This book is so much more than just a recipe book for kids! There is SO much learning potential here with every page! Each of the 120 recipes shows the state is is from, along with the state abbreviation, and then you have a fun fact, plus the recipe. So after your item is baking/chilling, you can talk about and google for more info on your fun fact and learn even more! It's like a mini learning session every day. Add in some math from halfing or doubling the recipe, and you have a perfect way to keep kids learning ALL Summer,, by making one or two recipes every day! What a great concept! Plus it's great for kids who can't travel, to see how people in other parts of the country eat and what is unique about areas they haven't been too! Maybe it will instill a thirst fr travel? Who knows, but it is a fun book for all ages!

I like that this book contains multiple recipes for each state. For most states the recipes chosen are a good representation of the state. For Hawaii, however, I feel the frying sticks of SPAM is not a good representation of Hawaiian food culture. There are many other recipes or better SPAM recipes that could have been used in its place. The biggest thing missing, specially for a cookbook with an MSRP of $25, is photographs of the food. Most of these food items are completely foreign to the intended audience, children. Every children’s cookbook that I’ve purchased has photographs of the food, at the very least, and most have photographs of the steps to create it. This cookbook feels more like a copy and paste Google search for recipes by state and facts for states, than a well thought out and tested book of recipes.

Thank you NetGalley and Kitchen Ink Publishing for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Kitchen Ink Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is so much fun! The recipes differ from state to state and it is interesting to see how the cuisines change from region to region. In addition, I loved seeing the recipes from US territories, those are some of the recipes that really stood out to me. I would highly recommend!

This was a great and fun way to learn new recipes from across the country, some known to me and some not. Worth gifting to friends with children too, as they'll like to try some of the simpler recipes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recipe Road Trip: Cooking Your Way Across the USA by Nanette Lavin is a delightful book that takes kids on a culinary journey through America, all from the comfort of their own kitchen. It explores the geography, history, and regional charm of the United States while helping children prepare different dishes.

One of the highlights of this book is how it intertwines food and humor. With witty jokes sprinkled throughout, it guarantees laughter from both kids and adults alike. Additionally, the inclusion of colorful illustrations not only adds visual appeal but also serves to highlight state products and inventions.

A standout feature of Recipe Road Trip is its educational aspect. Kids can engage with the map of the United States to see where each recipe originates from in comparison to their own location. This provides an opportunity for them to learn about US geography while enjoying the cooking experience.

With over one hundred recipes included, this book offers a wide variety of dishes that utilize simple ingredients and provide easy-to-follow instructions. Youngsters will find it easy to navigate through each recipe as they embark on their culinary adventure.

In conclusion, Recipe Road Trip: Cooking Your Way Across the USA is a fun-filled book that combines colorful illustrations, delicious-sounding recipes, and cheesy jokes to create an engaging experience for children. It serves as an excellent introduction to cooking while simultaneously teaching them about different foods found across the country. Perfect for families looking for an informative and enjoyable activity!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Recipe Road Trip had so many great recipes, I think I bookmarked 75% of the book. I like that it is broken down by region, so you can create menus based on that particular reason. At the beginning of each chapter, There is a cute little illustration with the recipes in the section from that region, making the cookbook very well organized. This cook makes me yearn for a road trip (or several road trips really) but I like the fact that if you can't get out to travel, you can bring these places to your home with these recipes until you can. If you love to travel and you love all of the great food all of the different regions of the United States has to offer, this is definitely a must have cookbook.

What a fun idea! RECIPE ROAD TRIP, COOKING YOUR WAY ACROSS THE USA is a great idea for making dinner something new every night. Also perfect for a bring-a-dish party!

Great recipe book that can help children explore different dishes from around the United States. Some of these recipes include specific foods from the states they originally grow in.

Recipe Road Trip, Cooking Your Way Across the USA: 120+ Delicious Recipes and Fun and Surprising Facts from Every State is a cookbook geared to older children and teens with fun recipes from every state. The recipes, however, aren’t really particularly appealing to children, and while some of the recipes are popular in the states featured, there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason that the particular recipes were chosen. There are no notes at the beginning of each recipe that explain why the recipe was chosen, i.e., there is a recipe for Berger Cookies in Maryland. Unless you are familiar with Baltimore and the famous Bergers bakery, you won’t have any idea where Berger cookies come from and why they are a Maryland mainstay. Children as well as adults need more information to make the recipes appealing, especially to kids.

While the recipes are written in the traditional manner with the ingredients listed first, followed by step-by-step instructions, they will mean nothing to kids because there are no photographs – not a one. There are some illustrations on some recipes, but they don’t look like the dishes, and kids will not get excited about recipes that they are unfamiliar with and don’t know just what it is they are supposed to make.

The cookbook includes so called “facts” from each state, but some of them are a little misleading. For instance, it says that Jell-O is the official state food of Utah. That is not entirely true (it is only Utah’s official snack food) and there are several other state foods from Utah. I suspect that the same goes for “facts” from other states.

