All in Just One Cookie / by Susan E. Goodman; illustrated by Timothy Bush -- New York : Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins Publishers, c2006. (32 pages) CURRICULUM-CHOCOLATE

SUMMARY: You won't believe what is all in just one cookie! Yum! -- 1 hungry Vermont cow, 2 stalks Hawaiian grass, 1 tsp. flower seeds from Madagascar, 2 days of hard work from a New Hampshire hen, 1 tsp. dried-up Wyoming lake, 2 1/4 c. Kansas field, 2 c. West African beans -- Mix. Bake until golden brown. (book jacket) -- An unusual recipe but it all comes together when you read this story of a Grandmother baking chocolate chip cookies with simple everyday ingredients. However, the cat begins to wonder where all the ingredients come from and starts research that is shared within the pages.

FORMAT: Picture book format, but I have categorized it for older children because of the in-depth information provided on each ingredient. There are three storylines in the book -- Grandmother and the recipe, the research results, and the cat and dog in the sidebar with comments and humorous observations. The recipe is included at the back of the book.

REVIEW: A good introduction to baking and following a recipe -- I found the facts very interesting and learned much about where our food comes from and the process it takes to get it ready for us to use. Beautiful watercolor illustrations are bright and cherry without being cluttered. Each ingredient has its own two page spread. However, the three storylines are a little much even to this experienced reader. Instead of using dog and cat (who can't even enjoy the cookies) I think the story would have been more successful if the grandkids had done the research.

FURTHER FUN: 1) bake the recipe from the book, 2) eat cookies while reading this story, 3) find a recipe for the child's favorite food and repeat the research process with its ingredients. NOTE: This would make a great time to talk about baking/cooking, measurements, and food safety. 4) alter the recipe by adding other ingredients instead of chocolate chips (like raisins, nuts, caramel, etc). 5) research American sugar that is made from beets.

FAVORITE PART: the creative recipe on the bookjacket (listed above) and I liked page 25 that shows what happens when the cookies are in the oven (something I never knew).

MATCH WITH: The Doorbell Rang / by Pat Hutchins

NOTE: A featured title in my book LEARNING WITH CHOCOLATE: A Curriculum for the Whole Family (c2019) ( )

Visitors are coming, and grandma must make cookies for her guests. However, her dog and cat are curious to find out where each ingredient comes from.
They learn that the butter comes from a dairy cow and that it takes 21 pounds of milk to make one pound of butter.
They also learn that sugar was called white gold 500 years ago because it was so expensive.
Each ingredient needed for the chocolate chip cookies recipe is investigated with lots of fun facts. My favorite part is that the Grandmothers chocolate chip cookie recipe is included at the end of the book.

This is a sweet book that shows the steps Grandma takes to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. As she adds each ingredient, the cat and dog have a conversation about where each item came from. They take the reader to that country or to a factory, sharing the process that went into the ingredient being available for everyone to use. It even includes a recipe at the end of the story, as well as a friendly reminder that chocolate isn't safe for our pets.

Grandma gathers up the ingredients for chocolate-chip cookies. While she begins to bake, her pets set out to research the ingredients that she adds to her mixing bowl.

In a tour around the globe, the pets dig up scientific facts about the recipe’s ingredients like butter, flour and sugar.
Each page is devoted to one ingredient.
The process of baking cookies is juxtaposed with the animals' research and their humorous comments

Goes through each ingredient of a chocolate chip cookie and where they come from. It explains where geographically they come from as well as how they are processed. This is a fun way to explore food and what goes into it. It could be a great way to start a study of food and environment and could go in many different directions and could create a lot of awareness. I could see using it to explore animal treatment in dairies or hen houses or sustainability or many other topics. It also could just be fun. It is written in an easy to read style with funny little comments added by animals and illustrated in a simple and fun way. ( )