Cookies: Bite-Size Live Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Have you ever wondered how to explain cooperation, patience, pride, modesty, respect, trustworthiness, fair-play, compassion, generosity, pessimism, optimism, courage, envy, loyalty, open-mindedness, regret, contentment, and wisdom to a child? Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons explains all these concepts using the baking and sharing of cookies.

Beautifully illustrated by Jane Dyer, this is a must have for your family library.

The story begins: "Cooperate means, How about you add the chips while I stir?"

A few pages in we learn: "Respect means offering the very first cookie to your grandmother."

Towards the end of the story: "Open-minded means, I've never seen cookies like that before, but, uh, sure, I'll try one."

My only complaint with this storybook is that part of the text is in cursive, which will make it hard for a pre-third grade student to read on their own. It is an excellent read aloud, though, and each concept is one to talk about. On the open-minded page, I would want my child to know that they don't take anything from a stranger, and if they feel uncomfortable with anything, they should walk away from it.

Each page could be expanded on as you read. Each page could stand alone as a trait to work on that day or week, so that the child (or even the adult) could incorporate it into their lives.

The book ends with a cookie recipe so that you and your little one can bake together.

Read to a child today especially if that child is you.