What children will or won't eat is a near-constant conversation. One may only eat foods that are beige while another might snake all the lobster off their caretaker's plate. And then there are allergies, dietary restrictions, and the ever-present concern about making sure kids are eating balanced diets. Meals can be a battle, a refresher, the most grueling time of day, a favorite moment of stillness. Here we have a collection of titles for young readers that approach the making and eating of food from different angles.
Budding chefs and burgeoning scientists should find hours of entertainment in The Ultimate Science Cookbook for Kids: A Cookbook for Young Scientists that Transforms the Kitchen into a Food Lab for Learning by Highlights (Highlights Press, ages 7-10). Offering varying levels of cooking difficulty, this collection pairs recipes with experiments from science specialties including engineering, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and more. While some of the experiments lack specifics--the floating egg experiment does not indicate how much salt to use, and the corresponding deviled eggs recipe advises using "a tiny bit of the filling items"--this may offer opportunities for additional experimentation.
Some recipes, labeled "Quick and Easy," such as the Solar Eclipse Crackers, require less cooking while still offering fun scientific insights. Chefs and scientists with more time--and experience in the kitchen--may enjoy options like the Jumbo Doughnut Cake with its explanation of "the science of cake baking" or the Edible Eruption that simulates a volcanic eruption. Regardless of one's skill level, The Ultimate Science Cookbook includes entertaining, hands-on opportunities to experiment with a wide range of science phenomena. --Jen Forbus, freelancer
Kids Baking Championship star Michael Platt simultaneously uses his culinary skills to teach kids how to cook and showcases African American icons in Cooking Up Change: Grandma's Recipes from a Year in Black History (Magic Cat, ages 8-12). Like his previous cookbook for young readers, Recipes for Change, Platt's soulful recipes are paired with double-page digital illustrations by Alleanna Harris. This combination of full-page, fully saturated illustrations and sidebar recipes gives life to the historical narratives Platt summarizes. The book is divided into months: 12 moments in history and 12 recipes, each attributed to Platt's Grandma Sarah.
The included dishes are a mix of sweet and savory items with deep roots in Black American food culture, such as Molasses Cookies and Green Gumbo. The cultural significance is magnified by Platt's storytelling, connecting famous figures like Jackie Robinson and Mary McLeod Bethune to the recipes while also highlighting how those meals and desserts remain an integral component to his family's annual celebrations. --Rachel Werner, author and teaching artist
Noms from Mom author and blogger Nancy Jeng and artist Felicia Liang, both Taiwanese American, present the seventh delicious volume in Gloo Books' A Very Asian Guide series, A Very Asian Guide to Taiwanese Food (ages 4-10). Their tasty collaboration follows the same format as its successful predecessors, answering "What is Taiwanese Food?" with phrases (that, of course, begin with "very") describing typical Taiwanese dishes. Scallion pancakes are "very flaky"; tea eggs "very convenient"; beef noodle soup "very flavorful." Particularly memorable is boba tea, "very QQ," which is "a modern twist on a Taiwanese Hokkien phrase, khiū, which describes food that is soft and bouncy when chewed." Fun facts are many: vegetables are so integral to Taiwanese meals that the word for dish is the same for vegetable; the first tea pour is to rinse the leaves and to warm the cups, with the second pour meant to be enjoyed. Jeng includes three tempting (non-intimidating!) recipes at book's end. Liang's irresistible spreads, saturated with eye-popping colors and tantalizing bites, undeniably deliver scrumptious fare. --Terry Hong
Learning to cook with confidence is the emphasis of Delish: The How-To Cookbook for Young Foodies (Hearst Home Kids, ages 8-12). Editorial director Joanna Saltz and many "amazing minds" at Delish lend their expertise to developing the culinary outlet's latest cookbook for young home chefs and many of the full-page, food photography provides a behind-the-scenes peek at the Delish test kitchen.
The book's format is organized by skill rather than recipe, allowing children to progress at their own speed and put their knowledge to use as they acquire new techniques. For example, readers are taught how to prep garlic and sear meat before attempting recipes that include those items. Dishes featured in later sections--such as Parmesan Zucchini Fritters, Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets and Belgian Waffles--provide an opportunity for young foodies to comprehensively showcase their meal-making talent, either solo or with adult assistance. Even older kids will likely feel more comfortable cooking sans supervision after reviewing the A ("al dente") to Z ("zest") glossary and step-by-step cutting demos included in the intro. --Rachel Werner
In this tantalizing cookbook/craft book combo, kids learn how to create the perfect cupcake for any occasion. Cupcake Class (Storey Publishing, ages 8-12) is all about decoration, keeping cake and frosting recipes to the basic two--chocolate and vanilla--and focusing on super-fun design ideas that include animals, sports themes, emojis, planets, squiggles and dots, and more. Easy-to-follow, brilliantly illustrated and photographed instructions cover design techniques, candy decoration skills, and the use of stencils, stickers, and cutouts (included in the back of the book!), providing all the steps and tips needed to create 50 themed sweet treats. Pastry chefs-in-training also learn fundamentals of cooking, like the importance of washing hands, careful measuring, reading recipes all the way through, and cleaning up when finished.
Food stylist and recipe developer Joy Howard (Disney Eats; Tomato Love) and kids' cookbook author Deanna F. Cook (Cooking Class; Kids Cook Dinner), along with food and hospitality photographer Joe St. Pierre, have rustled up a deliciously enticing book that, like a cupcake with gobs of icing and adorable candy decorations, may be hard to resist. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor