“Once upon a kitchen” there were 17 recipes dished up for eager young cooks. Cook Me A Story offers stirrings for breakfast, snackings for anytime, suppings for lunch and dinner, sweetings for dessert, and sippings to drink when you are thirsty.
However, this is more than a cookbook. Each recipe is linked to a classic fairy tale and told in a story format interspersed with cooking instructions. Each step in the recipe is indicated by a picture of a golden crown, and when a grown-up is needed to help out, there’s a picture of a magic wand, so this is a book kids will learn to read and use solo, even if they need help to get started or at some points along the journey.
The stories are carefully aligned with the recipes. For example, Papa Pear, Mama Pear and Baby Pear cook Pear and Sweet Milk Porridge, and Cinnarella cooks Cinnamon Pumpkin Pancakes. There are also Sugar Plum Fairy Cakes cooked by Plumbelina, and White Swans Hot Chocolate prepared by The Ugly Chockling, along with other tasty treats.
Cooking is a great way to improve literacy and numeracy skills, as it requires the cook to read and interpret a recipe, as well as understand and use the measures.
Cook Me A Story is a creative approach to both stories and cooking. If you have a child who enjoys one, but not the other, this might be an especially helpful book. For everyone, it’s an entertaining way to prepare meals and snacks.
Title: Cook Me A Story: A Treasury of Stories and Recipes Inspired by Classic Fairy Tales
Author: Bryan Kozlowski
Illustrator: Laura Wood
Publisher: Quarto Group, $19.99 RRP
Publication Date: May 2016
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781633220669
For ages: 5+
Type: Non fiction
