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

My daughter, who is not quite 6 yet, loves to help and cook in the kitchen. She asked for her own cooking instruments for Christmas and that's what Santa brought her. She loves rushing in to put on her apron, pull out her ladybug silicon spatula, rubber spoon, matryoshka doll measuring cups (from a MoMa collaborative available at JC Penney's), and colored measuring spoons. All she needed was a good cookbook. I thought this would be a daunting task since the ones I had picked up to look at at Williams-Sonoma were not simple enough for her. My friend told me about this series of cookbooks for children so I checked out "Salad People" from the library and bought this one, "Pretend Soup". We haven't cooked from them yet so I can't compare how the recipes from the two books are similar or different. but, I can tell you that I sat down with my daughter to show her the book and she is over the moon. She loves the drawings of each step with simplified instructions (like "1 cup" and it shows pouring milk into the bowl, etc.) She is so excited. And, more importantly, all of the recipes in this book are things that she will eat. We're not over-the-top health nuts in our home but I am very careful to expose my children to a wide variety of ingredients and ethnic foods. Maybe my children won't be a fan of using zucchini for the pizza faces, but that's an easy substitution. The bulk of everything is very appealing to them and healthy. Yes, I will have to help with much of it and there are parts where the instructions call for a dough that mom or dad made before hand, but I think that's reasonable. If I want my child to learn to cook, then I will have to be setting that example first. We love it and I love the diet and recipes in the cookbook. I love how easy it is for her to follow. And I love that it sets a clear layout for how we will be interacting when we cook together (I make the dough, she pats it out and puts toppings on, etc.)

I've had both this book and Salad People since my daughter was about 6 months old (I'm an avid cookbook collector and hoped she'd want to join in as she got older). She's been helping me in the kitchen since she was old enough to stand and dump things into a bowl (I even bought her a plastic lettuce knife so she can chop vegetables for me). I didn't actually present these cookbooks to her, though, I just put them on my cookbook shelves and let her discover them on her own. Last week, she started leafing through them. I got home from work one day and Pretend Soup was open to the popover recipe. We talked about them, and she asked if she could make them. I said of course, and we made them for breakfast Saturday morning. they were so easy and a big hit! I love the way this book is laid out. At the beginning of each recipe, there's a page or two of text for the adults about how the recipe should go. Then, the following two pages have numbered step by step illustrations of how the recipe should be put together. This makes it both easy and educational - kids learn sequencing (step one comes before step two, etc), counting, measuring, etc. They aren't actual photographs, but the pictures, while simple, are detailed enough that for the most part, my daughter can tell what they are. There are also words at the bottom of each step for clarification. We've tried three recipes so far - popovers, green spaghetti, and pretend soup. We didn't have the right fruit for the pretend soup (it calls for bananas and raspberries), so we talked about how a cook can substitute ingredients if you don't like something or don't have it in the kitchen. We ended up substituting blueberries and sliced strawberries, and it was perfect! She can't wait to make more - every day she asks if she can make this recipe or that one. I told her by the time she's five, she'll probably have dinner waiting for us on the table when I get home every night!

I truly love this book. I have several copies. Planning to give this as a gift. Shipper really delayed. And I will walk into party empty handed.

This is an exceptionally helpful first cookbook. The recipes are easy, the drawings colorful, and the food tastes amazing. The author does a good job of explaining what projects a three year old will want to try (cracking eggs, stirring) and what projects a five or six year old will want to help with (washing berries, preparing the pancake mix. I use the pancake recipe for the base of all my pancakes now. I love the fact that the author gives recipes for a pancake mix that can be made in advance. I keep a ziplock bag of a pancake mix and a muffin mix in my fridge at all times. Each recipe starts out with instructions for the adult, followed by hints and safety tips. Then the author explains what tools will be needed. The recipe is written and steps clearly broken down. Following the complete recipe is a step by step picture recipe that a non reader can use! Tonight my daughter and I enjoyed the Noodle Pudding for dinner, which is apparently an unbaked noodle kugel. My daughter LOVES it, and I like it too. Another thing I have to say that I love about this book is that all the ingredients are easy to find, and healthier substiutions are easy too. I replaced (in the noodle pudding recipe) fat free cottage cheese for full fat, and the taste was still amazing. Tomorrow night my daughter will make the Quesadilla Recipe, and I can not wait! The only downside to this book is the lact of nutritional information.

I got Pretend Soup and Salad People and More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up for my four-year-old niece for Christmas, along with a child's pink apron and chef's hat. They were a hit! She really likes to help in the kitchen and I looked at a lot of childrens' cooking books before deciding on these. Other books required the child to be a reader already or had lots of recipes for desserts and sweets and such. These books seemed to have healthier recipes in them than some of the others on the market. The layout for these books is this: each recipe is four pages long. The first two pages are for the adult involved to read. The second two pages are simply drawn step-by-step visual instructions for the child to follow. Mollie Katzen does the artwork in these books and it's very charming. M. Katzen has another book for children, Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up , which I think is for a little older crowd...I look forward to getting that one for my niece when she's ready for it.

I gave Pretend Soup to my grandkids (ages 3 and 5) when I came to visit for a few days. They loved the picture recipes, and they really enjoyed cooking together. We made quesadillas, popovers, carrot coins, and, of course, pretend soup. I noticed that some of the recipes had a bit more sugar than I like, but we just adjusted the recipe and it came out fine. I liked the tips for making things easier for smaller children, for example when cutting veggies or cracking eggs. The book was such a hit that I sent one to a friend’s daughter a few days ago.

As soon as I received Pretend Soup, I immediately ordered the other cookbooks by this author. Our family is vegetarian, and none of these meals contain meat (but still would appeal to most meat-eating kids as well). There is a good variety, appealing pictures and easy-to-understand directions. The recipes are simple, but delicious. Even the ones my child did not like, we have talked about what he didn't like and how could we change it? At 4 years old, my son lit up with pride when he prepared his first meal for the family from this book. Now that we have all 3 of them, I routinely let him pick a recipe each week to add to our menu plan. This would make an excellent gift for a family with young children.

I am so excited about this book. I am giving it to a soon to be 1st time grandfather who is a retired teacher, loves to cook and collects cookbooks.it can’t get much better than that! I can’t wait to see his reaction.

Ce n'est pas si abordable que ça, je pensais que les illustrations permettraient de simplifier les choses, mais ça reste un livre sympa.

This book has been fantastic for my 3 year old. He loves following the pictures. He is clear when it's a grown up job and it's very much us helping him. The pride he has when he's finished and we all eat his food is the best to see. He also has started calling himself chef. Brilliant book - highly recommend it.

The best parts of this book are the drawings that act as your child's recipe. Instead of reading a list of steps the drawings show your child how to make the recipe, from cracking eggs to stirring the flour.

Love this book. It is my go-to birthday gift I buy for all of my toddlers friends birthdays. Next year it will be the sequel I buy for everyone.

Bought as gift - great for mums wanting to involve their kids