Read this book if you like:
Cooking
Making art out of your food
Eating breakfast for dinner

When it’s my turn to cook dinner, I like to cook noodles for everyone. I do tend to make my noodle dishes a little spicy, and this has been, um, sort of a problem for my diners. Thud’s face usually turns bright red and he starts waving his hand in front of his mouth really fast. The last time this happened, he politely asked me, “Ladybug, could you please make something else for dinner next time? I’m all noodled out!”

Sigh. I guess even when you are a noodle-master, sometimes you have to mix things up a bit. That’s why Pretend Soup is a great cookbook to have at your side when you want to cook some new dishes for your friends. I just had to make the bagel faces—I used olives for eyes, cucumbers for ears and sunflower seeds for teeth. There’s also lemon-lime soda pop, green spaghetti, and yes, thank goodness, even noodle pudding! I finally chose blueberry pancakes for my next meal, since one of Thud’s many dreams, besides having his own chocolate farm someday, has been to eat breakfast for dinner.

The recipes have all been tested by real kids, and they let you know just how they feel about them. One young chef says about his bagel face, “This has a happy taste.”  Another says, “When you eat the sad face, it goes away.” True culinary wisdom! And best of all, there are cool illustrations which show you, step by step, how to make the recipe. This is good for someone like me who can’t really follow directions in a book unless they are pretty. And there’s a whole lot you get to do for each recipe, while grown-ups help you out with the harder stuff. If you are ready to shake on some salt, crack some eggs, and smash some garlic with a soup can, then dig in to this great book. Maybe someday we can have a blueberry pancake cook-off—mine were a huge success, and this time Thud even asked for seconds.