Fun ideas for kid-pleasing treats.
A year’s worth of daily inspiration inviting kids to experiment in the kitchen.
Young readers will be encouraged to try making corn muffin chili bowls on a cold January day, peach Melba milkshakes in August, and a cheese plate resembling candy corn in October. Each food idea consists of a couple of sentences or a short paragraph of narrative instructions. Rather than cooking from scratch, most involve assembly of pre-made ingredients, including convenience foods such as gummy candies, ready-made snack mixes, marshmallows, or nut butter. Readers learn easy hacks using these ingredients, for example, melting chocolate chips in the microwave and spreading them on top of Twinkies to create Twinkie Éclairs. A few of the food projects require adult assistance, such as those that call for deep-frying, broiling, or using a blender. With its focus being more on fun ideas rather than teaching cooking skills (the instructions are cursory), many recipes assume that readers or their adult helpers will know the meanings of terms like al dente; have access to kitchen equipment including food processors, waffle makers, and silicone molds; and possess the necessary knife and piping skills. Some entries reference food-related milestones in history; holidays like Halloween, Hanukkah, and Christmas; and events like Earth Day. The clear, bright, eye-catching photographs throughout will be fun for budding chefs to pore over.
Fun ideas for kid-pleasing treats. (index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-950785-91-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Hearst Home Kids
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
This introduction to puberty may be particularly helpful for girls looking ahead to that stage.
A growing-up guide for preteen girls.
This puberty-navigation guide covers girls’ bodily changes, body care, health, relationships with family and friends, staying safe, and handling stress. In many cases the author, a registered nurse, has covered the same material as she did in various editions of this title as well as The Boy’s Body Book. This girls’ book skips the topics of sleep and performance-enhancement drugs in favor of a section on eating disorders. As in the boys’ book, controversial subjects are addressed generally and conservatively if at all. She includes a rough diagram of female reproductive organs and tells her young readers about menstruation and visiting a gynecologist but not how babies are made. She talks about having boys as friends, saying “Don’t put pressure on yourself to call any of your close friendships ‘dating.’ ” The strength of this title is its emphasis on good grooming, healthy living habits, and positive relationships. Added for this fourth edition is new material on interacting with adults, personal empowerment, body language, reputations, and “learning disabilities,” helpful information for the growing segment of the preteen population identified with cognitive and social learning differences. Tallardy’s cartoon illustrations show girls and adults of varying ethnicities and provide a cheerful accompaniment.
This introduction to puberty may be particularly helpful for girls looking ahead to that stage. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-60433-714-3
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Cider Mill Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it.
“There is a lot of nonsense written about the human body,” writes the author, “and this book is no exception.”
Though not quite making good on his promise of “100 percent fact-free chapters,” (he does accurately describe “chondrolaryngoplasty”) Griffiths’ anatomical tour in general steers clear of anything that would be marked as correct on a test. From “Ears can be big or small, depending on their size” to “Capillaries are the larval form of butterflies,” he offers pithy inanities about 68 mostly real body features. Though he closes every entry with “That is all you need to know about…,” he then goes on to regale readers with the news that the epiglottis was named after a Greek philosopher and other “Fun Body Facts.” Similarly, noting that his illustrations “may not be scientifically accurate” (the understatement of the decade), Denton nonetheless provides on nearly every spread profusely labeled, free-association cartoon views of each body part. These are filled out with tiny figures, mechanical apparatus and miscellaneous junk. Though serious young researchers may be disappointed to find the “Private Parts” pages blacked out, a full index follows to provide ready access to any references to poo, pus, farts, drool, “sneeze-powered missiles” and like essentials.
Occasionally clever—fifth-grade boys will love it. (Humor. 10-12)Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-36790-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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