20 Recipes Kids Should Know Book Review

Book Review
20 Recipes Kids Should Know
Written by Esme Washburn
Photography by Calista Washburn
Published April 2, 2019

Why we chose this book:
T likes to help out in the kitchen and I'm looking for ways to include him more. When the opportunity arose to review this cookbook, I was quite pleased. A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Mom and Son's Review

We haven't tried anywhere near all of the recipes, but what I've found is that the simplicity of everything is working well for us. There are a handful of recipes in each category (breakfast, main dishes, etc.); T recognizes the food in almost every picture, making selection easy. The ingredients we either have on-hand or can find at a regular grocery store. The steps are relatively few; T loves counting the steps (great numbers practice!) and confirming that we can indeed do them. Geared toward kids, this is an attractive and straightforward introduction to a few recipes.

T elected to bake the chocolate chip cookies first because "I love dessert!" and because we had all the ingredients. He was much more involved in baking than usual. Having a kids' cookbook put me in the mindset of him baking, as opposed to him helping me. We read the steps together before starting; he demonstrated how he would whisk and told me that he could do the steps, but that "we should make it together." The steps were quite manageable, but our cookies looked unlike Esme's. "Great, but a little bit thin," said T. My takeaway is that the food is fine, but the baking process is frustration-free and the experience is something special indeed. I do have a minor criticism – the fraction measurements were printed a bit small.

Next, T is super excited about the mac and cheese because "they look like tires!" After that, perhaps pancakes, bread, or hummus; T picked out those pictures as ones that look "yummy."

Front and back matter introduce basic cooking/baking terms and safety precautions. Short biographies of the author and photographer are included. They are sisters (ages 12 and 17, respectively).