Pancakes!: An Interactive Recipe Book (Cook in a Book Series)

by Lotta Nieminen (Artist), Meagan Bennett (Designed by)

Overview

Cook pancakes from scratch inside this interactive recipe book – readers whisk the eggs, flip the pancakes, and more!

Step one: mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Step two: whisk the eggs, milk, and butter.
Step three: stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to make the batter.

Simple, straightforward recipe text brings readers through each step of cooking pancakes, while the interactive novelty features, such as pull-tabs, wheels, and a punch-out piece, invite them to participate in the process. Cooking pancakes has never been so satisfying nor so clean! Perfect for young chefs-to-be, or any kid who prefers to ‘do it myself’. This is the first title in a series of interactive recipe books.

Ages 2-4

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780714872834
Publisher:	Phaidon Press
Publication date:	10/24/2016
Series:	Cook in a Book Series
Pages:	16
Sales rank:	37,683
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Lotta Nieminen is an illustrator, graphic designer, and art director from Helsinki, Finland, now running her own New York-based studio. In 2014, she was nominated for Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 list. In 2010, she received the Art Directors Club Young Guns award in the Art & Style category. This is her first novelty book for young children.

Editorial Reviews

This stylish board book [has]…simple, graphic illustrations that resemble paintings by Frank Stella…[Pancakes! is] fun and colorful.

The New York Times Book Review - Juman Malouf

★ 10/17/2016
This cleverly designed first book in the Cook in a Book series lets children help make pancakes, but there’s no need to break out the aprons: all the “cooking” is accomplished by pulling tabs (to fill a measuring cup with milk), turning wheels (to whisk ingredients), and flipping cardboard pancakes “when the tops begin to bubble.” Step-by-step instructions clearly guide readers through the recipe, and the overhead perspective in several of Nieminen’s crisply illustrated scenes helps create the sense that children are standing over bowls and burners. Parents will want to have the ingredients on hand to make actual pancakes after finishing this nifty exercise in breakfast-making. Ages 2–4. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

'Stylish ... With its simple graphic illustrations that resemble paintings by Frank Stella ... The book itself is a perfect square (think Josef Albers), fun and colorful. The most satisfying part is when you get to pop the little cardboard pancake out of the page, turn it, and press it into the next page to complete the illustration of a short stack of pancakes." – New York Times Book Review

'This cleverly designed first book in the Cook in a Book series lets children help make pancakes, but there's no need to break out the aprons: all the cooking is accomplished by pulling tabs ... Turning wheels ... And flipping cardboard pancakes." – Publishers Weekly, Starred Rewiew

'Learn while having fun ... Inspiring ... This is not your average children's cook book. The bright colours are appealing and whilst children will need a bit of help at the cooking stage, everything else is up to them." – Smallish

'Recommended for any picture book/board book collection, this interactive and delightful adventure for the youngest chefs promotes parent/child interaction and cooperation and opens the door to an enriching conversation.' – School Library Journal

'Clever, charming, beautifully interactive and beautifully illustrated and designed, this is not only a treasure for little ones-it's also a fine addition to any divine-picture-book-addict's stash (the stash of this middle-aged woman included).' – Kids' Book Review

'With help from sliders and spinners even the youngest sous-chefs can pretend to mix ingredients, pour batter, and dish up a yummy pancake... Real food may not be 'required,' but only the most unfeeling caregiver would fail to provide it after such an appetizing teaser.' – Kirkus Reviews

'The illustrations are simple and clean, which fit this book PERFECTLY!' – Let's Talk Picture Books

'[A] fabulous board book.' – Book Nerd Mommy

' Pancakes! is a wonderful introduction to cooking and can add a whole new dimension to imaginative play ... It's fun, interactive and makes a great gift." –  Where The Books Are

