If she's old enough to ask for a cookbook then I'm guessing she's old enough to cook. I can't recommend specific ones, but I would get her a basic one that covers most of what you would cook on a day-to-day basis. Then I would also get her an exotic one - Asian cooking, South American cooking, etc. - something that will light the spark of imagination in a young cook's mind.

I would recommend The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook, which is geared toward children. Otherwise, you could choose an encyclopedic cookbook such as New York Times Cookbook or The Joy of Cooking, both of which has both simple and complex recipes that she can grow into.

The International Cookbook for Kids is great. It's not just a bunch of oversimplified, dull recipes. It teaches to make stock then make things with stock, and touches on many cuisines that are now part of the standard American plate.

I should have mentioned that she's 7. She will not be cooking independently! Her parents have a lot of cookbooks. I guess she wants one of her own that she can make plans from. She loves making plans.

Lars, I'm glad to learn there's a Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook that's geared toward children. I know my son really liked to watch him on TV when he was a kid.

Plllog, I'll check out the International Cookbook for Kids,

I have two that are good for that age. Better Homes and Gardens Snack Attack and Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cookbook.

I liked the DK cookbook for kids when I was buying for my elementary school library. They have good photos to illustrate the steps of the recipes and I see that they have a fairly new one, Complete Children's Cookbook.

This is by far the best kids' cookbook I know. It was a gift to my son when he was little & since he outgrew it, I've used the recipes and info many times over in our rec. programs. It is extensive and has not only recipes, but lots of interesting facts & science experiments too. I think it's out of print now, but it can still be found on ebay, amazon, etc.

Great suggestions! Thanks.

The only true children's cookbook I've ever had for any of the kids or grandkids was an old Betty Crocker spiral bound book that belonged to me when I was a child!

However, my own small Princess says she wants The Disney Princess Cookbook and it looks interesting enough, with recipes for things like corn chowder and hummus. The Monkey Princess wants all of my cookbooks, LOL, but this one looks interesting enough for a beginning cook, even explaining kitchen utensils and cooking jargon.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/kid-chef-melina-hammer/1122966050/2673935848863?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP4783&k_clickid=3x4783

Merry Christmas!

Annie

I have bought this book for my grandson who is 7 and a half and who's life revolves around his stomach! The illustrations are great and the recipes are proper cooking. It's Italian cooking.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Spoon-Children-Favourite-Italian/dp/0714857467

Thank you for all the great suggestions. I ordered the DK Complete Children's Cookbook. Cooking Wizardry for Kids looks great and I wish it would come back into print. The out-of-print prices are really high.

Looks like Alibris has both new & used copies of that book:

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?keyword=cooking+wizardry+for+kids&mtype=B&hs.x=0&hs.y=0&hs=Submit

Someone gave me a copy of Williams Sonoma Kids Baking and my grandsons really enjoy finding ideas and the step by step recipes offered. I just looked and see that they now have a Junior Cookbook that might also be fun.Junior Cookbook

Carol, thank you. I only looked at the prices on Amazon, even though I know they are often higher than ABE or Alibris for out-of-print books. In this case, very very much higher!

I see they offer two editions.

The original is the 90s version. It has really cute illustrations - not sure about the more recent edition. I saw that the 2nd new one on the list is being offered for approx. $15, including shipping.