How Cooking Works by Dave King

How Cooking Works Reviews

• 
  Shanshad Whelan

  Going to drop this back to three stars after further perusal. There's a real issue for me with some of the fonts used in this book, especially the recipe headings, which are in outlined form. The outline is not bolded and almost impossible to see without really focusing. I'm of the opinion that fonts, especially header fonts, should pop and be clearly visible when scanning the page. But even the other fonts are an issue. The recipe text is too small IMO, and in a non traditional font that doesn't show up as well unless bolded.
  
  I'm also unimpressed with the "how" portion of the text. Most of the little tidbits of knowledge added in don't really relate much to cooking. Like "why are smoothies sweet?" Or "why do I shake salad dressing?" Other questions don't really get explained at all, like "Why does mozzarella cheese melt easily?" All the little paragraph says on this is that "not all cheeses melt that well." and then names some cheeses that don't melt well. It never goes into why this is so. While some of the recipes are perfectly yummy looking (and I'd like to try my hand at those Rice Balls) this book's main gimmick of being a cookbook about how cooking works falls short of it's goal. It tells kids how to cook, but not really how that cooking works. Couple that with the frenetic fonts and there are a lot of better cookbooks out there for kids, I'm sad to say. Still can be a fun page through book, but I don't find it to be a winner.
• 
  Alyssa

  This has probably been my favorite science picture book that I have read thus far. I think that cooking can teach so much! I think that it is really beneficial to teach children at a young age to not only love food and being creative but also teach them about math, hard work and the importance of family time through food. While reading this book I thought to myself how a child would probably think that this book was really fun. There was a young child on every single page making the recipe and having fun with it. There was also the fact that there were a lot of recipes that I am sure most kids enjoy and have seen before such as pizza and chicken. Then finally there were recipes that would appear new to a child. I could picture a child trying to make a new recipe with a parent and then actually being willing to try it because he or she spent time and effort on it. The recipes were also teaching how healthy food is not just lettuce but that it can be in a variety of ways which I really enjoyed. I thought that this book is a great teaching tool and also a fun book for kids!
• 
  Kara

  This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever just sat down and read. The language is simplified for children, but the recipes are something I would use now as an adult. And although it is a children's cookbook, the recipes are surprisingly healthy and I learned things I wish I had known when I was younger. Each section teaches you the basic of the subject and then you can build upon that foundation. Super cool way to teach not only baking but science as well.
• 
  Naomi

  As a person who has a passion with cooking, I love books that introduce that love to children. On that note, I loved the explanations of cooking science, but I felt the recipes were not too children friendly. There were also cooking methods that, even supervised, I wouldn't allow my children to use.
• 
  Monika

  This cooking book not only has recipes but explain the fundamentals of cooking. The recipes look fantastic and look like they would be a lot of fun to try out with children. This book got me excited about cooking and learning how cooking works.
• 
  Hillary

  This is a great book to introduce kids into the kitchen! It is encouraging and teaches some safety techniques. I loved the recipe's, but especially the little pictures that showed kids how to flip crepes! This will be fun for any aspiring chef in the kitchen, and simple for mom to supervise!
• 
  Jen

  fun little recipes with photos of children doing them themselves. Inspirational! or at least a great resource to share with children.
• 
  Allison W

  Includes pictures and callouts for help
• 
  Amber Escamilla

  This is cool because not only are there recipes, it explains why certain things happen or why you do certain things when cooking. It does that for every recipe. So cute and informative!