Monkey Pudding and Other Dessert Recipes

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database Newsletter - Gwynne Spencer

"Part of a new series, "Fun Food for Cool Cooks," these handsome titles are going to jump into the hands of kids (and grownups) because of the simple recipes, easy directions (usually one sentence per step), large print, enticing photographs of the finished food attractively presented and a tone that says to kids, "You can DO this!" Every recipe has a star-rating from one to three to show difficulty, a list of ingredients (in small print, however) and pictures in each recipe of the tools to be used during the preparation (a first in cookbooks!). The recipes are titled enticingly and closely fit the theme of each cookbook. Each book includes Facthound.com information, a glossary, an index, a quick bio of the author (in a toque), a few books to lead kids into more reading, and a standard picture book trim size that will draw in older readers as well as the targeted age group (elementary) because of the photos. In this dessert treasury you will find recipes for "Monkey Pudding" (bananas and ‘nilla wafers), "Chocolate Chip Banana Pizza" (chocolate chip cookie dough crust with bananas and pudding), "Sunny Fun Cake" (white cake with jam--great presentation!), "Peanut Chunk and Chocolate Chip Cookies," "Campfire Cookies" (they look like little campfires), "Holy Cannoli" (in ice cream cones), "Coffee Can Ice Cream" (made in a coffee can inside a bigger coffee can with ice and salt surrounding; you roll it around to make the ice cream), "Chocolate Cherry Brownies" (this is a diet buster if I ever saw one), "Turtle Sundae Pecan Pie" (with chocolate chips), and "Tremendous Triple Berry Trifle" (in a trifle dish). Every recipe also includes a sidebar of "tasty tips" to add variations or some nice little trivia tidbit kids will like. The "Kitchen Safety" section at the front of each book is conversational and sensible and encourages kids to actually DO things. Unlike many cookbooks, it advises kids to have a First Aid kit in the kitchen too. The front page features a kid photo alongside metric conversions (does anybody ever USE these, I wonder?). These are among the most attractive cookbooks for kids I have seen and would be appropriate for elementary, middle, and early high school readers with nary a complaint from a kid. 2008, Snap Books/Capstone Press, $25.26. Ages 5 to 15." - Children's Literature Comprehensive Database Newsletter

June 1, 2009