There are also some silly jokes at the bottom of some of the recipes that will appeal to kids.

All told, there are some good recipes, but most will appeal to adults, and kids will get bored since they won’t know what any of the finished recipes should look like. Too many important things are missing from this book to be recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I absolutely love American puddings and saw this book and immediately wanted to open it! Love the recipes and the facts about each state. Wish there were pictures of all the foods though but that's because I like to look at photos of food. Highly recommend!

Honestly I was really excited about this book. What a great way to teach about our states all the while creating yummy recipes. This would also be a great way to get conversations started about regions, individual states and the people that live there.

Unfortunately, the formatting was terrible. I don't expect the books to be perfect or in their final look when receiving a free ARC, but this one was just bad. The recipes were varied and I feel reflected the regions well, but only a few were marked with which state they were from. I had no idea other then the region, where the recipes came from. I feel this is importatnt and should be addressed.

There were also many areas where the writing was broken up. For instance, you would start a recipe, find part of a fact inserted in the middle of it and then the rest of the recipe. Recipes were also broken up badly, in that the reader sees part of the ingredients, then instructions, then more ingredients.

Inserted among the recipes, are jokes and some state facts. The facts were some what dry and the wording a little too advanced for young readers. The jokes? I'm sure some kids would find them funny. They fell flat for me and took away from the purpose of the book.

Overall,, it was a very confusing and hard book to read. Hopefully a lot of these issues will be addressed before publishing. If so, I think this would be a very valuable cookbook for young chefs and those learning about the States.. Right now though, it's not something I can see referring back to, suggesting our library to purchase or even wanting a hard copy on my shelf.



I received a free e-ARC from Kitchen Ink Publishing and Netgalley for my honest review.

A road trip that will work while at home or in preparation of the family vacation. This cookbook has little one liners the kids can learn and say along the way. A wonderful dedication to her husband as well as her children, this recipe book will also provide a little history for things many take for granted. For example, the first recipe for ketchup where and when. Nicely broken down by region and simple recipes that families can make together.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (nicely done) and the publisher.

A very fun cookbook to get kids interested in both cooking and geography. The recipes chosen for each state make sense based on the region and are easy enough for kids to understand. Inserts provide background and facts on the state, an ingredient or a significant historical event, adding to the educational feel of this book. A highly recommended purchase for library's where kid's cooking is popular.

An interesting book to share with the grandchildren, featuring the food of the USA. The children appreciated the humour and the illustrations but thought that some of the recipes were unhealthy and not for them (what can I say , I blame the parents new age ideas). Obviously written for the American market but made interesting reading here in the UK.

I can’t say that I agree with their assessment of cheeseburgers in puff pastry being a Connecticut “thing”, but other that that I found this to be a very entertaining cookbook with a ton of delicious recipes to make. I thank Netgalley and Kitchen Ink Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook.

I was thrilled to see this book listed for review. Not only because my sister and I (35 and 23) are always looking for new recipes but my nieces and nephews LOVE to cook with their grandma and I thought this would be perfect for them too.

The recipes were great, some more original than others, but 35 year old me was struggling to build up the confidence to make anything bigger than the smoothies. I think this is way too advance for children and even logged back in to NetGalley to make sure it was listed in the Children's category. I think the lack of any pictures of the recipes, steps etc is also a huge drawback.

If you have a budding chef on your hands maybe this is perfect but for the most part it seems like an adult cookbook with a kid centric cover.

As someone who isn’t from the USA but loves cooking and cooking with kids, I was pleasantly surprised to find this USA-centric kids recipe book on NetGalley - but the cookbook itself wasn’t quite what I’d excepted. (Thank you for the ARC; all opinions are my own.)

I loved the great selection of recipes, from desserts to entrées to candies to side dishes to drinks. Some of them are lovely, such as the peach pie and rosketti. The illustrations also were charming and fun! The index was also quite detailed and carefully created, which was great.

One major flaw for me was that this book contained no pictures of any of the recipes it boasted. I do understand why it would be difficult to take pictures of all recipes, but I’ve read many children’s cookbooks, and most include at least some pictures of the recipes. Why so? Well, firstly, for some of the dishes here - they’re not dishes I’ve heard of, and so I would liked to have seen what they looked like without having to use my phone to do so, and I think most readers would’ve preferred the same. Secondly - kids are notoriously picky eaters, and I know that when I was a kid, I’d leaf through cookbooks and anything that looked appetising would draw my eye. While the coloured illustrations are a nice touch, they don’t appear on every recipe, and I think all recipe books should include some pictures, just to show readers the finished product and whether it’s worth making, or looks doable, or appetising, etc.

