Customer Reviews

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My daughter is only 3, but she participates a lot in these recipies. Lots of fun.
The names they give the foods and the pictures also make children more willing to eat the food. If you have a picky eater he/she will surely eat the creations from this book.

I appreciate that they didnt use a lot of fancy ingreadiants or get too rediculous with cutting things into shapes etc. like many kid's recipie books

The hide-and-seek muffins are awsome! they taste like shortcake w/ the strawberry baked right in!

What a find! Mollie Katzen and Ann Henderson have compiled a delicious assortment of fun-to-make recipes for kids. My daughter was THRILLED to be able to make and serve Blueberry Pancakes for Sunday breakfast. The experience was a terrific boost for her. You could virtually see her self-esteem growing as she presented her culinary masterpiece to us. She also made chocolate-banana shakes for dessert last night. The recipes are so well illustrated that she is able (at 4 and a half years old) to verify that she has included all of the ingredients. She is eagerly anticipating her next cooking adventure. I tip my chef's hat to the authors for combining real food with recipes that are truly suited for kids. Does anyone know if the Culinary Institute of America offers scholarships? I think she's ready!

"Pretend Soup" is thoughtfully written, beautifully illustrated, and a great introduction to cooking for small children. Each recipe has detailed instructions for the grown-up helper, followed by a two-page children's recipe -- step-by-step pictures and simple word instructions. Unlike some other children's cookbooks, the recipes are all "real", healthful foods (Pretend Soup is a real recipe for a fruit salad in a yogurt/orange juice "soup"). This has become one of my standard gifts for the 4-6 year old birthday party circuit.

This was my daughters response when she found the Zucchini moons recipe. She never ate them before, but now she knows tht salt is the secret! This book has a variety of recipes that kids (and adults) will enjoy...from Bagel faces to popovers to chocolate banana shakes...in easy to follow, kid and adult friendly format.
The recipes are vegetarian with an emphasis on health, they are not, however, vegan friendly.

Oh, and a tip on the oatmeal recipe...it's ready to eat sooner if you drop a frozen cube of milk in.

This bright and engaging cookbook written and illustrated by Mollie Katzen will appeal to children of all ages, from the toddler dying to get his hands in the muffin batter to the 9-year-old just learning his way around the kitchen. Easy to follow illustrations demonstrate the recipes for the youngest "readers", while captivating cartoon characters liven the pages. Fun and delicious taste treats that were served to Mollie's panel of kiddie experts and passed the test! She's got the quotes to prove it. Adorable!

Mollie Katzen is well known in the food world for her involvement with the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York. She has been creating recipes and writing vegetarian cookbooks for adults for many years. However, until she witnessed her son's preschool class making applesauce one day, she didn't think her three-year-old would have an interest in preparing food.

When she talked to his teacher, Ann Henderson, she discovered that the class cooked weekly. Something clicked during this conversation and she remembered her "play cooking" as a child, with her mother's old bowls in the backyard.

Several years later, Mollie and Ann teamed up to write a cookbook for parents and their preschoolers to use to experience the fun of early cooking at home.

Because this unique cookbook is designed for both adults and preschoolers, it does not follow traditional cookbook layout. First, the recipe is written traditionally for the adults to go through. Next, the recipe is written in a pictorial version for the kids to use. The authors also give tips to make these more fun and safe for the children. Ideas such as colored tape on the handle of the butter (or plastic) knife to teach them which end to hold, and creating a cooking station at the kitchen table where it is safer for the kids to reach using an electric skillet. Each recipe is presented in a colorful way, with ideas on how to introduce young and picky eaters to try new foods.

Recipes such as popovers, green spaghetti, bagel faces and pretend soup are simple enough to not confuse young cooks, but complex enough to inspire their imaginations and leave them with good, healthy fun food to eat. Each of these recipes has been made and taste tested by Ann's preschoolers and the book is peppered with quotes from the kids on what they thought of the foods that they made.

I'm looking forward to spending some time with the preschoolers in my life and trying out some of the fun food recipes found inside this fun little cookbook.

Armchair Interviews says: Fun time in the kitchen!

I am a mother of a 4 year old picky eater. My son would not touch any vegetables. Since purchasing the Pretend Soup, my son thinks it is a treat to read the cookbook at bedtime and decide what he wants to try the next day. The hind and seek muffins are his favorite. I am looking into buying the first book. Wonderful book, with GREAT pictures.

Pretend Soup is an outstanding cookbook for teachers, parents and most of all children! Ann Henderson and Mollie Katzen have written a true gem. Pretend Soup is an absolute CLASSIC! Truly child friendly and yummy recipes. I'd like to see more from this duo of writers: what a great idea to pair up an experienced educator & practitioner and a chef. When can we expect Pretend Soup Two! I am a seasoned educator and director and use this book often in my school.

PS I am not 12 as indicated above!

Before buying this book, my 3-year-old daughter had pretty much refused any kind of vegetable. She just didn't want to put anything remotely vegetable-like in her mouth. She got so excited when she saw the Salad Bar recipe. We immediately set to work and lo and behold...she loves it! Now when I ask her what she wants for dinner, her reply is almost always, "Salad Bar!"
Whoo hoo! Thanks Mollie Katzen and Ann L. Henderson! You've performed a miracle.

My six-year-old daughter is looking at her new cookbook as I write this and her response is, "This is cool!" She likes the pictures and that I can help HER cook rather than she helping me. Our family has all of Mollie Katzen's cookbooks, and this children's book is beautifully illustrated and well conceived. As a parent educator, Pretend Soup is going on my recommended reading list.