COOKING WITH HENRY AND ELLIEBELLY

Today’s showcase recipe is “raspberry-marshmallow-peanut butter waffles with barbequed banana bacon,” but can a festive cooking show thrive with an opinionated toddler involved? It sure can. Five-year-old Henry stands behind a long dark table, looking straight out at readers. He generously includes his sister in the program’s title, but what she really wants to do is direct. Their interactions are hilariously realistic: Henry announces they’ll begin by donning chef hats; Elliebelly declares “No chef hat. Pirate hat”; Henry acquiesces that she can wear her pirate hat, but Elliebelly demands that he does too. Mom, offstage, reassures, “Sweetie, she’s two. You don’t have to do what she says”; readers turn the page to see Henry wearing a pirate hat. Yaccarino uses gorgeously rich gouache colors on creamy flat watercolor paper, deftly composing scenes to portray jubilant chaos that’s easy to look at. Shading gives visual depth to chins, bodies and Elliebelly’s mop of curls, while eyes and mouths are solid black, working as visual anchors. Resplendently warm and lively with a retro feel. (Picture book. 2-5)