This book also included jokes on every other page. While I understand that may be to draw younger readers in, it fell a bit flat for me. I bake often with kids, some of which I work with, and I know that those who enjoy jokes know they can find these sort of jokes on the internet or in a joke book - it was strange to see so many jokes in a cookbook, especially one that was also aimed to kids older than the age I’d match the jokes to. If kids are old enough to be reading the recipes, I’m not sure how many of the jokes would land for them.

Another disappointment was the ‘fun facts’ and information about each state or region. The information appeared to have been pasted straight from Google, most of the wording too advanced for kids with no attempts made to simplify it. For example, “Most of the interior of the Northeast is formed by the Appalachian Mountains, which stretch about 1,600 miles from Maine to Alabama. Some of the region’s resources come from underground, like granite, marble,
and coal. The Northeast is the nation’s most
economically developed, densely populated,
and culturally diverse area.” ^And all of the information in the book continues in this vein.

This information seemed to be too complicated and boring for the kids this book seems to be catering (forgive the pun) to. I would rewrite it as ‘Most of the Northeast is formed by the Appalachian Mountains, which are about 1 600 miles, starting from Maine and ending in Alabama. The Northeast uses lots of things they have underground, like granite (a type of stone), marble (another, smoother kind of stone), and coal (used to make electricity!). The Northeast is home to many different cultures even though the people who live there are often spread out.’

The recipes for the ‘Hawaii’ section were the biggest disappointment of this cookbook. The first recipe is ‘Roasted Pineapple Salsa’. For those who don’t know, in Hawaii, pineapples are a coloniser import, and have been a large contributor to the harmful trend of treating Hawaii, its culture and people, as an ‘aesthetic’ or ‘theme’ instead of a nation under threat, with a diverse and beautiful history and culture - that involves more than just pineapples.

While the author did say at the start of the cookbook that some of the recipes in the cookbook were inspired by ingredients grown locally in large quantities, I’m still disappointed that they chose pineapple - pineapples are already associated with Hawaii, it would’ve been so easy to include another easy local favourite instead of just making a pineapple salsa. For example, a dish like Hawaiian Bruddah Potato Macaroni Salad would’ve worked perfectly, and highlighted an aspect of Hawaiian cuisine that might’ve taught kids more about the culture than a fruit with existing ties to Hawaii that they’re already aware of.

The second recipe was ‘Spam Fries’. Yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like - cut up some Spam, deep fry it, and serve. The book uses the fun fact that Hawaii consumes more Spam than anywhere else in the USA to supplement this dish. While that’s true, I really wish the people behind the cookbook would’ve chosen a different recipe. This recipe felt like saying, in Maine lobsters are often caught, so here’s how to make lobster fries. While it’s true that spam is a staple in Hawaii, the locals usually incorporate it into dishes - which a quick Google search will illustrate. This book features recipes such as blueberry meringue pie, so I’m sure that it wasn’t concerned about difficulty levels. No - such recipes as a representation of Hawaii do a disservice to the vibrant culture and foods of Hawaii, and it was disappointing seeing such well-researched and interesting recipes for other American states, only to find ‘Spam fries’ for Hawaii, an easy recipe, along with salsa, another easy recipe.

There’s also a strange section at the back of the book called something like ‘road trip menus’, in which many recipes from earlier in book are simple repeated? I’m not sure what the point of this was.

I did revive an ARC of this book, so some details may (hopefully) change before publication. But I’d say that you’re better off looking up recipes from the internet to make with any kids you know - this book aimed quite high, but ultimately fell short.

The whole layout and description of the books stick out and raise everyones interest. There are a lot of different recipes from all across the USA to try together with kids and I'm certainly lookinf forward to trying some of them. However, I'm quite disappointed with this book. From the description I was hoping for a little more background information about each of the states but there are only a few jokes and fun facts sprinkled in between the recipes. At the end there are some menue combinations that I really liked, but to me it seema redundant to give all the full recipes included again instead of just referring to the pages in the book. All in all I'm sure kids will love all these meals but to me this seems generally like the most unhealthy cookbook I have seen in a while and would only use some of the recipes now and then.

I received a DRC of this book from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Recipe Road Trip, Cooking Your Way Across the USA by Nanette Lavin was a fun read . The recipes were great representations for the individual states. . The trivia printed along with each state was very interesting. This is a great book for kids where they can learn how to cook these easy to follow recipes like Chicago style pizza from Illinois.

The title of the book and description is engaging enough to draw you in! There are couple of nice recipes in there that I would like to try out in the coming weeks and look forward to seeing how they turn out! I was however disappointed in the discrepancy of the book description mentioning about the history and regional charm. To me that was what set it apart from other cookbooks. However going through the book I realized these are just some random facts or jokes literally “sprinkled” over the book. I was expecting more context or historical anecdotes surrounding a dish or the region or how a dish came about being of significant importance in a particular region. Not like some random facts thrown around with the information that I can easily google.

I was provided with an ARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.