Blast from the Past: 10 Pictures from Cookbooks for Kids

Because teaching kids to cook isn't the same as teaching grown-ups, cookbooks have always used a different approach in getting children to learn how to prepare food: they get them into the kitchen with pictures of cute, fun-to-make desserts. Flickr user Charm and Poise has compiled vintage kid-food images from Jell-O and Betty Crocker promotional cook-booklets and other cookbooks for kids. While most of us don't exactly want our kids learning how to make dishes from prepackaged food, you gotta admit, at least the result is adorable. Here are just a few of our favorite pictures from kids' cookbooks; some with recipes, and some with magic tricks.

10. Fun to Cook Book (1971)
This 47-page introduction to cooking published by Carnation Company uses a smiling little girl on the cover to get young women out of the sandbox and into the kitchen.

9. Arrow Book of Easy Cooking (Let's Cook Without Cooking) (1967)
Siberian-born home-ec expert Esther Rudomin Hautzig's first book, Let's Cook without Cooking, lists 55 recipes that do not require a stove.

7. Birthday Cakes For Kids (1986)
In the words of the book's author Miriam B. Loo: "Planning a child's birthday celebration can be as exciting for you as for your child. To make the occasion unique, I've created this collection of cakes that anyone can make and decorate with ease. No special equipment is needed." The simple diagrams and photographs show exactly how to produce each finished cake. Before starting make sure you have all the ingredients close at hand. Some of the cakes include: Rainbow balloon cake, Circus carousel cake, Critter cupcakes and more."

6. Apricot Silly Face, Amazing Magical Jell-O Desserts (1977)
This amazing magical Jell-O dessert calls for chocolate chips and a cookie-and-marshmallow top hat.