I’m obsessed with food, I’m obsessed with children’s books and I’m obsessed with food in children’s books. (See earlier posts on this here.)

Last year, Phaidon released the ingenious board book Cook in a Book: Pancakes! by Lotta Nieminen.

In terms of interactivity, it’s Pat the Bunny x 10. On each page, kids can emulate the steps of a real recipe for pancakes.

Pull a sliding tab and white flour seems to pour from a measuring cup; spin a dial on the side of a bowl and liquid and dry ingredients magically blend into a batter. I showed this book to a three-year-old and he was ENTHRALLED, demanding an immediate re-read, and then another. 

Earlier this year, Nieminen, a Finnish-born graphic designer and illustrator whose chic client list includes Hermes, Marimekko and Liberty of London, published her equally genius follow-up, Cook in a Book: Pizza! which includes a satisfyingly squishy plastic-covered clump of “dough” for kids to knead.

Check out this video demonstration below (she gets to the dough at 3:27).

https://www.facebook.com/nytbooks/videos/1564428590254309/

Now Phaidon has published a third in the series. Tacos. Normally, I’d think: Enough Already!  But this one is just as irresistible. Nieminen keeps coming up with new “paper engineering” ideas to keep the series fresh.

This time, kids can chop scallions, slice radishes, and mince cilantro with a little cardboard knife and a slide tab that appears to transform the veggies into neat little segments — you gotta try it to believe it. Also, the tortilla pops out and folds in half.

I am in love with these books. They are the EZ-Bake oven of board books. And best of all, there’s no mess.