As we embrace fall flavors and start delving into holiday cooking and baking, it is the perfect time to get kids in the kitchen. Picture books provide a great starting point for ambivalent young cooks and also help adults nurture the academic skills and authentic application cooking provides, as mentioned in my previous blog post, School Success Happens in the Kitchen. In that post, I shared ideas for connecting cooking to school subjects. Without a doubt, the application requires adult facilitation. While a young cook might notice a cookie is a circle, it takes adult questioning for precise articulation of the observation. Similarly, a child likely won’t consider how pureé can function as a verb and a noun without an adult introducing that idea.
The 10 books listed below center around food and include a recipe. A 2020 study shows not only that picture books prove way more effective in motivating young children to actually want to read, but also have helped improve a lot of children’s reading. Benefits of picture books include encouraging conversation, building vocabulary, teaching cause and effect, and improving comprehension through visual thinking.
1. Thunder Cake, by Patricia Polacco
A thunderstorm is happening that is rattling Grandma’s old farmhouse, making it great for “Thunder Cake baking weather.” The cake must get into the oven before the storm arrives. The warm-hearted story is based on the author’s memory of overcoming her fear of storms. The chocolate cake recipe is delicious and includes an unexpected secret ingredient of tomato paste.
2. Little Red Riding Hood: A New Fangled Prairie Tale, by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Most young cooks will know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but this one is different. In this modern version, Little Red Riding Hood lives in the prairie and is the heroine. She takes a batch of her wheatberry muffins (made from a secret recipe) to her grandmother ‘s. On the way she meets the wolf, who thinks he can steal the recipe. The surprise and happy ending is just one of many twists in this fractured fairy tale.
3. Masala Chai Fast and Slow, by Rajani LaRocca
Albeit being very different, Aarav loves his grandfather very much. Each day, he watches Thatha carefully and slowly brew his Masala chai and Aarav tries to rush his grandfather along. His grandfather won’t have it. When Thatha gets injured and can’t make his chai, Aarav decides it is his turn to try. His success depends upon not rushing the process.
4. Blueberry Cake, by Sarah Dillard
A book with few words for the youngest cooks. Little Bear loves blueberries, especially when they are in his Mama’s sweet and delicious blueberry cake. When Little Bear tries to help Mama, by picking blueberries, he eats them all.
5. Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao, by Kat Zhang
Amy Wu loves bao, but making her own, like she sees her parents and grandparents do, is harder than she expects. Through lots of practicing, Amy finds a way to make a perfect bao that works for her.
6. How to Make Apple Pie and See the World, by Marjorie Priceman
A little girl wants to make apple pie. When she goes to her market to get the ingredients, the store is closed. She travels around the world to get the best ingredients while sharing her recipe for apple pie. Readers are exposed to far-off locations and the delicacy of their products. See how the story’s pie recipe compares to The Chopping Block’s recipe, or treat yourself to an apple pie made at The Chopping Block for Thanksgiving.
This is a fun book for younger cooks. A young girl and her mother take time on a cold, snowy day to buy ingredients for vegetable soup. While the soup cooks, they have fun playing games and reading. At dinner time, the girl, her mom and dad enjoy the soup, which is similar to minestrone.
In this story, written in verse, a group of kids and younger adults watch as the family elders prepare fry bread. Each page emphasizes a characteristic or special aspect of fry bread including its shape, color, flavor, who makes it, and more.
9. How do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
The familiar dinosaur characters have eaten dinner and want dessert. With their new sense of smell, they are eager to make cookies with aromas like the scratch-and-sniff ones in the book, including chocolate, cinnamon, and strawberry.
10. Cora Cooks Pancit, by Dorina K Lazo Gilmore
The main character Cora enjoys being in the kitchen, and she feels she is ready for more than just the kid jobs. One day, when her siblings aren’t around, she gets to be her mom’s assistant chef and make Pancit, her favorite noodle dish. Cora delights in doing grown-up jobs like shredding chicken, soaking noodles and stirring the noodles in the pot. Cora eagerly serves the Pancit to her family and waits to see what they think of her cooking.