Tallulah in the Kitchen

by Nancy Wolff

Some things to keep in
A. Lumps are okay.
B. Too much stirring will result in
thick, heavy pancakes that sit in
your tummy for an entire day.
C. Four hands are better than
two hands.
D. Never sneeze directly into the batter.

A friendly introduction to pancake making by a most stylish culinary cat-Tallulah!

Tallulah is a cat. You might say she is something of a pancake expert. Not every kind she creates turns out perfectly, of course-the coconut and jelly bean filled variety was not a big hit. But her marshmallow and sliced banana pancakes are simply divine. Today, Tallulah is going to make her special Blueberryalicious Pancakes. And while Tallulah takes her cooking very seriously, she and her friends also know how to have fun in the kitchen.

Step by step, from buying all the ingredients to flipping the last pancake, Tallulah introduces young children to the joys of cooking.

Genres: Food, Picture Books, Cats, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Owen Greece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Wolff’s Tallulah in the Kitchen is everything a children’s book should be creative, colorful, and filled with laughter. My kids adore Tallulah’s kitchen adventures, and we even tried her pancake recipe together. Instant family favorite!

[Tess Armel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adorable book with interesting illustrations. It includes lessons about kitchen safety and friendship. It is a great story to use for students who like pictures more than text. It is a good idea to include books for all reading levels, and this is a fun book that helps lower level readers grow.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Tallulah, the pancake-flipping feline protagonist of Tallulah in the Kitchen, the rules are a little different from those outside the picturebook's reality. For instance, in her world, no one is shy about eating food prepared in a kitchen where live animals have free reign. And although certain rules remain Universal (such as the banishment of young hands from kitchen appliances without direct adult supervision), a mixture of seemingly contradictory ingredients is a welcome deviation from the norm - even if they are not culinary successes.

Tallulah is a wonderful hostess. Her friends love and admire her cooking, and they freely recognize her talents. There is no jealousy or animosity - just simple acceptance and celebration of her abilities. Tallulah herself acknowledges her strengths, learns from her particular challenges, and shares the results with her best friends.

As a picturebook for children, this title not only introduces some fun characters into the lives of those who visit the little gouache-stained world, but encourages a sense of freedom, or friendship, and of excitement. There is still some magic to be had in the world, no matter how stilted the world outside of the book may be. One can still take basic ingredients (batter, banana, and coconut, for example), and turn them into a palatable delight hitherto unknown to the reader.

Tallulah in the Kitchen may not be as brilliantly unique as, The Stinky Cheese Man (and other Fairly Stupid Tales) et al, but it certainly deserves to be ranked amongst the same class as such.

[Karlie Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tallulah in the Kitchen is a fun read for young students. It would be good to explore the idea of cooking with students and would be good for planning an activity where students are able to cook and follow a recipe on their own. I would also use this as a way to encourage students to help their family cook at home and learn how to follow a recipe.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like a very cute book! Not sure how to use it in the classroom however.