By Terry Shay:
The holiday season is filled with culinary delights, and one way to extend the joy is to make the recipes included in some of our favorite books! Kids, make sure to ask for help from an adult!
Perhaps you’d like to make Grandma’s Chocolate Cake in Baking Day at Grandma’s by Anika Denise and illustrated by Christopher Denise?
Download the recipe for Grandma Rosie’s Chocolate Cake Here: GrandmaRosieChocolateCake
Check out the Baking Day at Grandma’s book trailer HERE
Maybe you want to don some festive Cherries in the Snow lipstick and make Twinkie Pie or any of the great recipes from The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh?

You can watch Kat make Twinkie Pie on KidLitTV
How about some old fashioned sugar cookies to go with a super fun story and sing-a-long with Deck the Walls by Erin Dealey and illustrated by Nick Ward?
The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman has a recipe from Mollie Katzen for carrot cake
If you aren’t inspired to cook for the winter holidays, how about a Mardi Gras theme king baby cake? Learn more in The King Cake Baby by Keila Dawson and illustrated by Vernon Smith
If baking is not your thing, Lori Kilkelly shared A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards and G. Brian Karas which includes knitting inspiration.
Other recommendations for books with recipes:
Sue Levine recommends Pie by Sarah Weeks
Lori Degmen recommends Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners by Natalie Rompella
Gina Perry recommends Bear and Chicken by Jannie Ho
Steph McHugh recommends the Giada de Laurentiis Recipe for Adventure series
Laurel Snyder recommends the biscuit recipe in Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
Kate Sullivan recommends Nightbird by Alice Hoffman
Diane DeGroat recommends Charlie the Ranch Dog book series by Ree Drummond
Anika Denise recommends the mochi recipe in Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Michiko Florence
Shay McClean recommends Bee Bim Bop by Linda Sue Park
Margie Myers suggested Soup Day and Pizza Day by Melissa Iwai. She also recommends three Tyler Florence books, Seven Silly Eaters, Cook-A-Doodle Doo, and Thundercake
Margie also shared a link to this SLJ article
Matt Forrest Esenwine shared a link to Jama Kim Rattigan’s blog with a bunch of excellent ideas.
Danielle Smith shared Love Sugar Magic by Anna Meriano and Mirelle Ortega (releases January 2)
Ro Menendez
In an earlier post, I shared the Dot Day idea of Ro Menendez. Ro is a creative powerhouse and was recently featured on the FableVision Learning blog. Check out how Ro included her whole school community in her celebration this year. Find more HERE
Dot Day All Year Long
When asked how schools are celebrating Dot Day all year long, Mark Stafford (@mr_sharksclass), shared this, “#dotday is an artistic highlight that we revisit throughout the year. Our next Dot Day reprise will be cranberry (and toothpick) towers. Anything that keeps the creativity mark moving forward (and it’s very Thanksgiving).
How are you continuing the celebration?? Leave a comment
Book Buzz
Book recommendations from the morning book club are solely the students’ choice. I thought I would add some books that deserve a little extra buzz in this new section.
Come With Me by Holly McGhee and illustrated by Pascal Lamaître is a wonderful book that deserves a place in every school library for giving a gentle nudge for how to handle the world around us.
This post is about creativity, so I need to mention Starring Carmen by Anika Denise and illustrated by Lorena Alvarez. Carmen is a lovable entertainer with a strong message about family. Definitely the perfect book for the creative kid in your life.

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