The holidays are a great time to bake/cook with young learners and its a great time to share a good book together. Here are a few that will let you do both - includes my favorite Cranberry Thanksgiving (the bread is great), and a Baker's Dozen - Plan to give a Baker's dozen of your favorite cookie to those you want to remember. And when Passover comes around plan to make chocolate matzo cake inspired by Max.
Some recipes become part of the story and are integral to
the plot such as Cranberry bread is an integral part to the plot of the classic
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin (now available from Purple House Press). Or matzo cake which is
the center of Max Bakes a Cake byMichelle Edwards, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Random House, 2014) in which
Max sets out to make a matzo cake.
...
Other books include recipes as an add-on or an enrichment
element to stories that suggest certain foods but the story would have been
essentially the same if any other food had been mentioned.
The type of books range from beginning readers to historical
fiction, concept books and contemporary fiction, to folk literature. All types of books lend themselves for
including recipes and food.
Wild Berries by
Julie Flett (Simply Read Books, 2013)
(A Cree
Tale) – Spend the day picking wild blueberries with Clarence and his
grandmother. Meet ant, spider, and fox
in a beautiful woodland landscape, the ancestral home of the author and
illustrator Julie Flett. (Recipe for
Blueberry Jam is an “enrichment” element).
Depicts
families, from England to California and from 1710 to 2010, preparing
Blackberry Fool. Includes recipe and historical notes. (Recipe for Blackberry Fool is an integral part of the story plot) Information about the controversy surrounding the title's depiction of the family representing the 1810 time period.
Provides
the background for the term “A Baker’s Dozen” – all which started when an old
woman insists that a dozen is thirteen. The folktale was originally published
in 2010 but retold and published in this edition in 2017.
Or read this version of the popular Christmas tale.
The Baker's Dozen by Heather Forest, illustrated by Susan Graber (August House Books, pb., 2015) -- The baker, Van Amsterdam is known in Colonial America for baking his St. Nicholas cookies; however, his greed drives him to become stingy in his business, selling people short of quality cookies. Until one day ...
The Youngest Marcher:
The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist by
Cynthia Levinson. Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. (Atheneum, 2017).
When Audrey
Faye Hendricks was just nine she heard grown ups plan for wiping out
Birmingham’s segregation laws. She
joined the protest – she joined the children’s march in Birmingham. The book
begins: “Whenever Mike flew into town, Audrey and her Momma COO-OOKED!
Barbecued ribs, stewed greens, sweet potato soufflé, and Audrey’s favorite hot
rolls baptized in butter. (Historical
fiction; Includes the recipe the grown-up Audrey and her sister Jan Hendricks
Fuller created in an effort to recreate the rolls made by their mother Mrs.
Hendricks).
Annie
Ferlock had always thought that Thursday was her lucky day. She won her first
cooking contest at age 8 on a Thursday, met the love of her life on a Thursday,
married on a Thursday, and each of their two children were born on a Thursday. She is know far and wide for her “poke
salad.” But when Mario, Annie’s husband,
dies she loses all of her joy and love for cooking – but when kitty appears,
things change “Thursday” and Annie has some help creating Ugly Pasta – the dish
that makes Annie famous. (Fiction: Recipe
for Polacco’s Ugly Pasta is included).
The Grinch loves to cook. So Does Cindy-Lou. They are making a treat. What next? And for who? (Beginning Reader -
Recipe for dog treats – Easy Peasy Pumpkin Dog Treats)
Color Concept book – shows various
vegetables with color names. (Includes recipe for “Every Color Soup” – the
recipe is not integral to the story but an enrichment addition.)
Read about other books that encourage cooking and extend bonding activities - parent to child, grandparent to grandchild, school involvement and other enrichment activities.
Visit these blog posts or websites to learn about other books that you might enjoy.
Reading Rockets: WETA Public Broadcasting. (2017) Children's books and activities: Cooking and Food. Retrieved from http://www.startwithabook.org/booklists/cooking-and-food
Harris, Elizabeth. (n.d.) Our Favorite Kids' Books About Food. Taste of Home. Retrieved from https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/favorite-kids-books-food/view-all/
Roxas, Andrea. (n.d.) Fun Food from Kids Books. Babble. Retrieved from https://www.babble.com/best-recipes/fun-food-kids-books-childrens-green-eggs-and-ham-harry-potter-recipes/
Hennessy, Caroline. (2016 Nov 30) Fairytale feast of recipes inspired by children's books. Irish Examiner. Retrieved from https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/fairytale-feast-of-recipes-inspired-by-childrens-books-432890.html (features a few connections featuring classics and Spiced hot chocolate, Swedish ginger snaps, home baked beans, and roast eggs. Books are classics but not necessarily fairy tales.)
Visit Greenfroggifts on Etsy for the latest choices.
Order cookie cutters, aprons, and baker's cloths from Green Frog Gifts -- unique gifts -- many $10.00 or under.
