19th May World Baking Day

World Baking Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in May each year. This day is dedicated to the art of baking and encourages people around the world to bake and share their creations with others. This day is meant to show people just how much fun it can be to make a cake or some cookies. Baking can be a great way to spend time with family and friends.

Baking is not only a fun and creative hobby, but it also has numerous benefits for your mental health and wellbeing. Here's a few benefits:

• Baking can be a stress-reliever and help you to unwind.

• It can boost your self esteem and confidence as you learn new skills and have success.

• Baking can be a social activity, allowing you to do it with others and build relationships.

So many children's picture books include a recipe, meaning that if you want to,  baking can happen as a result of reading the book. See these:

And if you can't bake a cake, bake a story!

9th March Meatball Day

There’s just so much to love about meatballs. We all have our own recipes, and preferred spice or meat mix. There's Italian meatballs, Swedish meatballs and then meatballs that have other names like kofta and kibbeh.

Like most celebrations Meatball Day can be celebrated by reading children's books!

Try:

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barett and Ron Barrett

• Spaghetti and Meatballs for All by Marilyn Burns and Debbie Tilley

• On Top of Spaghetti  the song by Tom Glazer 

• Tyler Makes Spaghetti  by Tyler Florence and Craig Frazier 

• If I Give My Cat Spaghetti  by Sophia Ralli and Marina Salagub

Coming just after the celebration

• Meatballs for Grandpa by Jeanette Fazzari Jones and Jaclyn Sinquett  

And this title for a biography intrigues me:

• Make Meatballs Sing by Matthew Burgess and Kara Kramer

 

Now have a look in the cookbook section of your library and I'm sure you will find a recipe for meatballs that can be made with children, eg.

• Cool Kids Cook  by Jenny Chandler has a meatballs recipe.

17th October National Pasta Day

I don't think we have a Pasta Day in Australia but what a good excuse to get out all the great kids cookbooks and cook up a feast. I love Ready, Steady Spaghetti by Lucy Broadhurst and then you can work your way through all the pasta recipes in the back of Everyone Brings Noodles by Norah Dooley. And while you are cooking and eating you can have fun reading from this list:

• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola. Who can resist the concept of a magic pasta pot?

• More Spaghetti, I Say by Rita Golden Gelman

• Basghetti Spaghetti by Susanne Vettiger

• Spaghetti for Suzy by Peter Coplans

• The Spaghetti Tangle by Alexander McCall Smith

• Pino and the Signora's Pasta by Janet Pedersen

Make sure you do it on Wednesday because of

• Wednesday is Spaghetti Day by Maryann Cocca-Leffler!