Kitchen Café Play

Stop by the Puett Room Monday February 20 through Friday, February 24 during story time break and use your imagination! From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each day explore our cardboard kitchen and pantry stuffed with toy pots,pans and food.  Cook fabulous meals and make your own recipe cards.  Everyone can become a famous chef, just stir your imagination into the mix and serve up something marvelous.  Don't forget to check out our great selection of cookbooks before you go home! 

Food-Infused Juvenile Fiction

In honor of our Annual Food for Fines Week, how about chewing on some food-infused books while helping those who are less fortunate and lowering your library fines?  We've got plenty of kiddie cook books located in the juvenile non-fiction section under the call number J 741.5....and I've got to admit, a lot of these are really fun!  And while you're waiting for those cookies or cake to bake, here's some new tasty fiction morsels for elementary school readers:

 Bake Sale by Sara Varon 
(Juvenile Graphic Novel)
Cupcake runs a successful bakery with his best friend, Eggplant, but dreams of going abroad to meet his idol, Turkish Delight, who is the most famous pastry chef in the world.  Includes some fun recipes, and while this isn't a brand-spanking new book (published in 2011), is however, one of my favorite children's graphic novels!








Cupcake Cousins by Kate Hannigan 
(Juvenile Fiction)
During a family vacation at Lake Michigan, nine-year-old cousins Willow and Delia, desperate to avoid being flower girls in their aunt's wedding, try to demonstrate that they would do better as chefs for the reception.










Fizzy's Lunch Lab: Super Supper Throwdown 
(Juvenile Fiction)
Nutrition champ Professor Fizzy introduces young children to the science of healthy foods while competing against Fast Food Freddy, in a challenge to prepare the most delicious meal.  The story is complemented by recipes, healthy shopping advice, and cooking tips.

Phoebe G. Green: A Passport to Pastries! by Veera Hiranandani 
(Juvenile Fiction)
When third-grader Phoebe and her family are invited to visit Paris and her new friend Camille's family, she is thrilled.  But when she is put off by snails on the menu, Phoebe starts to wonder if she is really as adventurous as she thought she was.








Rutabaga the Adventure Chef: Book 1 by Eric Colossal 
(Juvenile Graphic Novel)
In this brand-new graphic novel series, Rutabaga and his magic cooking pot, Pot, join young adventurers Winnifred, Manny, and Beef on a quest to defeat a dragon, discover new ingredients, find monsters to have for and/or to dinner, and to save the day through cooking.

Saturday Cooking Club: Kitchen Chaos by Deborah A. Levine 
(Juvenile Fiction)
When Liza suggests they all take a cooking class with the chef from her favorite cooking show for the project, the girls are on board, but they need an adult to take the class with them.  It seems like the perfect opportunity to snag some quality time with their over-scheduled and over-stressed mothers, if they can convince them to sign up!






The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh 
(Juvenile Fiction)
When twelve-year-old GiGi and her big sister DiDi move to Long Island from South Carolina for GiGi to attend a fancy new private school, GiGi has a new recipe for success and makes new friends, but then discovers a family secret that turns her life upside-down.  Just looking at the cover of this book is enough to make one drool!

Crack an Egg!

Who wants to cook with kids? I do!
I love cooking with my three-year-old. Here are a few ideas about working in the kitchen that will keep your youngster engaged, give them a tactile experience, and provide opportunities for them to learn about math in the process:

• Come up with a fun cooking project! Does your kid like scrambled eggs? Muffins? Or maybe they like to play with playdough. Start with something your child is excited about.
• Make a grocery list together. Find a recipe, then have a conversation about the ingredients you might need to collect. The only thing more fun than writing a list is getting to cross things off!
• Talk about the recipe while you work. After you've gathered your ingredients, talk about the recipe out loud. How many cups of flour do we need?
• Let your child do the measuring. Here is a Tablespoon! Let your child hold the measuring cup or spoon. When it's full, they can tip it into the bowl.
• Watch it cook! After everything's stirred up and ready to go, pop it in the oven, and turn the light on, so your child can watch chemistry in action!

Here are a few tried and true recipes we love:

Popovers! from Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson

You can't go wrong with lots of eggs and lots of butter.

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Feeding the Whole Family, by Cynthia Lair

This amazing recipe has no eggs (all the better for licking the bowl) & maple syrup instead of sugar. Yum! 

Playdough from Mudworks, by MaryAnn F. Kohl

Make your own playdough. So fun.

And if you really need a belly laugh, watch author John Green whip up some mac & cheese with his tyke.

Enjoy!

Favorite Book Fridays: New Favorites in Non-Fiction

Who doesn't love a puppet?

Puppets can be made with the most simple of materials- lonely socks, odds and ends of paper, even a napkin! 10 Minute Puppets is a book recently added to the juvenile non-fiction collection that explains clearly how to make a variety of silly, playful puppets. Some of my favorite ideas include little paper puppets that turn your fingers into dancing ballerina legs, sock puppet snakes, and folded paper lion puppets reminiscent of cooty-catchers. It was so inspiring to me that I thought we should probably have a puppet making workshop this summer. Keep a lookout for that. In the mean time, check out the book!

Another new non-fiction addition that caught my eye as I checked it in for the first time was How Cooking Works . It's a cookbook for kids that describes the science behind the recipes. Step-by-step photos and succinct instructions set up young cooks for success in the kitchen, and small notes answer such questions as why corns pops and why beaten egg whites become stiff. The delectable photographs of berry and whipped cream laden pancakes or oven fried sweet potato wedges make me want to race home and set my toddler up with a stool by the kitchen counter. I would hesitate to hand over the chicken or shrimp to younger chefs, though. The first recipe my little guy and I will be making? Savory cookies with cheddar cheese and rosemary. Yum.

I Can Cook!

Welcome to the I Can Cook! Series.  Since holiday cooking is upon us, why not spend some time with your child teaching them about foods from different countries?  This series of books geared for thrid to sixth graders make an excellent introduction to food traditions, cooking styles, common ingredients, cooking basics, and equipment while practicing safety in the kitchen.  Each book contains a country map to highlight diets and the food availabile in various regions, plus influencing factors for these dishes. Recipes in each book have kid appeal and list the equipment and ingredients needed, plus alternatives for those with special diets. Captioned, full-color photographs provide step-by-step directions. Each title contains up to seven recipes that include historical background, a beverage, and a dessert (yum!). There's even new vocabulary words highlighted in bold and quick facts that are scattered throughout. Each book concludes with a  popular food celebrations using some of the highlighted recipes and additional activities kids can do on their own or with their families.  Titles in the series include: American Food, Chinese Food, French Food, Mexican Food, and Middle-Eastern Food.