Ever separate an egg with a funnel? Ever make a grilled cheese and broccoli sandwich? Ever follow your kids into the kitchen and help them with recipes they have chosen to prepare?

Mollie Katzen makes all this and more ever so painless. She wrote Pretend Soup for preschool cooks after working with young kids in a preschool setting. Honest Pretzels is the next step. These are more advanced recipes demanding more advanced techniques for children ages 8 and up. It's a kid's cookbook for a more sophisticated palate--those ready for Not-from-a-Box Macaroni and Cheese or Spunky Chili. All the recipes in the book are vegetarian.

Typically, each recipe is introduced with a list of ingredients, the amount of time it's going to take, a list of tools, and a note about where a child might want to ask an adult for help. The actual directions are broken out into separate "cards," many of them illustrated. At no time and in no place is the language patronizing.

Skills your child will develop include making and handling yeasted dough; making filled, shaped, healthy pastries; slicing, mincing, and grating; seasoning with herbs and spices; sautéing, pureeing, measuring, layering, assembling; dividing, estimating, timing, deciding; separating eggs, beating egg whites, folding a puffy batter; making simple, standard sauces; and basic kitchen safety and common sense.

That's quite a list. How did you measure up when you were 8--let alone now? Here's a good chance to give your child a leg up in the kitchen, while staying out of the way. --Schuyler Ingle

Customer Rating:
Summary: Honest Pretzels
Comment: A fantastic book for teaching children how to cook simple, tasty recipes. The use of pictures in listing the procedures are a great aid.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Start of Something Wonderful
Comment: I recieved this book for Christmas when I was nine years old. The first thing I remember making totally unassisted was the vegan chocolate cake that year. This book is fully of fun, easy recipes for kids with a little help from their parents. It's quite possible that this book had something to do with me becoming vegetarian at age eleven and vegan at thirteen. I know I couldn't have done it without that cake!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: It even tastes good!
Comment: I got this book from the library but after flipping through it, we bought it. My 8 year old has been able to follow the step-by-step directions that are clear and easy to understand. We started with the Torn Tortilla Bake that made a great side dish.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fabulous way to introduce a child to the kitchen
Comment: I've long been a fan of Mollie Katzen's cookbooks: she is so very user-friendly and clear in her writing. My most battered (so to speak) cookbook is Still Life with Menu. So Rowan (my ex's little boy, who is my "best friend," as he tells people) turned eight last week or so. He's been my cooking buddy since he was big enough to stand on a chair next to my stove (age two). He thinks I am the best cook in the world (and I'm not going to correct him).

The recipes are in these categories:

* Breakfast Specials: 10 recipes including Giant Baked Pancake Puff, Scrambled Eggs, and Corn Muffins
* Soups, Sandwiches, and Salads for Lunch and Dinner: 15 recipes including Tomato Soup with Crispy Croutons, Egg Salad and Cucumber Sandwich, and Tossed Green Salad with Two Dressings--Ranch and Apple Juice Vinaigrette
* Main and Side Dishes: Helping with Dinner for Real: 12 recipes including Lasagna, Torn Tortilla Casserola (aka Chilaquila Casserole from Still Life with Menu, I bet), and Carnival Baked Potatoes with Mild Red Pepper Sauce
* Desserts and a Few Baked Things: 12 recipes including Dinner Rolls, Cinnamon Swirl Sticky Buns, and Made-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake
* Snacks and a Few Special Drinks: 18 recipes including Hip Bean Dip, Crunchy Zucchini Circles, Icy Strawberry Slush, and Frozen Fruit Pops

Every recipe has an illustrated diagram of steps, which include things to ask an adult to do (those things appear at the beginning of the recipe, where she explains it, as well as in the step-by-step diagram, in bold). The writing is typical Mollie: Don't be afraid of the dry mustard in the recipe. Even if you don't like the kind of mustard that some people like to put on sandwiches and hot dogs, you'll find that this mustard is not too spicy. It gives this cheese extra flavor boost, and the whole thign will taste really good because of it. (A couple of kids said, "Eeuuu-mustard!" when we tested the recipe, but they loved the result.)

Many recipes also have some kid quotes on the intro page: "I like how the vegetables are strapped down by the melted cheese." -Sam (on the "Grilled Cheese and Broccoli Sandwich").

She tells them everything, from equipment to ingredients to little tricks to food history. Rowan is happy and proud to own such a wonderful book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Honest Pretzels
Comment: Honest Pretzels is a good book for children who like to cook. The directions are easy to follow and are fun.

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