Look I'm a Cook

May 29, 2017
Helping kick off the Look series, this welcoming activity book invites children to enter the kitchen with their senses wide open. Bright photographs illustrate step-by-step directions for 11 dishes, including guacamole, meringues, bread, and chocolate pears; a cartoon boy in a toque adds commentary throughout. Clipboard-style sidebars encourage readers to think about what they are seeing, feeling, and tasting (“Does the avocado change color? Does the lime juice taste sour and acidic?”), and the book also delves into the science behind several recipes. It’s an accessible introduction to cooking that emphasizes observation, curiosity, and experimentation. Simultaneously available: Look I’m a Scientist. Ages 3–7.

July 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-This new nonfiction series from DK introduces preschool and early elementary school children to basic science and cooking activities. Both books begin with a brief guide for grown-ups, a table of contents, and a spread suggesting questions to ask and how to use one's senses when doing the activities. The projects are simple but enticing. I'm a Cook contains recipes for making guacamole, bread, hard-boiled eggs, and rainbow ice, while I'm a Scientist includes activities such as making slime, playdough, shaving-cream snow, and wind catchers. Some of the activities and recipes are followed by ways to extend the project: for example, turning homemade bread into bruschetta or making aliens with slime. The pages are colorful and appealing, with lots of accompanying photos. Unlike in many activity books for kids, the instructions extend beyond the typical two-page format, resulting in a much cleaner layout. Although most of the crafts will require some adult assistance, they are all straightforward enough for kids to play an active role. VERDICT These bright, fun activity guides would make good additions to preschool classrooms and early elementary library collections.-Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
Preschool-G Boasting full-color photos, fun projects, and open-ended questions that playfully encourage critical thinking, titles in the Look series offer little ones great ideas for active learning. The projects in Look I'm a Cook range in difficulty from a bowl of yogurt topped with strawberries, mint, and honey to more challenging recipes, such as baked meringues and homemade bread. Frequent adult alerts helpfully signal when kiddos will need adult help or supervision, and each step is clearly illustrated with large photos. Each book opens with a discussion of senses and how they help in perception, and inset boxes pose targeted questions about how the projects feel, sound, smell, and so on. This focus on observation will help kids transcend simply following directions and get them paying more attention to cause and effect. In addition to its classroom applications, this series' approachable projects and lively illustrated layouts make it appealing for casual readers, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)