A new cookbook for kids that's about real food

I've always been put off by children's cookbooks that are filled with so-called recipes for sweet and sillly foods (like peanut butter and jelly sandwich recipes-who needs that?). Kids need real info on real food, just as adults do. So when I saw You've Got Recipes by my friends Jerry Anne Di Vecchio & Francoise Dudal Kirkman, I knew I'd found the ideal cookbook for my two little great nieces, Robyn and Iris.

You see, Jerry & Francoise know a thing or two about food. Jerry was the Food Editor of Sunset Magazine (she wrote for the magazine for some 40 years). Francoise, a Paris-trained artist, was a designer at Sunset Magazine and a fabulous cook herself. Together, they've produced a delightfully illustrated 94-page story book that weaves a tale of a San Francisco-based raccoon in email contact with a Paris-based mouse, who each share stories and recipes. It's a fun format that mixes in solid cooking tips and how-to for young 'foodies' with easy recipes. The book lets the kids be entertained by a sweet story while they learn how to wield a potato masher.

What I like best, though, is that the recipes are for tasty foods the whole family will enjoy, from cheese puffs and zucchini soup to lamb stew. More importantly, the youngsters can pick up good eating habits as they master some solid recipes that will come in handy their whole life long. That's a heck of an accomplishment for a kid's cookbook.

Details: Available from the authors at http://youvegotrecipes.blogspot.com for $34.60 (includes CA tax and shipping) or at Amazon.com or Trafford Publishing . Coming soon: Notecards featuring the cute characters featured in the book; see the author's blog.