Chatting About Books:
Recommendations for Young Readers

Listen Now | iTunes Subscription | RSS Feed

Episode 3—Delicious Summer Treats

Book Chat

• The Spatulatta Cookbook by Isabella Gerasole and Olivia Gerasole; photographs by John Zich (Scholastic, 2007)

Meet Belle and Liv Gerasole: elementary students by day; chefs by night. These two industrious girls created the Spatulatta website, which features videos of the two sisters demonstrating recipes. The cookbook is a nice companion to the website, full of kid-friendly recipes like Bunny Salad and Mashed Potato Ghosts. Kids will enjoy the photographs and clear, step-by-step instructions.
Best for grades K to 5, ages 5 to 11.

• Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers & Eaters; tales retold by Jane Yolen; recipes by Heidi E.Y. Stemple; illustrated by Philippe Béha (Crocodile Books, 2006)

This fun collection of well-known (“Cinderella”) and not-so-well-known (“The Brewery of Eggshells”) folk and fairy tales is retold by the accomplished Jane Yolen. The twist? Each tale is accompanied by a fantastic recipe! After reading “Jack and the Beanstalk,” you’ll be ready to try Jack’s Magic Party Beans, a hearty dish that Stemple claims is fit for a giant. The book is divided into five chapters – breakfasts, lunches, soups, dinners, and desserts – and also includes margin notes relating to each tale’s origins and variations.
Best for grades K to 5, ages 5 to 11.

Cookies and Milk
Jennifer and Hunter enjoy chocolate chip cookies and Sweet-Smelling Cinnamon Bread (the companion recipe to “The Stolen Bread Smells” in Fairy Tale Feasts) while chatting with Emily about their cooking adventures. Hunter loved making and eating pancakes after reading ‘The Runaway Pancake” in Fairy Tale Feasts. The crack of the egg, the sizzle of the griddle – who knew cooking could be so much fun? His mom, Jennifer, was happy to lure Hunter away from his video games for some cooking time together; she didn’t even mind cleaning up the mess!

About the Host

Emily Manning started teaching first grade in 1999 and is now a reading intervention teacher for third- through fifth-graders. Emily’s passion is reading; she enjoys the challenge each year of finding books that will spark the love of reading in her students. Emily’s favorite books are the ones kids ask to read over and over — the ones that are worn out from so many readings, complete with wrinkled pages and loose bindings.

These include

• Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Helen Ketteman (Scholastic, 1997)
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (Yearling, 2001)
• The Jazz Fly by Matthew Gollub (Tortuga, 2000)
• The Magical, Marvelous, Mystical Coat by Catherine Ann Cullen (Little, Brown, 2001)
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Puffin, 2004)