Cooking is fun for kids and getting them interested early may be a great way for them to develop healthy eating habits and explore their senses—sight, smell, and taste—as they discover what it takes to make a meal or snack from “scratch.”

Besides offering delicious recipes, cookbooks are wonderful guides that teach our kids helpful tips about the ingredients, the tools, the process, and the techniques necessary for preparing whatever dish that strikes their fancy. Cookbooks also present an opportunity to teach kids at every developmental stage –toddlers may learn about colors and textures while helping with the ingredients, preschoolers learn about the different food groups, and grade-schoolers can practice their reading and math skills.

A recent New York Times article discussed the growing number of kids’ cookbooks on the market today. Why the increase?

Because parents who have a keen interest in cooking encourage their young children to spend time in the kitchen and new titles take a more sophisticated approach to children’s food.

Thanks to this growing interest in cooking with kids, we now have an abundance of cookbooks to choose from—from targeting specific age groups, to healthy cooking to global cuisine–many with fabulous photography or illustrations and brand ties-ins (such as cookbooks by celebrities, stores and TV Shows).

I personally love when the cookbooks—like our recent library find, C is for Cooking—give helpful suggestions for what steps in the recipe young kids can handle (measuring, stirring, cracking an egg) and what steps are best left to an adult (chopping with sharp knife).

With all the options on the bookshelves today, deciding which cookbook to use can be challenging. Here is a list of books mentioned by the New York Times—we have not tried them all yet. We tend to use our local library to sample cookbooks so I plan to reserve some of these titles with my library card and will report back on what we think of them. We sometimes purchase the books we use over and over for our collection—then we don’t feel so bad if the ingredients smear the page or the edges are worn from repeated use.

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The Summer Reading Program, sponsored by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), is a cooperative effort among the public libraries in Rhode Island to promote reading during the summer school vacation. The prgram encourages reading for pleasure, the development of positive attitudes about the public library, and provides constructive activities during this long break from school. Eligible children include preschoolers whose parents read aloud to them to sixth graders.

The Summer Reading Program varies in specifics from library to library but in general incentives are provided to encourage children to read a book each week such as weekly raffles, free admission passes to 13 places like the Roger Williams Park Zoo and the Providence Children’s Museum for each book read, and prizes and a party at the end. There will be performances by storytellers, entertainers and educators, along with crafts, activity sheets, and many special theme-related events to encourage continued participation throughout the summer.

Children are encouraged to sign up at their respective library branches during the week of June 23 – 27.

Details:
• Rhode Island:
For the complete statewide summer reading program schedule, visit Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS).

• Providence:
Providence Public Library Summer Reading Program begins June 23 with sign-ups at branch libraries and a complete line-up of activities and events through August 18. For complete program descriptions and schedule of activities and events, click here for the Summer Reading Bug link.

2008 Providence Summer Booklists
In addition to daily and special events, PPL has collaborated with the Providence School Department to produce age-specific summer reading booklists for children—available on paper bookmarks at your library or viewed online. Click on your child’s age range below to see their booklist and reserve the books from the library.

• Kindergarten - Grade 1
• Grades 2 – 3
• Grades 4 – 5
• Grades 6 - 8

By Katy Killilea

Drive time from Providence, RI: @ 38 minutes (@ 28 miles) (directions)

Tiverton is home to some of Rhode Island’s best sandwiches and cookies (at Provender) cheese (at Milk and Honey Bazaar) and ice cream (at Gray’s), all of which make going for a family hike there a brilliant idea.

There are many enticing options for hikes in Tiverton. Weetamoo Woods is just half a mile from Tiverton Four Corners (located at the intersection of routes 77 and 179, and the home of the above-referenced delicacies) and makes for an exciting hike for a wide age range. Our group was comprised of two moms and four kids (ages 5, 5, 6, and 7.) We saw a family with young teenagers and a twelve-year-old who seemed equally well-matched for the hike.

