Recipe

by Angela Petrella

Step aside, Mother ? it's Kristen's turn to pick the recipe and make the dinner! There's just one teensy Kristen's imagination is far more developed than her cooking skills. With ingredients ranging from 400 hot dogs and 20 bags of marshmallows to a sweatshirt and a water pistol, Recipe is the laugh-out-loud chronicle of just about everything that can go wrong in a kitchen. The recipe may not end up as delicious, or even as edible, as Kristen hopes, but that's the journey is often more fun than the destination. And there's a hungry raccoon in the backyard who'll eat just about anything.

Genres: Picture Books

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2012

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may have been too odd even for me. A little girl learns to cook with mom as trusty assistant. She makes her own recipe which calls for hot dogs, marshmallows, french fries, horse meat substitute and a few extras. I did enjoy the Kochalka-esuq illustrations and silly earl elementary students might really enjoy this.

[Erik This Kid Reviews Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kristen told her mom “it was time for me to learn to cook” and comes up with a recipe that she invents. Kristen wants to finally be in charge and tells her mom she can help if she listens to her. On her shopping list for her mom, she lists things like 20 bags of marshmallows, 4 hundred hot dogs, bowl, NEW PUPPY (no the puppy doesn’t go into the recipe, but what a great idea to get one), water squirter, horse meat substitute and other unusual things needed for her unique recipe. Mom, being the good mom, gets the stuff on the list and the girl starts making the recipe. Mom takes over at the parts where Kristen has to use boiling water. Kristen thinks that’s okay. The recipe keeps growing and growing (literally) and they make a hard, mountainous pile of… whatever. Well, at least the racoons will like it.

What I liked about it- This is a cute book. I think all kids want to be “in charge” in the kitchen. The mom in the book lets her daughter be creative (and very messy) and it shows that there is no wrong in cooking – just have fun with it! I like the idea of it – a mother and a daughter having fun and cook a “masterpiece” together! The illustrations are awesome with great details in them (like when the girl is outside with the puppy and Mom is supposed to keep the recipe from burning, but through the window, you can see Mom, back turned to the stove, talking on the phone, while the pot is giving off black smoke). That made it fun. I really like the endpapers also. There is a fun recipe at the back of the book to make your own candy roll-up. I can’t wait to try it!
*NOTE I requested a review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The McSweeney's McMullins series continues to create books the right way. From the cover that converts to a giant-size, double-sided, full-color poster to the end papers that extend the story from cover to cover. Recipe manages to walk the line between imagination and reality. This includes the best shopping list ever. If you're looking for a children's book that features horse meat substitute, you just found it.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and charmingly illustrated story of a girl who decides it's time she learns how to cook and, with the help of her mother, makes a concoction of (I can only hope) her own devising: marshmallows, hot dogs, burnt french fries, and (wait for it) tofu. Happy ending/spoiler alert: It doesn't go to waste.

[Indira · Rating 3 out of 5]

while i generally trust rudy's judgment, this one grossed me out a bit. the illustrations are a little freaky but fascinating, like something really yucky you can't stop staring at or eating. luxmi passed on it, too, but as she become a weird little kid (as i hear they all do!) i'm sure she'll pick it up again.

[Thia]

fun for elementary