Kwanzaa Holiday Cookbook

Gr 2-5-These titles appear to be about food preparation, but in reality, each one contains four (count 'em, four!) recipes amid a hodgepodge of information on the respective holidays. Though somewhat informative, the books are seriously marred by a lack of focus and a cluttered format. Elaborate background graphics, strangely elongated fonts, and inconsistent border motifs detract from the accompanying colorful photos. The contents pages are busy and confusing, as are the recipe layouts. Information from the "You will need" box frequently spills over into the "How to do it" box. Inadequate space is given to photographs of the dishes to be prepared, and parenthetical metric conversions merely add to the clutter. The omission of proper food-handling techniques is egregious. If one is to safely defrost frozen Cornish game hens (Christmas), certain procedures must be followed. Many instructions are unclear. The cornbread recipe in Kwanzaa says to pour melted butter into a cake pan and wait for it to melt. Moreover, many of the recipes fail to indicate serving numbers. Libraries in need of cookbooks should keep looking.-L. I.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices