Spring into reading and baking!

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     Spring begins with March, National Reading Month and as we’ve stated before, all baking and cooking involves reading so spend the month making some yummy dishes with your children.  Since March 2nd is also Dr. Seuss‘s birthday why not get creative with cooking and read a Seuss classic like Green Eggs and Ham or The Butter Battle Book? Math can also be included this month along with a slice of pie that you have made with your children on the 14th, Pi Day. Consider reading Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander and perhaps make a pizza pie or meat pie for dinner. To include some history and cultural cooking, cook up some traditional Irish fare on St. Patrick‘s Day and include either a fiction or non-fiction story about the day.

March
National Flour, Frozen Food, Noodle, Nutrition, Peanut, & Reading Month

National Reading Month
     -Read whatever is at hand, anywhere you can and as much as you can!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

     **Check out our book lists for recommended titles, particularly our list of Stories about Books, Reading & Libraries or browse your local library or bookstore for ideas.**

National Noodle Month

Everybody Brings Noodles by Norah Dooley

Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesdays by Jon Stahl

Tony Baroni Loves Macaroni by Marilyn Sadler

National Peanut Month

Let's Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat by April Pulley Sayre

**Think outside the box and choose some recipes (and read some comics) from The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-ups by Weldon Owen.**

2nd: Dr. Seuss‘ Birthday (Read Across America Day)

Green Eggs and Ham

The Butter Battle Book

I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!

**Take a look at the article from Cook‘n & Eat‘n that offers some simple ideas for
combining books and food: Read (and Eat!) Across America.**

4th: National Pound Cake Day

Let's Bake a Cake! by Anne-Sophie Baumann

Five Little Monkeys Bake a Birthday Cake by Eileen Christelow

The Magic School Bus Gets Baked in a Cake by Joanna Cole

Jake Baked the Cake by B. G. Hennessy

Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London

Marigold Bakes a Cake by Mike Malbrough

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

The Fairytale Cake by Mark Sperring

6th: National Oreo Cookie Day

The Oreo Cookie Counting Book by Catherine Lucas

7th: IHOP Pancake Day

Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast by Josh Funk

If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff

14th: Pi Day (3.14)

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander

17th: St. Patrick‘s Day and National Corned Beef & Cabbage Day

Jamie O‘Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola

20th: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day

     The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle calls to mind snacks such as celery stuffed with peanut butter or soft cheese topped with fresh or dried fruits and/or nuts or apple slices (with the skin) or grapes laid out to create an edible caterpillar.

20th: National Ravioli Day

The Ravioli Kid: An Original Spaghetti Western by Michelle Freedman

Roly-Poly Ravioli and other Italian Dishes by Nick Fauchald

23rd: Fannie Farmer’s Birthday

Farmer’s cookbook The Boston Cooking School Cook Book (1896) was the first to utilize standard measuring cups and spoons thus creating the first recipes to feature standardized, precise measurements.

Fannie in the Kitchen: The Whole Story from Soup to Nuts of How Fannie Farmer Invented Recipes with Precise Measurements by Deborah Hopkinson

23rd: National Chip & Dip Day

3rd week: American Chocolate Week

Lily's Chocolate Heart by Kevin Henkes

No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young

Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey

If You Give a Mouse a Brownie by Laura Numeroff

26th: National Spinach Day

Sylvia‘s Spinach by Katherine Pryor

Happy reading and baking!

-Kate @ BTBL

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Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.