School Library Journal, 11/20/2007 9:11:00 AM
It’s never too soon to learn how to prepare tasty and nutritious food, and once kids get a taste for cooking, it can become a lifelong skill and source of enjoyment. The books included here cover a range of tastes and cooking abilities. For kids who have to see to believe, turn them on to Spatulatta, a very cool Web site that features all kinds of cooking information for kids, along with short video clips demonstrating a variety of kitchen tasks, from how to chop an onion to making “Mermaid Jell-o.”
ABRAMS, Pam. Gadgetology: Kid-Friendly Recipes, Playtime Activities, and Simple Experiments Using 35 Fun Kitchen Gadgets. photos by Melissa Punch. Harvard Common Press. 2007. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-55832-346-9.
Gr 1-5–This terrific book introduces 35 kitchen gadgets to aspiring cooks and crafty types with photographs, recipes, and project ideas that are fun and easy. A corer, for example, is paired with a recipe for cheese and cucumber circle snacks and an edible “log cabin” made of apple logs, peanut butter, and raisins. And did you ever think of using a salad spinner to create “spin art” on coffee filters? Great for home or classroom use; includes an index.
BRENNAN, Georgeanne. Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook. photos by Frankie Frankeny. Random. 2006. spiral $16.95. ISBN 978-0-679-88440-8.
Gr 2-6–Wondering how to make Pink Yink Ink Drink, or Schlottz’s Knots? All the secret recipes for favorite fare in Seuss’s titles are featured in this salute to the food of the “Seussian oeuvre.” Although kids will need the help of adults for many of the recipes, the fun is in how Brennan makes Nice Lime Ice (hold the mice!) an easy, eye-pleasing, and tasty treat. Seuss illustrations are a nice added bonus.
KATZEN, Mollie. Salad People and More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up. Tricyle. 2005. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-58246-141-0.
PreS-Gr 3–Real food for real kids, real easy! Clearly illustrated with simple step-by-step line drawings, these recipes are friendly to young developing palates. Classics like tacos and egg salad are included with more exotic fare such as mango-honey lassi and foccacia. As kids’ skills advance, point them to Katzen’s Pretend Soup and Honest Pretzels (both Tricycle, 2004).
SANGER, Amy Wilson. Let’s Nosh! Tricycle. 2004. BD $6.95. ISBN 978-1-58246-081-9.
PreS-Gr 2–Sanger’s rhyming text walks readers through 18 staples of Jewish cookery, from kugel to challah, and the collage illustrations will make you look twice. Other titles in the “World Snacks” series include similar introductions to soul food, dim sum, Mexican cuisine, sushi, and Italian cookery.
WAGNER, Lisa. Cool Pizza to Make & Bake: Easy Recipes for Kids to Cook. ABDO/Checkerboard Library. 2006. PLB $22.78. ISBN 978-1-59928-725-6.
Gr 2-5–Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions take readers from dough to sauce to toppings to completed pizza. An overview of necessary cooking tools is included, as is an index and glossary. This is just one of many terrific titles in the “Cool Cooking” series, which touches on a variety of cooking methods and cuisines.
YOLEN, Jane, retel. & Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters. illus. by Philippe Béha. Crocodile. 2006. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-56656-643-8.
K-Gr 5–It’s hard to say which is the best part of this book–Yolen’s retellings of folktales, her daughter Stemple’s delicious recipes, or Béha’s richly colored and humorous illustrations. Background on each fairy tale is provided in the margins, and while every recipe may not be “kid easy,” all of the stories are relatively brief and will work well for read-alouds. This is a great bargain, too–20 tales and almost 30 recipes spread across 200 glossy pages.
Remarkable Reads are produced by the editors of NoveList, NoveList K-8, and Book Index with Reviews (
