Parenting Today
Whether you’re reading your child a bedtime story and they’re begging you to “read it again” with full character voices or they’ve found a quiet spot of their own to get immersed in imaginary worlds like the Hundred Acre Wood or Hogwarts Castle, kids falling in love with books is a wonderful thing.
There’s no better way to bring their favorite stories to life than making delicious recipes inspired by their favorite children’s books.
Cooking together also offers a chance to share quality one-on-one time with your kids — and teaches them skills like cooking, measuring, math, organization, and creativity.
Tailor their kitchen duties according to their age — little ones especially can stir, mash, dump, count, and giggle!
Now, grab your apron and your little chef and try these yummy storybook-inspired dishes.
“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” Book Series Treats
Laura Numeroff (Author) and Felicia Bond’s (Illustrator) award-winning book series from the New York Times bestselling team is as irresistible as the delicious treats they prompt chefs of all ages and skill levels to create. How adorable is Mouse, anyway?
Award-winning blog Alison’s Wonderland Recipes (AWR) features many recipes inspired by the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” series.
These Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies are perfect for tiny mice and little chefs to enjoy. They even have mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
As you measure ingredients, such as ¾ cup flour and ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can introduce fractions to your child using your measuring cups. Explain that two ½ cups make a whole cup, and a ¾ cup is smaller than 1 cup but larger than ½ cup.
Little ones can line up recipe ingredients and count them to see how many are needed to make a batch of cookies. (This recipe has 10).
Here are three more recipes in AWR’s “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” series:
- “If You Give a Dog a Donut”: Rainbow Sprinkled Donuts
- “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”: Maple Walnut Butterscotch Muffins
- “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”: Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes
Winnie the Pooh Smoothie
Winnie the Pooh’s adventures with Christopher Robin and all his pals in the Hundred Acre Wood by acclaimed author A.A. Milne and artist Ernest H. Shepard are some of the most cherished children’s stories of all time.
A New Dawnn travel, recipe, and lifestyle blog came up with this scrumptious Winnie the Pooh Smoothie that little chefs will love — it even contains Pooh’s favorite snack: honey!
The smoothie mimics the look of Pooh wearing his classic red shirt when served in a clear glass.
The bottom and top layers are Mango Pineapple Smoothie with honey and orange juice, with Strawberry Smoothie making the red middle.
Frozen mango, frozen pineapple, frozen strawberries, honey, and orange juice are simple ingredients.
Ask your little chef to measure and/or dump all the ingredients into the blender and press the button to mix them.
As you build the smoothie, point out the “top,” “middle,” and “bottom” positions. Also, discuss how primary colors blend to create other colors, such as when red and yellow combine to form orange.
Also, tell them fruit is a healthy snack and that mangos, pineapple, strawberries, and orange juice all have vitamin C.
More Pooh-inspired recipes include:
- Rabbit’s Carrot Cake Ice Cream by Inliterature.net.
- Bee Sandwiches by Eats Amazing.
- Hunnycomb Treats by MomEndeavors.
“Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch” Snack
Kids love to be silly! And who doesn’t love funny food?
Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Rylant and Illustrator Sucie Stevenson created the beloved children’s book series “Henry and Mudge” about a boy named Henry and his giant, lovable dog, Mudge.
In the “Henry and Mudge and the Funny Lunch” installment, Henry and his dad decide to make a funny lunch for Henry’s mom for Mother’s Day — a pineapple sofa.
The Jolly Tomato blog offers an awesome version of this fruity snack with their own Pineapple Sofa Recipe.
They split a pineapple open, used cute marshmallow “pillows,” and lined up strawberries with mini chocolate chip eyes to represent Henry’s “family” members.
Little chefs can practice hand coordination and organizing skills by lining the pillows and strawberries up into rows and fine motor skills in placing the chocolate chip “eyes” on the strawberries.
While you work, ask your little one what their favorite Henry and Mudge book is and why. Then ask what their favorite family time activity is. Their answers will be priceless once they get older!
More Beloved Storybook-Inspired Recipes
There are scores of beloved storybook-inspired recipes online and in kids’ cookbooks. You can also try these and turn up a lot more with your own Google search.
- Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham by Cindy Lynn Food.com
- “Dragons Love Tacos” Walking Tacos from Mary at Glazer Children’s Museum
- “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Very Healthy Caterpillar by Healthy Family Project
- “Stone Soup” May’s Stone Soup Recipe by HomeCooksGuide.com
- “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” Meatballs Recipe by Paula Willey for WYPR
Reading and cooking together with your kids will build a lifetime of precious memories. Always praise their literary and culinary efforts and remind them that every recipe is better with a heaping dose of love.
