Early Book Review: Kids Cook Dinner: 25 Healthy, Budget-Friendly Meals from the Best-Selling Cooking Class Series by Deanna F. Cook

Kids Cook Dinner: 25 Healthy, Budget-Friendly Meals from the Best-Selling Cooking Class Series by Deanna F. Cook is currently scheduled for release on May 24 2022. This book is a selection of 25 easy, budget-friendly dinner recipes that teaches kids how to make healthy meals with step-by-step photos. The recipes feature a range of kid favorites, including Popcorn Chicken, Easy Cheesy Quesadillas, Pasta with Tomatoes & Fresh Mozzarella, Black Beans & Rice, Pizza, Meatballs with Creamy Sauce, Super Sliders, and Supper Salad have been specially selected for their budget-friendliness (averaging $2 a serving) and use of easy-to-find pantry staples, as well as their nutritional value. With instructions on basic cooking skills, like chopping vegetables and stir frying, grocery shopping, and kitchen safety, Kids Cook Dinner offers aspiring chefs ages 8 to 12 everything they need to know to successfully--and proudly-- put a healthy, homecooked meal on the table that the whole family will love. 

Kids Cook Dinner is a great cookbook for families that want to cook together, and children that want to take a more active role in the kitchen. I thought the skills and information shared in the beginning of the book, and the safety reminders, are very important and well done. I thought the recipes were varied enough that there should be something for every young chef, even those picky eaters. The book offers readers exactly what the title promises, and I think it would be a valuable resource for young readers and their families. 

Book Review: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is a contemporary romance. Luc O'Donnell is tangentially—and reluctantly—famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he's never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad's making a comeback, Luc's back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything. To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He's a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he's never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened. But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that's when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don't ever want to let them go.

Boyfriend Material is a book with everything I love. It is a slow burn, acquaintances to lovers, fake dating, there's only one bed trope filled romance with a slew of fantastic secondary characters that I desperately want to have more of. Luc is a hot mess, and knows it. He is struggling with being a functioning adult while trying to keep everyone at a distance. Oliver is so busy trying to be perfect that he neglects to see what makes him actually happy rather than just doing what everyone expects from him. They seem to be opposites, but they each have family and emotional issues that they need to work on, and they seem to do that best together. I loved the circles of friends for both the guys, and I want more of them all, so much more. The banter was hysterical but also so painfully that it was real. There were feels that made me want to throw things, some that made me want to cry, and others that just had me grinning like a maniac. I think the only issue people could have is if they are completely stymied by the occasional slag and cultural references that they might not get, but that is the only thing I could imagine anyone complaining about- and that would be if they were really reaching for something to complain about. There was so much goodness in this book that I think this has become my go to reread for when I hit a reading slump and need to remember why I love to read. 

Boyfriend Material is a book that hit all the sweet spots and had me grinning through most of the read. There are no enough words to describe the love I have for this book. Now I need to go read everything else from this author!

Book Review: All You Need is Love: Celebrating Families of All Shapes and Sizes by Shanni Collins

All You Need is Love: Celebrating Families of All Shapes and Sizes by Shanni Collins is an important book for children and families. Families come in different shapes and sizes, but they are all special when they love and respect each other. These rhyming pages are a celebration of the diversity of families and encourage inclusion and acceptance in a child's relationships. These short looks at different families  support a positive approach to life at a young age, which fosters strong mental health and well-being. Each page is dedicated to a different family, with stories exploring adoption, fostering, disability, race, gender, and illness. Filled with humour and delightfully illustrated, children will love reading these stories with friends, family and in school again and again.

All You Need is Love: Celebrating Families of All Shapes and Sizes is a nice book to share as a family, or in a larger classroom or community setting. It celebrates that each family might be a little different, but each is special and wonderful. I liked how many different family combinations were shown, and how simply those differences were illustrated. I think the collection clearly shows that it is the love of a family, regardless of those that form it, is the most important part of any family. The illustrations and rhyming stories offer some humor and insights that will engage readers of all ages and bring home the importance of love and acceptance to any readers ready to take it in.The text following the stories can further support the adults trying to nurture those in various family make ups or explain changes.