Pie for breakfast: A baking book for children by Cynthia Cliff

 Although this is primarily a cookbook, it includes little stories and vignettes along the way, inviting readers into the lives of a diverse group of children as they explore the recipes.

The "story" starts on the page facing the title page, introducing Hazel, brown-skinned and with curly dark hair, and her parents, one with dark skin and hair and one with white skin and red hair. As Hazel bakes and eats treats with in the garden, she has an idea for a bake sale to raise money for the library (I approve of this idea). The rest of the book shows Hazel and various friends baking together or with their families. She and her friend Amelia make blackberry crumb cake, Camilla and her abuela make pumpkin empanadas, and Anna (Asian) makes zucchini oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, although her dads are a little doubtful at first! Hazel shows up again making apple custard muffins with her friend Lily after both have been playing soccer and Sakura makes strawberry mochi while Layla makes a basbousa cake for the first time, after having watched her mom make them. More recipes include several gluten-free selections. The collection of recipes ends with all the families coming together for their bake sale and sharing all their goodies.

Each recipe takes up one page, with the illustration of the family cooking it on the facing page. The last page has a list of instructions to read "Before you begin baking" which include safety reminders, reading the whole recipe before starting, and cleaning up after yourself. The recipes themselves usually have 4-5 steps and ingredients are measured in both grams and cups. Some are simple and require little to no preparation or baking, others are more complex and need ingredients that would be difficult to find in my small town area, like ghee or vegan butter.

While I didn't try the recipes (I only feel like cooking at extremely rare intervals...) the range of difficulty seems like it would work well for a variety of kids. The bright illustrations and diverse kids, with little tidbits of stories, will attract readers who prefer fiction and would make this a great choice for a homeschooling or after school session, writing the stories of the various families and learning about their cultures and the foods. Kids who are just starting and can't use an oven will find things to try as well.

Verdict: A nice choice to diversify your children's cookbooks and recommend to families looking for projects to work on together.

ISBN: 9783791374604; Published April 2021 by Prestel; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library