Cook-a-Doodle-Doo (1999) by Janet Stevens is one of my favorite books. When a great-great-grandrooster of the Little Red Hen finds her cookbook, The Joy of Cooking Alone, he's delighted to find a recipe for strawberry shortcake. The dog, cat, and goose will not help him cook it. But the turtle, iguana, and pot-bellied pig well help! Each plays a specific role in the story, and Suzanne Stevens Crummel's illustrations are delightful. The turtle wears a small saucepan as a hat; the iguana wears an oven mitt on its head, and the potbelly pig dons a kerchief. As they read the recipe, we discover words have multiple meanings. The recipe calls for flour, so the iguana goes outside and picks a petunia. This same confusion happens with "measure", "tablespoon", "stick" and more.
A real bonus is that
several pages have a margin with step-by-step directions for making strawberry shortcake.
For example, we read, "You will
find many different kinds of flour at the store..." Stevens's characters create
a scrumptious dessert--the ending it is dramatic yet pleasing. I joyously
recommend this book.
Mrs Ks TPT has Thick and Thin Questions. Adrienne Ambrose has Cookadoodle Do: Cause and Effect. The Smiling Speechie has Cooking with Kids: Strawberry Shortcake.
