Kids being creative> Discover the ‘best family cookbook imaginable’

HEY KIDS! YOU’RE COOKIN’ NOW!, written by Dianne Pratt, illustrated by Janet Winter, Harvest Hill Press, Salisbury Cove, 160 pages, hardcover, $19.95.

I have discovered the best family cookbook imaginable. In fact, I’m reviewing it because I don’t think my family library could be complete without it. (My children agree. They run off with it so much I have a hard time keeping it in one place.) So grab a copy of “Hey Kids! You’re Cookin’ Now! A Global Awareness Cooking Adventure” and bring your children into the kitchen for some real quality time.

The recipes are winners: patriotic pancakes with strawberry syrup, soft pretzels, fresh fruit salsa, spaghetti squiggles, chunky chicken bits, taco salad bowls, chocolate chocolate brownies, peach crisp and grape sorbet. There is something for everyone. Child appeal is combined with sound nutrition. And the recipes are realistic.

Have you ever fallen for a magazine recipe, bought 10 expensive ingredients and ended up with something not remotely resembling the photograph that inspired you? This is your book. Ingredients are reasonably priced and mostly ones you have. There are no trick photo teasers. You can achieve satisfying results even if you’re as totally untalented in the kitchen as I am. And children can meaningfully participate and even run the show. Author Dianne Pratt uses appealing logos to indicate which steps need the most adult help.

If it stopped at food, this book would be well worth the price. The last chapter — “Kitchen Crafts & Experiments” — helps you create homemade super bubbles, play dough and face and finger paint; whip up treats for your family pet; and learn science by doing.

Finally the book is packed with fascinating information about animals, the environment and ways families can make a difference. A listing of conservation groups at the back is a valuable resource for families who wish to pursue issues raised in depth.

For Pratt, the book is the culmination of a three-year family project. Son Bobby was involved in research and the crafts section and contributed the global awareness theme. Daughter Robin pitched in and was very enthusiastic and encouraging.

While admitting that the going was not always smooth and that at times interest waned, Pratt said that the project gave her family a strong sense of identity. “It was a family flag — a banner we could wave. It was a sense that we were doing something together.”

Pratt urges other families to rally around themes — sports, reading, outdoor recreation, computers, science, the arts — that incorporate members’ interest and values. She feels that a strong sense of family identity and belonging can help protect children from negative outside influences.

Pratt came from a strongly bonded family. Her mother was able to turn even the most prosaic task into fun. When it was time to wax floors, the children skated in socks. Not surprisingly, her home was a magnet for other families’ children.

Pratt found that this strong bond gave her a real sense of responsibility to her family. “I wouldn’t do something that would hurt them.”

Pratt believes that many children today who seem concerned for no one but themselves lack a sense of belonging in their own families. “They have to find for themselves, to take care of themselves at very early ages.”

Even though her family had started out well grounded in the issues covered in the book, Pratt found that writing it was a learning and growing experience. “We gained more love, more compassion for the animals and for the people in the parts of the world we studied.”

She would like reading it to empower other parents and children. “I want them to get a feel for what they can do as a family that can really make a difference.”

Pratt would especially like the book to help families struggling against outside pressures find time to spend together. Reasoning that all households have to eat, she is trying to convert meal preparation into family participation quality time and help all members learn and grow in the process.

This book can be ordered by phone. Harvest Hill Press has a toll free number: 1-888-288-8900.

Now you’ll have to excuse me. I’m off to whip up some jellyfish bowls. Don’t tell me that doesn’t pique your curiosity. You’ll find the recipe on page 98.