How does a person learn to cook? My mother prepared family meals every evening. She didn’t involve us in the making of the meal, but she was my model of a home cook who knew the importance of ­families eating together. She relied on a 1940s edition of The Boston...

Brash, Lorna Professor Cook's Dynamite DinnersGr. 4–6     32 pp.     EnslowBrash, Lorna Professor Cook's Fruity DessertsGr. 4–6     32 pp.     EnslowBrash, Lorna Professor Cook's Mind-Blowing BakingGr. 4–6     32 pp.     EnslowBrash, Lorna Professor Cook's Smashing SnacksGr. 4–6     32 pp.     EnslowProfessor Cook's... series. Kid-friendly recipes are presented with underlying food facts and cooking principles...

Barlow, Melissa Noodlemania!: 50 Playful Pasta RecipesGr. 4–6     112 pp.     Quirk BooksIllustrated by Alison Oliver. Sections named for pasta shapes ("Twisted & Twirly," "Wheels & Whatever") contain recipes that use common ingredients and simple techniques with the usual caveat about grown-up help. Appetizing full-color photos show final products. Pasta trivia, creative...