Dear Ernest—

Don’t judge, but for years I’ve been trying to convince my kids that any and every day is a major food holiday—just so we can cook or bake something fun. We’ve made 100 cookies on the 100th day of school and Cat in the Hat cupcakes for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We’ve celebrated half birthdays with half birthday cakes and non-birthdays with un-birthday cakes. This idea—that every day is a celebration—is at the heart of Food Network Magazine’s new Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook. We filled this book with fun, creative food projects for every day of the year, whether it’s a big holiday like the Fourth of July, or it just happens to be the anniversary of the first walk on the moon—and therefore a perfect day to make edible moon dust from freeze-dried fruit.

My own kids have had a blast learning the basics from Food Network Magazine’s first two best-selling cookbooks—The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook and The Big, Fun Kids Baking Book—and they’re even more excited about The Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook. When they first got their hands on it, they flipped immediately to their birthdays to see what was in store, and then they started planning their next few cooking projects. This is a book that makes kids super excited about cooking and eager to keep at it day after day.

What should you make today? Here’s a taste of the great recipes young chefs can try:

Get your copy, grab an apron and start cooking!