The Boxcar Children Cookbook

by Diane Blain, Eileen M. Neill (Illustrator), Kathy Tucker (Editor)

The Boxcar Children love to eat--and cook! No matter how busy they are with their latest adventure, they take time out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This cookbook includes many of their home-style favorites. The cookbook also contains quotes from the mysteries which inspired the recipes so readers can have fun cross-checking the cookbook with the stories.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"At first, when Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny lived in the boxcar, they had to cook because there was no one else to cook for them."

I remember LOVING the Boxcar Children series when I was a kid. I would devour book after book after book.

Now that I'm an adult, I'm revisiting all of my old favorites...and if they have a cookbook, I snatch it up. I love reading a book then experiencing it again through the recipes and meals that the characters enjoyed in the original series.

Now, I will admit, I am VERY particular when it comes to my literary cookbooks and overall, I would say that this is a pretty good one!

This cookbook contains many recipes organized into nine major categories (Beverages, Breads, Breakfast, Sandwiches, Main Dishes/Soups/Stews, Campfire Cooking, Salads and Vegetables, Cookies and Cakes, and finally Desserts).

At the beginning of each category, there would be a little blurb connecting the story to the food type. For example, under Beverages the book says,

"After a day of exciting adventures, the Boxcar Children are hungry and thirsty. They know how to make beverages that just hit the spot."

Then under each category there would be a handful of recipes that further tie into the story. I do really appreciate how the recipes cited to specific books.

The Snowbound Hot Chocolate Mix comes from when the children are stranded in a cabin in Snowbound Mystery. The Campout Cornbread recipe is based on The Yellow House Mystery and how Mr. Hill taught them how to make ham, eggs and cornbread.

I do really wish the author had gone just a step further and had included a quote from the book to go along with each recipe. I love the boxcar series but I don't have a working memory of the 150+ titles in this series.

So, I have to trust the cookbook author when she says that the Mystery Ranch French Toast came from The Mystery Ranch but I would prefer to have a quote and a page number to help jog my memory on the series.

Additionally, I noticed that there were several book repeats (multiple recipes coming from the same book). That might just be because that particular book had a lot of good meals mentioned but in a 150+ book series and given that there were just over seventy recipes, I feel like there didn't need to be so many repeats, especially when you consider that the are 220+ books if you count the spin offs.

[Wasif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cooking books. Great recipes for new beginner cooks. Simple instructions .

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice cookbook about the boxcar children series!

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likes:
* Very clear and child friendly instructions.
* Each recipe comes with a reference from one of the books.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to actually try some of these recipes but it's just a fun read and takes me back to all the Boxcar Children books I read as a child.