Connect with Books

School Library Monthly/Volume XXIX, Number 2/November 2012

It's as Easy as ABC: About Baking and Cooking

by Carolyn S. Brodie

When I was in the first grade, my mom was a home economics teacher in the small town of Joiner in northeast Arkansas. This was in the mid-1960s when many home economics programs had the "Home Ec Cottage" where mostly young women, but some young men too, learned cooking, sewing, and all the essentials of making a good home for their future families. Sometimes at the end of the school day, my mom would prepare for the next school day and she would also help us make little apple pies with biscuit dough and cinnamon applesauce, diced peaches, or spiced pumpkin. But, other than those wonderful "biscuit pies" we made, the thing I remember most about those long ago afternoons was that she had the patience, the time, and the love to show us how to prepare our little pies, and she always, always let us help!

Baking and cooking are fun ways to share family traditions and stories. They are also a great way to find out about so many other things like culture, math, science, health/nutrition, art, and economics. It doesn’t seem to matter if the cooking and baking take place in a real kitchen or a classroom. This month’s column features a variety of resources, and all of them connect with something delicious!

ABOUT BAKING

There are many children’s picture books that feature baking pies, cookies, cakes, and bread. Included here are some general baking resources followed with picture books featuring just pies. Pie is featured in this part of the article, since harvest time always brings thoughts of apple, pumpkin, and sweet potato pie! All seasonal! All scrumptious!

Generally about Baking

Denise Smart’s The Children’s Baking Book provides fifty recipes for the beginning baker ages ten and up with finished products in full-color photographs (DK, 2010). An older title, My First Baking Book by Rena Coyle, has recipes for ages six and up (Illus. by Tedd Arnold. Workman, 1998).

Check out the "ABCs of Baking" (http://www.chsugar.com/familyfun/baking.html) which provides a few easy recipes for children, definitions of baking terms, baking tips, safety instructions, utensil information, and "getting started" ideas.

Making and Baking Pie!

Best, Cari. Easy as Pie. Illus. by Melissa Sweet. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007.
A luscious peach pie is Jacob's gift for his parent’s anniversary after he learns how to bake by watching a cooking show.

Ehlert, Lois. Pie in the Sky. Harcourt, 2004.
When the cherries on the tree in the backyard ripen, it will be time to make a pie!

Gourley, Robbin. Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie. Clarion, 2009.
Edna and her family work on their Virginia farm and orchard from spring until winter to make sure that there is a successful harvest with good meals and especially apple pie.

Lindsey, Kathleen. Sweet Potato Pie. Illus. by Charlotte Riley Webb. Lee & Low, 2003.
An African-American family bands together and finds a solution to make it through the hard times of a drought in the early 1900s.

Priceman, Marjorie. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. Knopf, 1994.
A little girl travels the world to get just the perfect ingredients to make an apple pie. A recipe is included at the end of the book. (Also read: How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the USA. Knopf, 2008.)

Thompson, Lauren. The Apple Pie that Papa Baked. Illus. by Jonathan Bean. Simon & Schuster, 2007.
The framework, "This Is the House that Jack Built," is used for the sequenced story of Papa baking his apple pie.

• Make individual apple (or other types) pies from biscuits (http://lessons.atozteacherstuff.com/266/how-to-make-an-apple-pie-and-see-the-world-snack-activity/). Or check out "Teach Your Child to Make an Apple Pie" (http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/easy-as-apple-pie-714838/). Learn through a seven-minute video about how to make a pie crust (http://www.activitytv.com/9-how-to-make-pie-crust).
• Check out the free download of eighteen flashcards that correspond with How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World or print out matching game cards in color (http://www.fiarcircle.com/downloads/lessons/MatchingGame_set.pdf).
• Learn more about apples through these informative guides from the U.S. Apple Association (Preschool-Grade 3: http://usapple.org/PDF/p-3.pdf or Grades 4-6: http://usapple.org/PDF/4-6guide.pdf). There are also lots of apple recipes for grown-ups, and some could be made with assistance by young people (http://usapple.org/recipes).
• Use a pie to teach math by making a pie chart of everyone’s favorite pies (in the class or in the whole school). Use an online pie chart tool to graph the selections (http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/classic/pie.asp).
• National Geographic features a recipe for mini-pumpkin pie turkeys (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/recipes/mini-pumpkin-pie-turkeys/) or try a simple "Pumpkin Pie in a Bag" recipe that can be done in a classroom (http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PumpkinPieBagRecipe.htm).
• Watch the National Pie Council's website (http://www.piecouncil.org/AboutUs/) for the next National Pie Day in March 2013.

COOKING

This article segment focuses on other types of cooking than baking. There are introductions to famous chefs (real and imaginary), a selection of cooking/food information websites, a few highlighted children's cookbooks, picture books that share a story about a food with the inclusion of a recipe, and selected children’s recipe websites. Also included are professional resources that provide information on the interesting connections between children’s literature and food.

Chefs and Cooks (Real)

Arnold, Anne. The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2002.
This biography is about Soyer, a famous and interesting French chef who invented kitchen tools, shared his talents by opening soup kitchens during the Irish potato famine, and helped others learn to cook in times of crisis.

• Teachers and librarians can learn more about his "famine soup" (http://souperlatif.blogspot.com/2007/12/famine-soup-alexis-soyer-and-soup.html/). There is also a link here to the recipe that would serve the masses.

Barasch, Lynne. Hiromi's Hands. Lee & Low, 2007.
Working in her family's New York City restaurant, a Japanese-American girl named Hiromi Suzuki becomes a sushi chef.

