June 2026–Our Three Favorite Cookbooks for Kids!
A Note from Ellen Smith, editor, Inkandescent Kids magazine —There are some cookbooks in my kitchen that are still in pristine condition. But the best cookbooks are stained, wrinkled, and held together by packing tape. These kitchen staples won’t become family heirlooms–I’m not even sure these tried-and-true volumes will survive another decade! When my kids are in the kitchen with me, though, I hope that I’m passing down all the things I love about cooking.
Naturally, my kids have amassed several of their own cookbooks. Pictured here are three of their favorites:
- The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
- The Disney Princess Cookbook
- Cooking Class Global Feast! by Deanna F. Cook
Don’t be fooled by the picture: I used some creative angling (and a little Photoshop) to hide the evidence of how often these cookbooks have been used. Just like my trusty favorites, these books have handwritten notes in the margins, bookmarks between wrinkled pages, and a few places they’ve been patched up with tape. Those are the marks of a great cookbook: they’re well-loved and well-used!
What makes these three cookbooks such a hit with the youngest cooks in our family? I’ll let them tell you!
The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists
This cookbook has real science experiments for questions like “what is gluten?” and “why do we salt our food?” After you do the experiment for each topic, the book explains the science behind it. Then the book includes some more recipes so you can practice the cooking skill you just learned about in the experiment. I liked the instructions and the pictures for each step.
The Disney Princess Cookbook
I like making the food in this book for family movie night. I like pretending that I’m making food just like the princesses do in their movies. And a lot of the food is really good, too. We made the Te Fiti Tropical fruit punch for a Moana birthday party!
Cooking Class Global Feast! by Deanna F. Cook
We got this when we were studying different countries around the world. I liked the desserts best! Making brigadeiros was my favorite dessert. We used coconut milk instead of dairy milk because some people in our family can’t eat dairy. It still worked and they were really good!
This month on Inkandescent Kids, let’s explore all the wonderful ways that kids can be creative in the kitchen. Check out a kid-friendly turkey burger recipe from award-winning chef Kim Katz. Meet Fran Nelson and learn about her volunteer work at Rising Above Bakery. And of course, submit your favorite recipes and cookbook reviews to Inkandescent Kids!
