If Esme Washburn ever opens her own restaurant, I’ll go out of my way to visit and enjoy one of her delicious meals. Thankfully, readers won’t have to wait. Try out twenty of her creations in this celebration of food. The twelve-year-old wrote the text introducing each of her 20 recipes. Older sister, Calista, served as both taste tester and photographer. 
The recipes are organized into seven chapters:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Appetizers
- Mains
- Sides
- Desserts
- More
A 2-page Introduction covers the basics including Safety Tips; What do to before you start cooking (For example: Tie back your hair and roll up your sleeves.); and a Glossary of Cooking Techniques (Young chefs will know how to Fold, Mince, and Whisk properly to name a few).
The recipes are easy to follow but don’t skimp on the challenge. You won’t find any P & J recipes here. Excellent color photos show the results of each dish. I just had to try out a few and chose Ultimate Banana Bread (Oh My Gosh!), Perfect Pizza (No need to phone in an order again), and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (OMG part two!).
Emerging cooks, and even those who have not been interested in what goes on in the kitchen will find a recipe to their liking. The book can stand upright allowing you to bookmark the page of your chosen recipe while you mix the ingredients. I’d stay and give this volume more accolades, but I have pasta to make from scratch (page 28). The picture looks delicious and I can’t wait to give it a go.
Always in the Middle... 
This sounds like a lot of fun. I will have to check it out. Thanks for the review.
This book sounds amazing! I have loved cooking and baking since I was in second grade. This sounds like a valuable and inspiring book for young people and their adults. Thanks for sharing this one with us, Greg.