Other than proximity to high-quality snacks, what’s so special about Weetamoo Woods? The hiking trail is what was once Rhode Island’s only highway. (History!) Stone walls and stone slab bridges are regular features, as mighty as the days they were built centuries ago. (Architecture!) As we ventured through the woods, we found princess pines, holly trees, onion grasses, and skunk cabbages. (Botany!) The stone bridges cross brooks of various depths and speeds. (Water to throw sticks into!) And then, at last, we reached High Rock.

High Rock is indeed a very large rock. When you reach the top of it, you find yourself up above the treetops. Our kids were flabbergasted by their achievement. (”This is the highest mountain in the world!” and “This is the awesomest place I’ve ever seen!”) The adults in our group ruled out a High Rock game of hide-and-seek that was percolating. It did feel slightly treacherous, and a younger child or someone uncoordinated could easily fall quite a distance and get hurt. However, my perception of danger may have been skewed by my poor choice of footwear (boiled wool clogs). Next time I’ll wear sneakers or hiking boots. Reaching and climbing High Rock was a reasonable goal for our group of moderately experienced child hikers.

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There are many ways to share the magical world of butterflies with our children.

Read about them:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Kaito’s Cloth by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Gaye Chapman

Find them:
Explore your garden or local park and try to catch one with a butterfly net. Buy one at Target or Benny’s or online at butterflystores.com

Raise your own:
Buy a kit, complete with reusable mesh butterfly house and certificates for butterfly larvae. You will see something like this.

Become one:
Make your own butterfly wings with these how-to directions on the Family fun website.

See them locally:

• The Flutterby: Butterflies in Bloom runs from May 26 to September 1, 2008
Wander through a beautifully landscaped 2100-square foot greenhouse (located inside the zoo), filled with hundreds of free-flying butterflies.
Admission: Special ticket required for Flutterby exhibit ($3 Adults; $2 Kids, ages 3-13; Kids under three are free) in addition to regular Zoo admission.
Roger Williams Park Zoo - 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI
Phone: 401-785-3510

• Painted Wings in Flight: Summer Butterfly Programs
Guided by expert naturalists, Audubon programs take you to fields and refuges throughout the state filled with thousands of butterflies. Find out more online at Butterflying with Audubon.
Admission: Varies, call for details.
Audubon Society of Rhode Island (ASRI)
Phone: 401-949-5454

Photos are from the “Flutterby: Butterflies n Bloom” in Exhibit. Photo credit: Douglas Itkin

By Michelle Riggen-Ransom

CREDIT: Paper cutout illustration from the book, How Babies Are Made
By Andrew C. Andry and Steven Schepp.
“Mommy, how are babies made?” The question, of course, had been raised before, what with a little sister joining our household just over a year ago. My husband and I have staved off the inevitable from our curious boy with a deft combination of avoidance, generalities, and feel-good euphemisms. While I was pregnant, we talked to my (then) three-year-old son about the cozy place the baby was growing inside Mommy’s body, how she was developing week by week, and what would happen when she was born and my son would become transformed into the esteemed position of Big Brother.

We settled on a suitably generic-yet-factual phrase for how babies are made. “The mommies and the daddies put their bodies together in a certain way and that starts a baby growing” is what we ended up saying to him umpteen times as my due date drew nearer. This answer seemed to appease him. And once the baby came, we were all too busy and tired to think about much beyond getting dressed and fed on a regular basis.

So I was caught off-guard when, a couple of weeks ago, the question, “How are babies made?” came back with a vengeance. I started to give him our standard house answer, but he cut me off.

“I know they put their bodies together, but what parts of the body do they put together?” He looked at me with sweet, genuine puzzlement as I stammered, flailing around the room and crashing into walls like a wounded butterfly. We always explain EVERYTHING to him; why was this subject any different? It’s just science, right? Nonplussed, he pressed on: “Is it, like, their heads they put together? Or their tummies?” He was looking at me for honest answers in order to help him make sense of this crazy, crazy world, and what did I do? Giggled like a twelve-year-old and told him to ask his father. Aye! A grand mal, 1950s-style parenting failure!

But he didn’t ask has father; he asked me again a couple of weeks later. This time, he was in the tub, and as I cast my eyes wildly around the bathroom looking for some sort of an escape hatch, I happened to see a spider on the ceiling.

