Another stunning entry into the Acorn Wood Library with Cat’s Cookbook. This was pre-ordered based on the fun we had with Rabbits Nap, and I have to say we were not disappointed.
It would appear to be a family trait that we a) struggle to read the cover and acknowledge the “Lift the flap” notice, and then b) swear in front of a small child when we get to said flaps. In my dads defence, these things are incredibly stiff in new books and I’m just surprised that it has taken several days for one of them to get torn.
We start as always with one of the fun Acorn Wood crew determined to complete an activity. I’m assuming that the desire to learn a new recipe was driven by lockdown and the fear of eating one of the three meals Cat already knew how to cook. I can’t put into words the joy I have experienced at being able to eat out again, even if we are outside and it is tipping it down with rain.
Beautifully illustrated as ever by Axel Scheffler, the little touches everywhere are just incredible particularly those in the drawings hidden behind the flaps, where the Queen is easily recognizable as Queen Elizabeth II. Julia Donaldson meanwhile gets across everything she needs to in two lines per page and regardless of who has read it so far, its apparently quickly become a favourite, we all speak in the same way as the pentameter is so clear.
This helps Tobes follow along, and he no longer wants to eat each page. Not sure if this is compliment or not, but he seems to actually enjoy turning the pages and following the story. I would say that this is due to his ongoing development, but his favourite toy is a sieve, so I’m withholding judgement there at the moment.
All in all, another success for this incredible team. We’ve got another couple of books in the collection still to go and honestly, I’m as excited about these as I am about any other book series I’ve been reading this year.
One final note. The title of the review is a shout out to my brother, who hates cheese. An evening out was once nearly derailed when the restaurant we looked at ended almost every menu choice with “covered in cheese and baked in the oven”. I think he hates this book on principle just because of the mac and cheese.
