Cooking with Children: 15 Lessons for Children, Age 7 and Up, Who Really Want to Learn to Cook: A Cookbook

I bought this and 'look and cook' at the same time. This one is the one I am using. I love it's step by step instructions and it's little hints "A bowl of soapy water is your best friend... put your utensils in it and clean up will be easier" and the added instructions on HOW to cut things (to the point of 'hold the onion this way, then...') which makes it much easier even for me, as inept as I am, to teach my kids to make good dishes. My kids are not adventurous eaters by ANY MEANS. But we made the first recipe (Vegetable soup) and they enjoyed fishing crackers out of it and dipping breadsticks in it, though it is safe to say that they enjoyed the making of it (the cutting veggies especially) more than the actual eating. The next one is how to make salad and salad dressing which will NOT be a favorite, but we're going to do it anyway while the 'Let's Cook' is fun because it's novel. By the time that wears off, the book will have transitioned into hamburgers and meatloaf, lasagna and such that they will enjoy making AND eating so the new and exciting factor won't be the only thing holding their attention. If you want to teach kids to cook, I highly recommend this book. My oldest boy could probably read/do it himself (he's 8), but it's more fun for us all (3,5, 7,8) to do it together. Other kids 'cook books' that I've seen, included the other mentioned above, are just that... 'cook books' writen for children. This one is more of an instruction manual. So when we finish with this one, perhaps the others will have more appeal. Well worth the 'used' price I paid... probably worth the 'new' price as well. Highly recommended.

My 7yo daughter and I love this book. I was looking for something that didn't only teach kiddie desserts but was actually practical and main courses. I doubted the seasoning would be to my liking because it was so simple-but so far so the recipes have been delicious. I've recommended to friends.

My boys are 7 and almost 10, and I'm ready for them to learn basic cooking skills. I bought this book and was not disappointed. So far we've made the vegetable soup and scones. The boys are delighted with the recipes and find the instructions easy to follow. I like the way the book is arranged, and love the fact that it's age appropriate without being condescending. My boys are already feeling more confident in the kitchen, which means I worry less and I suspect they'll also become a bit more open minded about new things if they are the ones cooking.

My SIL and I have been using this book as a basis for a group cooking class for our kids. They’re always excited and we adults are too. After using the author’s technique for hamburger patties - such a simple change - but I find I’m loathe to go back to the tough frozen hamburger hockey pucks of old. The baked rice was tasty and a revelation too.

My 11 and 8yr olds love reading through this. My 11 yr old made soup using this book. THere is a lot of good cooking instruction, like how to peel, cut, mix, etc. Each recipe may have several pages of instructions. I only gave it four because there weren't many recipes.

Your kids won't just be playing in the kitchen making faces out of fruit and cookies, they'll really be learning how to cook with this book. They'll be making real food, that you'd actually want them to eat, and that you would like to eat too. Definitely follow the age recommendations, it jumps right in with knife work and using the stove. Highest rating possible from my family.

An added bonus to this book is Marion Cunningham's great recipes. Although the children are grown, we all still turn to her pancake recipe and baking powder biscuits. And to the reviewer who literally judged this book by its cover, the line drawings are more multi-cultural, and, quite frankly, it is always better to judge a cookbook by its recipes than its cover art.

This is a nice book that is easy to follow.

Definitely one of the top of the kids books I have been getting for my great grand kids. The book is well designed and carefully filled with good instruction.