KidLit TV’s Featured Team Member Tracey M. Cox talks about yummy books, perfect for Thanksgiving! Tracey helped Julie Gribble launch the KidLit TV Facebook Group in late-2014. She has written several picture books, founded a book festival, is a liaison to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in her region, and participates in several author critique groups.
Yummy Reads
Reading and storytelling have been a part of my family since I can remember. When my children were little, I loved to find ways to incorporate stories that went beyond the book. We created artwork depicting the kids’ favorite characters or scenes. We did various crafts. We fashioned puppets for acting out scenes and made up silly songs to go along with the story.
One of my favorite book-related activities with the kids was cooking. We created snacks, desserts, or entire meals to go along with our latest favorite story.
Some of the best family times are the fun and silly times. We cherish time spent laughing or sharing a meal rather than washing the dishes. Watch the flour clouds puff. See who gets to lick the bowl. Yes, they still like to do this. Set the timer and let your noses smell the yumminess as the food cooks.
I believe you can find or create a recipe to pair with every story. To make it extra special, consider trying food from a different culture to really get your taste buds popping.
Some stories already include recipes to help us along. Featured on KidLit TV’s StoryMakers, A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins has a great recipe in the back. There are many, many stories out there with recipes already included. As a matter of fact, my latest release, 100 Pecans for Tabitha, has two recipes! So, if your favorite story doesn’t have a dish to make, create one!
Enhance Learning
Incorporating supplemental activities and relating them back to a book helps children expand their learning experience and take it to the next level. It teaches children to think outside of the box.
Including your child in these activities promotes a healthy learning experience. Family time is important in a child’s development.
Whether you are reading, creating, or cooking, have fun with your family. It’s those moments that go into each activity that make it memorable. It’s those moments that make us smile when we think of the different stories within our own life.
Discover More Stories With Recipes
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World – by Marjorie Priceman
Tea Cakes for Tosh – written by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas written by Natasha Tim, illustrated by Grace Zong
Lovely getting to know more about you, Tracey! Great interview as always, Katya -:D