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This book is definitely on my wish list. Thanks to New York-based designer Todd Oldham and Ammo Books for putting together this definitive collection of the late artist Charley Harper’s 60-year-long career. Harper is best known for his graphic, geometric depictions of wildlife—and an inspiration to me.

Since this large format book, Charley Harper – An Illustrated Life is a bit steep for my budget ($200), I will be happy to own a copy of his new board book, Charley Harper ABC’s or the classic beauty, Birds and Words (first published in 1974).

By Marianne Ruggiero
Coordinator of Family Programs at The RISD Museum

In the Asian art galleries of The RISD Museum, there stands a fearsome guardian. Part roaring lion, part winged bird, it is poised to attack any foe that enters its domain. The fantastic stone animal, created in China about fourteen centuries ago, is called a “chimera” (kie-MEER-ah). It was probably one of many statues whose ferocious demeanor served to keep evil beings, whether in spirit or living form, away from imperial tombs.

The chimera is just one of the many hybrid creatures created by different cultures throughout time. Others might come to mind, whether first seen in art galleries, on the pages of a story by Lewis Carroll, or on the screen of your kids’ Nintendo. Griffins, according to legend, have the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. The gentle unicorn could pass for a horse if you disregard the long horn that protrudes from its forehead . . . and, oh yes, there is the matter of that goat-like beard as well (also an attribute of the chimera).

Cultures often share the same traditional mythical beasts but don’t agree on their behavior. Is a dragon, possessed of reptilian body and avian wings, good or evil? We Westerners seem to relish the dragon’s malevolent qualities as it breathes fire at helpless maidens or valiant knights. In China, the dragon is every bit as mighty as its Western counterpart, but generally uses its might for right: to bring rain to parched earth, or to symbolize the strength and goodness of the emperor.

In whatever form or incarnation, children seem to love these hybrid beasts, the more fantastic the better. Here’s a fun project to do with your kids that lets them create their own “Mixed-Up Creatures.” It was adapted by Fran Gorman, Program Assistant in the Museum Education Department and former art teacher at Jamestown Elementary School.

MIXED-UP CREATURE BOOK

Materials
• 8 1/2 x 11-inch paper (white or colored, regular weight)
• Heavier paper (construction works well)
• Scissors
• Small piece of cardboard as measuring tool
• Ruler or straight edge
• Heavy yarn, string, or ribbon
• Crayons or other drawing materials

How to Make Book
• Fold the regular-weight paper the tall way (8 sheets makes a nice book).
• Use the heavier paper for the front and back covers. Cut to the size of the book pages (4.25” W x 11” H).
• Punch three holes on the folded edge of each sheet of paper, including covers.
• Thread the heavy string in the holes and tie in the three holes.
• Inside: Draw a straight line with the ruler ¼-inch away from the punched holes. The line is from top to bottom.
• Use the small cardboard to measure each page into four equal sections.
• Draw a line and cut straight across with scissors. Repeat with each page.

How to Create Creatures
• Draw the head of an animal in the top section.
• Draw the center of a different animal’s body in the next section down.
• Draw the legs (not the feet or paws) of yet a different animal in the next section down.
• Draw the feet, hoofs, paws, or claws of a different animal (or even a person!) in the lowest section.
• Decorate the cover of the book with designs or stamps.

Have fun flipping the pages of the book back and forth to create all kinds of mixed-up creatures!

East Meets West

Meet a cast of “mixed-up creatures” and have fun making art at The RISD Museum’s Free-For-All Saturday on May 31, 2008, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. At 3:00 p.m., in the RISD Auditorium, Boston’s Chinese Folk Art Workshop amazes with traditional dance, drumming, and acrobatics. Free-For-All Saturday at the museum means admission, refreshments, and all activities are free!
Location: The RISD Museum - 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI

The lion dance (pictured above), created in China over one thousand years ago, will be presented by Boston’s acclaimed Chinese Folk Art Workshop as part of “East Meets West.”

