8 Great Cookbooks for Young Chefs

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes, by Mollie Katzen
Written by the creator of the vegetarian bible Moosewood Cookbook, this book is great for children as young as 3, but older kids who are new to the kitchen will also appreciate it. Each of the 19 recipes are written two ways: once in text, and once in comic-book-style pictures, so even non-readers can follow along.
Sample recipe: Bagel Faces. Tasty and adorable.

Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook, by Georgeanne Brennan
Don’t tell me you’ve never wanted to try green eggs and ham (in a box, with a fox, or just while hovering over your kitchen counter). Now you and your kids can whip some up, along with a couple dozen other Seuss-inspired dishes. Try one out or cook up a whole Who feast with roast beast.
Sample recipe: Schlopp with a Cherry on Top. Even your resident Grinch will love this one.

Better Homes and Gardens New Juniors Cook Book, by Better Homes and Gardens
If you’re looking a cooking primer for kids, you can’t go wrong by starting with our friends at Better Homes and Gardens. These 65 recipes were designed for kids ages 5 to 12, and include full-color illustrations, plus special sections for cooking basics, kitchen safety, and nutritional info.
Sample recipe: Football Meatloaf. Touchdown!

The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories, by Barbara M. Walker
Compiled by a Laura Ingalls Wilder superfan, this book has recipes for more than 100 pioneer dishes mentioned in the Little House books, plus a lot of fascinating historical background. If you’ve read any of Wilder’s books, your mouth has probably watered at her food descriptions, and now you and your kids have the tools to recreate the dishes for yourselves. The recipes are fairly authentic to the time period but won’t force you to churn any butter. Also included is a glossary, for those who don’t know their drippings from their giblets.
Sample recipe: Huckleberry Pie.

Williams-Sonoma: The Cookbook for Kids: Great Recipes for Kids Who Love to Cook, by Lisa Atwood
Leave it to Williams-Sonoma to class up the art of kid cuisine with this lovely hardcover book. It features more than 60 simple, tasty recipes, illustrated with mouth-watering, full-page photos and peppered with fun cooking facts.
Sample recipe: Berry & Yogurt Parfaits.

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes, by Roald Dahl
The first of a series of “revolting” cookbooks by Dahl, this one has recipes for dishes mentioned in his most famous books, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. Turn spaghetti into wormy spaghetti and cucumbers into snozzcumbers with the help of Dahl’s whimsically gross descriptions and Quentin Blake’s enchanting, silly drawings.
Sample recipe: Lickable Wallpaper. Finally, right?

National Geographic Kids Cookbook: A Year-Round Fun Food Adventure, by Barton Seaver
More than just a cookbook, this is a head-first dive into the world of food, written by a self-styled “food explorer.” The book is structured around a year-long calendar and leads kids through food ideas, lessons, and games from New Year’s Day to picnic season to Christmastime.
Sample recipe: Poached Pears with Ice Cream.

Wookiee Cookies: A Star Wars Cookbook, by Robin Davis
May the forks be with you. Kids who love Star Wars will want to cook their way through this book—though do note, it was written in 1998, so you won’t find any Jar Jar drinks or Queen of Na-blueberry pancakes. It comes with a sheet of Star Wars stickers, and plastic figurines clown around in all the food photos.
Sample recipe: Boba Fett-uccine. See what they did there?
What’s your kid’s favorite dish to cook?