PLEASE TOUCH COOKBOOK, THE

A collection of nutritious recipes that are easy and fun to cook. Includes related activities, games, riddles, and facts about food.

Don't let the strange title or the unattractive illustrations put readers off, for this is a good beginning cookbook that's in the same spirit as Kids Are Natural Cooks (Houghton, 1974). Its intent is to bring adults and children together in the kitchen to learn, explore, and enjoy. Over 70 basic but interesting recipes are organized by meal type: breakfast, lunch, snacks, suppers, and desserts; they are nutritious (but not as much so as those in Kids Are Natural Cooks ), and made from scratch. Reminiscent in variety of Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook (Meredith, 1989), this book has no color photographs, and the sketches don't contribute much. In the wide margins of each page are food-related activities. A recipe for "Green Eggs and Ham" invites readers to look up Dr. Seuss' book. Riddles, craft ideas, curious food facts, and games are each related to the recipe on that page. These projects resemble those in Kitchen Fun (Joy Street, 1989), but are less flashy and more reliable. While parts of this book resemble many others, the combination, the balance, and the quality of these elements make it a unique title and a fine addition to most library collections. --Carolyn Jenks, Oyster River Elem . School, Durham, NH
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.