Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons

This gift book surpasses most of the genre's offerings. The author cleverly uses cookie baking to impart wisdom, making it easy for kids to understand some complex ideas. Even the youngest readers will know what it's like to deny themselves a just-baked cookie in the interest of good behavior. The definitions are friendly enough to make reading it fun for kids, who are likely to feel empathetic and amused by the kids' dilemmas.

Color-washed illustrations of multi-ethnic children in old-fashioned Peter Pan collars and trousers enhance the timeless feel of the book. The pictures of anthropomorphized animals -- also in Peter Pan collars and corduroy trousers -- seem to be trying too hard to push the book into classic territory; really, they end up simply weighing down the quality of the text. This is definitely a book parents will want to read to or with their kids to capture any spontaneous discussion or to point out quandaries.