• This is a good resource to use in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May (http://www.lessonplanspage.com/asianpacificamericanheritagemonth-htm/).

Hartland, Jessie. Bon Appetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child. Random House, 2012.
This biography of Julia Child begins with her childhood, covers her time at cooking classes in Paris, discusses publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and provides highlights of her cooking show on television. Included is a recipe for crepes.

• Connect to a picture book story about Julia Child's cat written by Susannah Reich, Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat (Illus. by Amy Bales. Abrams, 2012).

Hopkinson, Deborah. Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story From Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements. Illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Atheneum, 2001.
One of the first modern cookbooks was created when Fannie Farmer worked in the Shaw family's home and wrote her recipes down with exact instructions. Included is a recipe for famous griddle cakes.

• The facsimile of the cookbook is still in print as the Fannie Farmer 1896 Cook Book (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012).

Taylor, Gaylia. George Crum and the Saratoga Chip. Lee & Low, 2006.
This book shares the story George Crum, the chef at Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, who is credited with inventing the forerunner to the modern potato chip.

• Check out the "Everything Saratoga" website for a history of the Saratoga Chip that offers more information on the story of George Crum (http://www.saratoga.com/news/saratoga-chips.cfm).

Chefs and Cooks (Imaginary)

Brandenberg, Alexandra. Chop, Simmer, Season. Harcourt, 1997.
A great meal is prepared as the reader follows two chefs through all of their kitchen preparations.

deBrunhoff, Laurent. Babar Learns to Cook. Random House, 1979.
Cooking lessons are enjoyed by Babar and Celeste after they watch a famous chef on television.

• The Teaching Kids While Cooking blog includes "I Want to be a Chef-Build a Business Plan," which provides questions children can answer if they were to plan and open their own restaurant (http://1teachingkids.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-want-to-be-chef.html).
• Check out Dan Liebman's I Want to be a Chef (Firefly Books, 2012), for younger students interested in becoming a chef or I Want to be a Chef (Murdoch Books, 2012) for older students. The Murdoch book includes over 100 recipes for everything from scrambled eggs to Oven-baked Chicken Nuggets to Crazy Cupcakes.

Children's Cookbooks

Bloomfield, Jill. Grow It, Cook It. DK Publishing, 2008.
This children's cookbook includes many projects for creating small gardens and pairs the produce grown with vegetables that children can cook with some assistance. Each of the garden plants can be grown in pots.

D'Amico, Joan, and Karen Eich Drummond. The Coming to America Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Fascinating Stories from America's Many Cultures. Wiley, 2005.
This book is a great source for recipes from America's immigrant cultures accompanied by their culture's historical stories.

Graimes, Nicola. Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook. DK Children, 2007.
Step-by-step photos help the younger audience prepare tasty, healthy good food.

Karmel, Annabel. You Can Cook. Dorling Kindersley, 2010.
This cookbook for children teaches basic skills and techniques and features healthy recipes that encourage children to choose ingredients and flavor combinations while learning about nutrition and kitchen hygiene.

Lagasse, Emeril. Emeril's There's a Chef in My World! Recipes that Take You Places. Illus. by Charles Yuen. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. HarperCollins, 2006.
The famous television chef presents an international meal tour that includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Picture Books with Recipes!

(If the recipe isn’t obvious, it is added in parentheses.)

Argueta, Jose. Guacamole. Groundwood Books, 2012.

Blackstone, Stella. Making Minestrone. Illus.by Nan Brooks. Barefoot Books, 2000.

Carle, Eric. Pancakes! Pancakes! Simon & Schuster, 1970.

Dooley, Norah. Everybody Cooks Rice. Carolrhoda, 1992. (Other titles include Everybody Bakes Bread, Everybody Cooks Noodles, and Everybody Serves Soup.)

Ehlert, Lois. Growing Vegetable Soup. Harcourt, 1987.

Florence, Tyler, and Craig Frazier. Tyler Makes Pancakes. HarperCollins, 2012.

Lipson, Eden Ross. Applesauce Season. Illus. by Mordicai Gerstein. Roaring Brook Press, 2009.

Park, Linda Sue. Bee-bim Bop! Illus. by Ho Baek Lee. Clarion, 2005. (Korean Rice and Vegetable Dish)

Polacco, Patricia. Thundercake. Puffin, 1997.

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride. Illus. by Brian Selznik. (Eleanor Roosevelt's Pink Clouds On Angel Food Cake)

Stewig, John Warren. Making Plum Jam. Illus.by Kevin O’Malley. Hyperion, 2002.

Wellington, Monica. Pizza at Sally's. Dutton, 2006.

Children's Recipe Websites

Cooking with Kids. http://www.childrensrecipes.com/

Healthy Child, Healthy World: Recipes. http://www.healthychild.org/live-healthy/recipes/

Kids Health: Recipes and Cooking. http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/index.html

Recipe Goldmine: Kids Cook. http://www.recipegoldmine.com/childrecipe/childrecipe.html

Professional Reading

Keeling, Kara K., and Scott T. Pollard. Critical Approaches to Food in Children's Literature. Routledge, 2008.
Through a variety of scholarly chapters, this volume provides a first look at food as it is portrayed in different in children's literature.

Park, Linda Sue. "Still Hot: Great Food Moments in Children’s Literature." Horn Book Magazine 85, no. 3 (May 1, 2009): 231-240.
Park looks at significant food-related moments in children's literature, such as when Max's food is "still hot" when he returns home after his adventures with the wild things.

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