I remember way back when I was 7, I had a cookbook that I adored with (looking back now) incredibly simple recipes. The recipes were easy enough for me to achieve, challenging enough that I felt I was actually doing something grand, and delicious enough that I wanted to eat the result. That is a tricky balance to keep, over an entire cookery book. This book does a nice job of including the essentials and remaining appealing to young cooks.

This current, spiral bound edition of the Betty Crocker Kids Cook is bright, colorful, and perfect as a starter cookbook for children aged 7-11. In this book they can learn the basics about kitchen safety, basic cooking techniques and nutrition information. This is a great opportunity to introduce children to cooking, and see if they have a great interest in continuing. If they do, they can easily be moved on to basic adult cookbooks.

Fun recipes include Secret Forest Corn Muffins (with a surprise broccoli 'tree' inside), Snickerdoodly Mini Doughnuts, Bottom-of-the-Cereal-Box Cookies, and Spaghetti and Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs.

Highly Recommended to introduce children to cooking. ( )

Betty Crocker's Kids Cook! is a cookbook geared toward children. The recipes are all simple recipes that kids enjoy and are easy enough for them to make with a little bit of adult supervision and help. There are step by step instructions not only in the recipes but throughout the whole cookbook. The are pages that tell the kids how to keep the food clean, how to store it, how to measure things, how to check if the food is done, and many other great things. It also contains a page that has pictures of different measurements and tools that are used throughout the cookbook.

This is an excellent cookbook for children! I got it when I was a child and I still use it today! It's recipes are great and fun to make. The pictures are sure to draw in children's attention. The pages of the cookbook are colorful and have animated monster's on each page. I give this cookbook for kids an A+!

Classroom Extension #1: The teacher could come up with a simple recipe to make in class. This recipe could be trailmix or something that does not require cooking(there's a recipe for trail mix in the book too!). Write the recipe on the marker board for all of the children to see. Have each ingredient sitting out preferably in large bowls so the children can get to them easier. By each bowl have the measuring cups or spoons for the children to use. Give each child a zip lock bag and let them come up a few at a time to measure out each ingredient into their bag. When they are done they will have a tasty snack!

Classroom Extension #2: Let the children come up with their own recipe. Have them write out the ingredients they want to put in their recipe and have them write out the step by step instructions to make the recipe. I'm sure there will be all kids of ingredients and instructions made up by the children but it will be fun for them to do. Just let them be creative!