'A safe and mess-free introduction to cooking!' – Right Start

'Sometimes a novelty book comes along that transcends the "kid" category and provides fun and "Ooooh!' moments for readers of all ages. Pancakes! An Interactive Recipe Book offers just this kind of delicious excitement ... Wonderfully conceived in its bold vibrant images and simple recitation of a pancake recipe... The brilliant interactive elements invite kids and adults alike to play with this book over and over.' – Celebrate Picture Books

'Lotta Nieminen's interactive board book delights with sturdy tabs, wheels and flaps, an enjoyable change for the technology-obsessed toddlers of today.' –  ReadPlus

"Cooking pancakes has never been so satisfying or so clean - although by following the recipe and method." – KidStyleFile

'Here's a novelty book that encourages kids to interact with it ... All via cunningly designed tabs nad clever book construction ... If you'd like the opportunity to introduce your kids to top-notch art and graphic design from around the world, do take a look at Phaidon.' – The Book Chook

'Flippin' tasty ... Learn to make pancakes with this interactive recipe book... [It] has novelty paper-engineered features that allow little hands to 'cook' by pulling tabs, turning wheels and popping pancakes straight out of the page.' – Little London

'This interactive and delightful adventure for the youngest chefs promotes parent/child interaction and cooperation and opens the door to an enriching conversation.' – School Library Journal

'[M]y toddler's favorite books in the world! Each one is a sturdy board book that contains a real recipe for the food featured. The real fun is that through lifting flaps, turning wheels and other interactive features you get to simulate the cooking. Perfect for little foodies.' – Book Nerd Mommy

'We're all over this fantastic book for our Picture Book of the Week this week. Let's cook in a book! Strange though it may seem to not only find that this book is such a colossal fave with a busy 9 year old (despite being aimed at a far younger age) but also to find that this book requires no food, but will still have you chopping, mixing and making, it's only once you dive in that things become a lot clearer ... Again, Lotta has perfected the art of bridging the gap between books and toys with a truly interactive experience for busy little hands ... What a truly brilliant idea, and a worthy book of the week!' – Read it Daddy

From the Publisher

01/01/2017
Toddler-PreS—The first in an upcoming series of interactive child-friendly recipe books, this title guides a youngster through the process of making pancakes. It begins with an introduction to the ingredients and utensils needed to successfully execute the recipe. Each subsequent page illustrates a piece of the recipe and allows the child to actively "cook" by pulling tabs and spinning wheels. These interactive features depict an egg being whisked, flour and milk being added, and batter being poured into a pan. A golden brown pancake pops out from the page and can be manipulated from the pan to the serving plate. Simple yet colorful visuals adequately represent the materials and processes that would be done in the kitchen, providing the perfect opportunity for adults to extend the story by carrying out the recipe with actual ingredients. VERDICT Recommended for most picture book/board book collections, this interactive and delightful adventure for the youngest chefs promotes parent/child interaction and cooperation and opens the door to an enriching conversation.—Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2016-11-02
With help from sliders and spinners, even the youngest sous-chefs can pretend to mix ingredients, pour batter, and dish up a yummy pancake.The first in a projected Cook in a Book series, this toddler-level recipe promises "full interaction and satisfaction" with "no food required!" Nieminen lays out all the required ingredients and kitchen equipment, then uses the latter to pour and blend and whisk the former in proper order. The images are so simplified that some really need their accompanying captions to recognize (a flat yellow rectangle doesn't look much like "2 tablespoons of softened, unsalted butter," for instance, and the "1 greased frying pan" is just a filled-in circle with a green bar for a handle). A slider allows readers to "add the flour" on one side of the page and "pour the milk" on the other, while a spinner allows them to whisk and stir. One of the two silver-dollar-sized pancakes in the pan is a cutout round that can be flipped "when the tops begin to bubble" and, when done, lifted out and pressed onto a plate on the next page—all ready for syrup, fruit, or other condiment. "Delicious!" Real food may not be "required," but only the most unfeeling caregiver would fail to provide it after such an appetizing teaser. (Informational novelty. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews