Bake, make & learn to cook Fun & healthy recipes for young cooks

Atherton, winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2019, offers a cookbook with straightforward, easily adaptable recipes geared toward children. The dishes range from breakfast treats through to desserts, and they're accompanied by pleasant illustrations of families happily cooking, baking, and eating together. Many of the dishes are fairly wholesome, with most featuring a vegetable, fruit, or whole grain. Banana Bear Pancakes, for instance, have spinach pureed into the batter to give them a green hue, and the Super Sweet Brownies contain mashed sweet potato. Others, though (like Octopizza and Heart-Stopper Scones), are classic treats. The amiable tone and inviting package will likely appeal to kids interested in cooking, and the vast majority of the ingredients will be easy to come by. Every recipe requires some competency in cooking and following recipes, so kids will need to be working under the guidance of an adult (this is mentioned in the intro but can be easy to miss). For families who like to cook together, this will be a treat.

In this beginner's cookbook, Atherton (2019 winner of The Great British Baking Show) uses an encouraging tone to present doable recipes with kid-pleasing gimmicks (e.g., "Octo-Pizzas" with breadstick tentacles). True to the book's subtitle, the recipes are generally healthy and nutritious, and many manage to include oft-dreaded veggies in creative and not-unappealing ways: in bear-shaped banana pancakes, half a cup of spinach "gives them their fun greenish color." The book is organized by meal type and includes an illustrated equipment list, glossary, and helpful tips. Stubbs's sweet spot art adds to the cozy, welcoming vibe. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.