Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up

I'm a teacher of children aged 8-10 years old, and we are collectively very picky about the cookbooks we choose to use in the classroom.For this age group, the recipes can't be too easy or "babyish" -- not just a smoothie or a sandwich, which my would-be chefs already mastered years ago. But they also can't be so complicated that a group cannot complete them with minimal adult supervision, within a timeframe that suits a child's more limited attention span. (I tend to budget double the time it'd take me to make it on my own, when cooking with children...and even the most mature kids begin dropping like flies around the 90 minute mark.)There needs to be enough text to thoroughly explain steps and terms adult cooks might take for granted (which also helps if the adult helpers themselves aren't 100% confident cooks, which is common!). But the text can't be so complex that it overshoots its intended audience by a few grade levels (so many books these days, particularly celebrity-written tomes, are pitched at small children in their tone and illustrations, but are written on an 8th grade reading level, guaranteeing they'll gather dust).Needless to say, it's incredibly tough to find cookbooks for kids that meet my teacher criteria. Mollie Katzen's book (as well as her other titles for kids, like Pretend Soup) sets the standard for the type of books I look for in my classroom, and I wish there were more authors like her. She's road-tested every recipe with the target audience; included a wide range of recipes suitable for every course of the meal; and included sections for grown-ups as well as sections for kids for the perfect combination of clarity and simplicity. (I've even taken a page from her playbook when writing my own curriculum and recipes for other educators interested in using food in the classroom.)I return to these recipes over and over again, and gladly use them with my students. If I were Goldilocks, Katzen's cookbooks for kids would be my definition of "just right!"

Really liking this cookbook! My vegetarian 8 and 11 year olds have been able to prepare several dishes completely on their own following the directions. Each recipe is laid our step-by-step, from picking out ingredients, prepping the ingredients, choosing the proper tools, using correct measurements, to preparation and cooking/baking.Most of the things they've made from here have been very tasty, all are palatable and give kids a sense of accomplishment in the kitchen! I've even made one of the pasta dishes! :)It is heavy enough to lay flat with a little pressure on the spine.My only complaint about the book is that there are no photographs of the finished dishes, only illustrations.

I bought this for my 9 year old granddaughter and all the recipes look healthy and tasty. I'm sure she'll love it. It arrived in a padded envelope that wasn't sealed and if there ever was a packing list enclosed it was lost somewhere along the way. The book, however, was still in the envelope and in perfect shape.

Bought this book as a Christmas present for our 9 y/o neighbor. I reviewed a bit before wrapping. It's user-friendly, with easy to follow directions and simple ingredients. The illustrations are colorful, young looking, probably too juvenile for tweens, but fun recipes that fall into: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. As a Reading teacher, I probably wouldn't recommend for children older than 10..... lacks the 'hip appeal' for tweens, like the few 'teen cookbooks' on the market (and snapped up in my classes!).

6 yr old Grand daughter took tight to this cookbook, although she already reads very well. First thing she chose to make was pizza, which I might add, turned out to be something the whole family liked. Author Molly Katzen does a nice just b of combining healthy with interesting and tasty.

This book does everything right: healthy, clear recipes with authentic ingredients. Each recipe has an introduction that explains the concepts (such as "Fried rice is basically stir-fried vegetables with cooked rice added"). I love the thought of a child learning how to make tortilla chips out of tortillas. Also, I love the thought of children mastering important basic recipes -- whether it's macaroni and cheese or scrambled eggs or banana bread. And there are lots of practical, creative-yet-simple lunch ideas -- grilled cheese and broccoli sandwich, for example, or macaroni minnestrone. All the things that other kid-cookbooks do wrong, this one does right.

Such a wonderful book! My 4 1/2-year-old and I have really loved experimenting with this cookbook. As he gets bigger, he'll be able to do more and more on his own, thanks to good illustrations, especially. For now, great for bonding and experimenting--as well as learning counting/math.

My son loves this cookbook, he is five and with help can easily understand and follow the directions to prepare a dish, I do wish some of the dishes were more practical for meal planning.

Had gedacht dat het leuker zou zijn vanwege de goede recensies op de amerikaanse amazon. Vind de recepten erin niet erg origineel, de kinderen vonden het ook niet echt leuk.

Mollie Katzen is a cookbook rock star - love ALL of her books, but her children's cookbooks are amazing!