For Kids: Can You Draw This?
The Chinese seem to have a fondness for complicated beasts. Take the fenghuang or “Chinese phoenix”: with the face of a rooster, neck of a snake, breast of a goose, back of a tortoise, legs of a deer, and tail of a fish, it is just about the most mixed-up of all creatures. Think you can draw such a creature? Download and print the template here, and bring your drawing to The RISD Museum. You’ll receive a free pass to the museum for yourself and your family to use another day!

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CREDITS:
Chimera
Chinese, 6th century
Stone; 20 ** x 17 ** x 16 **
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design
Museum Works of Art Fund
Photography by Erik Gould

All additional inquires or requests should be directed to: Melody Ennis, Coordinator of Photographic Services, The RISD Museum, 224 Benefit Street, Providence, RI 02903. 401 454-6535. E-mail inquires to: mennis@risd.edu
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ARTplay is a monthly column written by Marianne Ruggiero for The RISD Museum in which various themes and activities introduce kids and parents to the museum’s collection both online and off. Each month Kidoinfo will help spark your children’s interest in art - they can learn about different works at the museum and download a related activity to create offline. Be sure to visit the museum and explore the art in person. On Free-for-All Saturdays (the last Saturday of every month), kids may continue their exploration through a variety of hands-on workshops, performances, videos, and special gallery quests throughout the day.

My son Ethan loves to cook these days, and he’s always looking for new cookbooks for inspiration. On a recent trip to the Rochambeau library, he found C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street by Susan, M.S., R.D. McQuillan. Although my now six-year-old son is not as obsessed with Sesame Street as he was at three or four, he is still a fan and was captivated by the colorful pictures of his furry Muppet friends and the delicious-looking dishes. It turned out to be a great cookbook with a variety of healthy, yummy recipes—easy-to-follow directions and helpful cooking hints for kids.

We made a number of recipes from the book, but this is one of my son’s hands-down favorites:

Elmo’s Dutch Baby Pancake with Buttery Apples
This puffy pancake bakes in a cake pan and is topped with sautéed fruit—it may look like dessert, but it is actually a wholesome breakfast food.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking/baking time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

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Today is National Arbor Day. Two of my favorite books are The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. These stories remind us how important our tress are.

Get in a tree mood: Listen to C is for Conifers by They Might Be Giants on itunes.

Celebrate locally: RITree invites everyone to join in celebrating Arbor Day by watching the beginning of a forest, and by honoring the important work of arborists in Rhode Island. The staff at Goddard Memorial State Park and a team of RI arborists, with help from a small army of Tree Stewards, will plant up to 100 trees.

Everyone is invited to the Arbor Day Fair and tree planting. The event will showcase demonstrations by arborists, displays by tree-related organizations and information about proper planting and mulching methods. Raffles every hour, to give away a free tree. Come and learn what it is that arborists do, and meet the people who do it. This is a fair for all ages, so pack a picnic lunch and a blanket, bring the whole family, and enjoy this beautiful park on a spring day.

Details:
Arbor Day Fair and tree planting, sponsored by RITree
Saturday, April 26, 2008 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm
Goddard Memorial Park, Warwick, RI
401-764-5885

More Events: Earth Day Cleanup
Clean up events across the city take place throughout the week. Visit What Grows on RI for a listing of locations.

Although Earth Day was officially Tuesday, our trees need a healthy environment in order to grow everyday.
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Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington is a lovely book about the day in the life of a girl in Paris who has her own crepe stand. Follow her through the city as she makes different types of crepes for a variety of customers. This story weaves in French words on every page and the intricate collages reference great works of art like Dance by Henri Matisse or The Circus by Georges Seurat.

A book to be enjoyed by children of many ages. My boys first heard the story when they were three in their nursery class at Child’s Play (hearing it read by their teacher Danielle with her French accent made it even more special), and now that they are six they can recognize some of the works of art.

After you finish reading the story, follow the recipe in the back of the book (or below) to make crepes with your kids or head to Creperie off Thayer Street in Providence to watch how crepes are made and enjoy the delicious treat first-hand.

SUZETTE’S CREPE RECIPE (Yield: approximately 8 crepes)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

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