Katharine Ibbs

This one caught Gramma and Little Guy's attention - Children's Cookbook: Delicious step- by-step recipes by Katharine Ibbs, edited by Catherine Saunders. The cover is colourful, appealing and the pictures caught his attention. Notably the muffin. Little Guy loves muffins.

Inside you'll find over 50 recipes covering Breakfast, Light Meals, Main Meals, Desserts and Baking. An introduction covers how to use the book and there's a nice illustrated 'tool' page as well as a glossary of cooking terms.

The recipe pages are well laid out, with lots of colour, actual pictures and white space. Each is coded 1, 2 or 3 for difficulty with pictures of the ingredients needed, length of prep and cooking time, a tool checklist, techniques used, ideas for variations and a caution when adult help is required. And yes, step by step photos of the 'how to'.

We had a good look at every page, picture and recipe the first time through, making a list of what we thought we would like to make from this book. And no surprise, Little Guy is all about the desserts and baking. Although he thought he might like the breakfast smoothie and frozen yogurt as well.

Little Guy's mom had a look at the book as well and mentioned that she found a number of recipes she would absolutely make for family meals. (As did Gramma) Easy, quick and yes, nutritious.

What did Gramma and Little Guy tackle first? You got it - the muffins. Cooking or baking with a child is a fantastic learning opportunity. Even if they can't read, there are so many teachable moments. Looking at the pictures - what do we need? Ingredients and equipment. Measuring, mixing and more. The step by step instructions in Children's Cookbook really do illustrate the process to a finished product. As adults, we've most likely done these steps so many times, we don't really think about them. With a little one, it's all new again.

He had such a sense of accomplishment when they came out of the oven. And was so proud sharing them with others. (and accepting the compliments!) And for Gramma? The time spent with Little Guy is priceless.

Children's Cookbook would be an excellent addition to any family's cookbook collection or make a great gift for the small person in your life.… (meer)