Monday , March 18 2024
An attractive, sturdy cookbook full of healthy food that kids can make.

Book Review: Time for Kids: Kids in the Kitchen Cookbook

Time for Kids knows how to present information in a kid-friendly fashion. This new Kids in the Kitchen Cookbook is no exception. It is colorful, sturdy, and right away it looks like it will be fun. It’s a great way to get your kid in the kitchen and cooking up delicious, healthy snacks.

The book provides basic cooking instructions such as kitchen tools, how to make smart food choices, how to measure, how to avoid disasters in the kitchen, and metric equivalents. The recipes are divided into sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides and snacks, and desserts.

Each recipe is clearly marked for level of difficulty and is written in simple terms with large, easy-to-read type and colorfully illustrations, including large color photos of most dishes.

Many of these recipes can be done by children on their own, while the more difficult ones may need some help and when chopping or cutting or other dangerous activities are concerned, the book cautions children to ask an adult to help.

In addition to the recipes, each page has fascinating extras in the sidebars, such as “Know Your Ingredients,” which gives interesting information about what’s used in the recipe, “Feast on This,” which offers trivia or interesting facts related to the recipe, lists of the top five countries which supply certain foods, and “Try This,” which offers alternative ways to prepare the recipe.

Moms will no doubt find some of these recipes irresistible, too, especially the healthy snacks and desserts suitable for parties. Everything looks delicious!

One small quibble is that the nutrition information at the bottom of the page does not include the amount of sugar in the recipe, which is important to people with diabetes such as myself.

Cooking helps kids learn about math and science and encourages creativity and self-sufficiency. They can impress their friends and teachers with their knowledge. And with a cookbook, you get to eat what they make rather than just stick it into a drawer or on the refrigerator!

If you are looking for a cookbook for your budding chef or just want to get your child into the kitchen and yourself out of it more, this is the book for you. It would also make a great gift for a child of either sex around age eight and up.

About Rhetta Akamatsu

I am an author of non-fiction books and an online journalist. My books include Haunted Marietta, The Irish Slaves, T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Blues Women Past and Present, Southern Crossroads: Georgia Bluesand Sex Sells: Women in Photography and Film.