A Smart Girl's Guide: Cooking: How to Make Food for Your Friends, Your Family & Yourself (American Girl® Wellbeing)

I am picky about my children's reading and kids' cookbooks are a dime a dozen. I was quite pleasantly surprised that even though this has the trendy AG name (which I assumed would make this book more fluff and hype than content), this book is fabulous- a real stand out in the genre.First, (disclaimer we haven't tried the recipes yet) this book is much more than a cookbook of recipes. It is really a fun read that goes step by step through how to grow and learn in becoming a cook. It is almost like a class, covering all the basics of how to serve healthy meals, various cooking methods and tools, etc. And, again,given the brand name I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of political agenda- there was no brainwashing toward vegetarianism or weird new age dietary stuff or overemphasis on body image or eating disorder stuff- just good solid healthy eating advice like filling your plate with the right portions of whole grains and veggies- just the way I think, as a mom, when trying to feed my family! I loved the focus on preparing healthy meals for others, family etc- it is inspiring to see joy in cooking! The recipes were so logical- with the idea that if you experience cooking the basics- just do it!- then you will gain experience and comfort and can begin to gain freedom and adventurousness In the kitchen. If a girl reads this book and does all it's recipes, I think she'll be well on her way to becoming comfortable in the kitchen and a good cook! I as a mom am loving peeking over my girl's shoulder sneaking tips from this book which is like a younger version of one of those fun homemaker books you curl up with by the fire. Oh, did I mention my 9 year old daughter loves it and wouldn't put it down at bedtime! She especially enjoyed the quizzes. My only complaint is that I hate it when American Girl books put in advertisements for others in the back. I don't trust the handling on topics like boys, dating, etc. so I'd rather not have them promoted on there. Oh well, it's subtle anyway and the book was very well done. Fun- definitely recommend and a lovely gift for the adventurous tween set- along with some baking accessories :-).

The books in this series are so fun. My daughter loves them!

This book is EVERYthing I wanted to teach my kids about safe and successful cooking in the kitchen.

This is a great book! It is packed with information. my 7 year old daughter has been reading it and thumbing through it since it came in the mail. I like that it also cover safe food handling procedures and my daughter likes the little quotes and stories from real girls. Get this book!

I bought this book on kindle instead of amazon to read on my kindle iOS app because I am trying to save space in my bedroom and this is a really good cooking tips book.

My daughter loves it!

My 11 year old daughter asked me to buy this for her. She has made a few recipes out of it already. She now talks about wanting to be a chef someday. haha! I think it is an informative and instructive book with simply DIY recipes without parental supervision needed. We have always been pleased with the American Girl books geared towards her age.

Impressed that it wasn't only a recipe book but a step by step instructional book with various topics for cooking. It covers procedures, safety, tools and more.

I got it for my 6 year old. Lots of safety ideas and few recipes. She is interested. We like it.

Xmas present for my grand daughter went down very well

I bought this book for my granddaughter, who just turned 9. She found the book rather boring and kept asking, "where are the recipes?" There are a few. I liked the part on kitchen safety and there were a few fun reads, hence the one star. But not enough to keep your interest. We looked the book over once but I don't think she will use the book again. It provides you with suggested menus and talks about many different types of food but again does not offers you many of the recipes.

Brilliant booksSure will keep young girls happyAnd the stories are fab