The Daily Tiffin: Cookbooks for kids

The most popular cooking classes I offer give children a chance to come to my kitchen, with their parents, and learn to cook delicious, healthy, real food.

Most often it’s the kids who are more interested in cooking classes, and no matter how often we cook (usually every 5-6 weeks), they want to come more often. In class, each child works part of the time with his or her own parent, and then I mix them up, so sometimes the kids are working together, and sometimes they are working with another adult. This way, we all learn to respect each other in the kitchen, to make decisions together, and even to help each other with cleanup.

I let them suggest dishes they’d like to learn to make, and they do research in my cookbook library to get inspiration. Among the hundreds of cookbooks I own are many great cookbooks geared to young cooks of all ages.

If you have a child who’s starting to get interested in cooking, it's never to soon to buy your daughter or son a very first cookbook. Here are some of my favorite cookbooks for kids. (Note: all of these books are available on Amazon.com.)

Nobody does illustrated cookbooks for the preschool set better than Mollie Katzen:
Salad People, by Mollie Katzen
Pretend Soup, by Mollie Katzen

For ages 4-8:
Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids, by Rachael Ray
Williams-Sonoma Kids in the Kitchen: Fun Food, by Stephanie Rosenbaum
What’s Cooking? A Ratatouille Cookbook for Kids

For ages 6-10:
Gadgetology: Kitchen Fun with Your Kids, Using 35 Cooking Gadgets for Simple Recipes, Crafts, Games and Experiments, by Pam Abram

For ages 8-12:
The Children’s Quick and Easy Cookbook, by Angela Wilkes
Children’s Step-by-Step Cookbook, by Angela Wilkes
Spatulatta Cookbook, by Isabella Gerasole and Olivia Gerasole
Honest Pretzels, by Mollie Katzen
Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup! Recipes for the Kid in Everyone, by Emeril Lagasse
Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook, by Georgeanne Brennan
Kids' Baking: Over 60 Delicious Recipes for Children to Make, by Sara Lewis

For teens, two great books by two sisters and their mom:
Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat, by Megan, Jill and Judi
Teens Cook Dessert, by Megan, Jill and Judi Carle