Reviewed by: Kids Cook 1-2-3: Recipes for Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients Deborah Stevenson Gold, Rozanne Kids Cook 1-2-3: Recipes for Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients; illus. by Sara Pinto. Bloomsbury, 2006144p ISBN 1-58234-735-2$17.95 R Gr. 4-8 Gold, author of the three-ingredient cookbook for adults Recipes 1-2-3, has returned to this formula to create a cookbook for young readers. It's an inspired formula for young starter cooks, since it means recipes are automatically much less daunting than usual to read as well as to prepare, and the chances of mastery are increased with the minimization of steps wherein something could go wrong. There's still plenty of creativity offered here, with well over a hundred recipes from appetizers to snacks, main dishes to desserts. The three-ingredient concept is wisely employed as a guideline rather than a strict rule, so seasonings and water don't count, and variations and additions are freely suggested so that kids who've mastered the basic recipe can find ways to expand from a comfortable starting place; storebought shortcuts are key to many recipes and the flavors are wildly unsubtle, but that's a fair trade for the combination of breadth and accessibility offered here. The range of difficulty levels ensures that even the most timid young kitchen-user can find a way to enhance his or her kitchen skills, while those who tackle egg separation and plate garnish with aplomb will find tasty ideas as well. It's a little strange that a cookbook blithely convinced of readers' possession of ice-cream makers and stand mixers resolutely refuses to acknowledge the microwave, and there are a few oddities and glitches (the Chocolate-Banana Terrine recipe neglects to instruct cooks to peel and slice the bananas, and there's no indication of how to judge doneness in the Roast Chicken, for instance), as well as a tendency for the illustrations to stick to the tastefully decorative when the informative would have been welcome. However, the concept remains a winner, and kids who've been defeated by glossy overproduced catalogues of food styling will be relieved to find a text that will really make them feel at home on the range. An index is included. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois