A Yummy Review from Grace Ann Walden

"Jerry Anne Di Vecchio has been my heroine for about 30 years. For decades she was the food editor at Sunset magazine, primarily when the Lane family owned it...Now, she has teamed up with a wonderful artist, Francoise Dudal Kirkman to produce a cookbook for children ages 7 to 14, "You've Got Recipes".

The book has sage advice for the young cook and very doable recipes like cheese puffs, guacamole, clam chowder, creamy chicken stew and a simple yogurt cake. The cookbook central story is about an online relationship between a San Francisco raccoon, Cleo, and her friend a Paris-based mouse, Sophie. They swap recipes and food ideas across the Internet. An added bonus is that the book has recipe names and tools listed both in French and English. It is simply formidable!"

"You've Got Recipes" Featured in OC Register Gift Guide

"Cookbooks make perfect presents. They're the easy-to-wrap, quintessential gift for everyone from grandchild to grandparent, whether they're actual cooks, wannabe cooks or vicarious cooks...

The story and illustrations in this enchanting children's cookbook are enough to pull even the most reluctant child into the kitchen. Geared to kids between the ages of 7 and 14, the recipes teach techniques they can easily use now, as well as throughout their lives.

You may recognize the authors' names. Di Vecchio was food editor at Sunset magazine for decades and Kirkman is a Paris-trained artist.

The story line centers on a ravenous and clever raccoon named Cleo. She lives under the porch of a San Francisco-based food writer; she and her animal friends bone up on their culinary skills and share ideas via e-mails.

As e-mails filled with tips and recipes bounce between Paris and San Francisco, fabulous little foodie details (in English and French) are revealed. Charming colored illustrations of woodland characters (even though well dressed in people clothes) are species correct. Cleo Raccoon was, in real life, Kirkman's pet who liked to play in the kitchen.

"At a recent cooking class, the kids chanted "I love artichokes," says Di Vecchio. "I think we need to recognize that they will try almost everything. They love the recipes in this book. Some may see them as too sophisticated, but they really aren't. It's interesting. Many adults are buying the book for themselves..."

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Sunset Praise for You've Got Recipes ~ A Cookbook for a Lifetime

"Jerry Di Vecchio was Sunset's food editor for 4 decades. Françoise Kirkman is a former Sunset art director. Together, they've published a completely charming cookbook for children filled with kid-tested recipes that are extremely easy but never dumbed down.

It's no wonder the back cover bears blurbs from Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters, and Jacques Pépin (all of them parents).

The premise is simple and sweet. Cleo Raccoon and her brother, Henry, live under the porch of a San Francisco food writer's house. They become fascinated by food from peeking at her computer screen as she's writing recipes and from reading her food magazines. Their friend Sophie Souris is a mouse living in a Paris restaurant; she has (of course) scads of brothers and sisters.

The raccoons use the house's computer to e-mail Sophie about their lives in Northern California, along with recipes for things they like to eat: guacamole, pizza, blueberry crumble; Sophie sends back gougeres and éclairs..." ~ Margo True, Sunset Food Editor

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"You've Got Recipes" Teaches Kids How to Cook at Viva

"... You’ve got recipes: On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Viva (7160 Keating Ave., Sebastopol) hosts a cooking class for kids aged 9 to 11. The class will be taught by Francoise Dudal Kirkman and Jerry DiVecchio, who worked together at Sunset Magazine, Kirkman as art director and DiVecchio as food editor. At the core of the class is a delightful new cookbook, “You’ve Got Recipes,” which Kirkman and DiVecchio co-authored. The book focuses on the adventures of Sophie Souris, a Parisian mouse, and two San Francisco raccoons, Cleo and Henry, who exchange recipes via e-mail ..." ~ Michele Anna Jordan

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Kudos from the Colorado Springs Gazette

Cookbook targets today's culinary-savvy children
Teresa Farney
Colorado Springs Gazette ~ May 5, 2009

Two raccoons, a mouse, two kitchens and two computers. That's what two former Sunset magazine employees dreamed up to create a cookbook story that will have children leading their parents by the hand into the kitchen. And just in time for some mom-kid kitchen bonding on Mother's Day.

The charming "You've Got Recipes," by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio and Françoise Dudal Kirkman, is based on three food-loving creatures: Henry and Cleo Raccoon, of San Francisco, and Sophie Souris, a mouse who lives in a Paris restaurant....

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Don't miss the Mango Smoothie recipe!

More kudos from famous chefs about You've Got Recipes

Here’s what these famous chefs, who are parents, too, have to say about YOU’VE GOT RECIPES...


ALICE WATERS: “This charming little book teaches children the principles of real food, prepared fresh from the garden.”


JACQUES PÉPIN: "Fun, straightforward, pragmatic and useful, YOU'VE GOT RECIPES is a great way to lure children into the kitchen, and to bring a child into the kitchen is to change his or her life forever for the better."


WOLFGANG PUCK: "It’s never too early to start cooking with children (or teaching them French, for that matter). YOU’VE GOT RECIPES is more than a kids’ cookbook; it teaches them about ingredients and cooking techniques, but it never talks down, and the recipes will appeal to the entire family. I will certainly use Jerry and Françoise’s cookbook with my two young children; whether we begin with the Cheese Puffs or go right to the Éclairs, they’re going to have a ball, and so will I."