The Quokka Logic and Baking Book product reviews

Two things that Miss Eleven enjoys more than anything are cooking and reading about Mrs Quokka! This endearing character has really charmed her with her cute appearance and hilarious quips. The idea to combine the two favourites in one book was a stroke of genius, one that will keep Miss Eleven busy for years to come as she works her way through the recipes.

First, the book. Bright, jazzy cover which will wipe clean if it gets an accidental splash and a cover picture that resembles a book within a book. Ring binding to ensure the page stays open at the right place so it does not need to be touched by sticky fingers during the mixing process. Sharp pictures which help the young cook to visualise the finished product. Clear instructions which are targeted for very young children to understand. We could not fault it - clearly a lot of thought has gone into producing a design that is the best available for the purpose.

Miss Eleven took forever to browse through the recipes. She had thought at first that they were all from Mrs Quokka, but quickly realised that there were some from Jase as well. Besides reading each recipe through, she had to look at the other comments on each page - so it took some time. Some of the Quokka favourites included examples of their unique view of the world. Who but a Quokka would declare "No person is an ice-cream scoop!" or insist that "Life should be lived backward and standing on your head!" and then expect you to take them seriously? It looked to us as if Jase was following the family tradition of making funny statements as these "logic" declarations occurred on both his and Mrs Quokka's recipe pages.

After reading every single recipe, Miss Eleven decided we needed some sweets so she set out to make Coconut Ice. She checked to make sure she had all the ingredients, then started measuring. I had told her I would not help unless she got really stuck; I wanted to see how easily she could follow the recipe. There was no problem whatsoever; she did the whole thing herself, and put the finished tray of sweets to one side to allow for time to set. She wanted to take a photo herself as well, and spent the waiting time looking at the different food photos in the cookbook. We both noticed that each photo had been carefully planned with an individual extra feature like a toy or a flower on each page.

Once the sweets were set, Miss Eleven cut them up and organised a few on a plate for display. They did not look exactly like those in the original photo, but they were close enough. The taste test said it all; they were delicious and did not last long with several willing family members only too eager to see if they were as good as they looked. Her next plan is to try Mrs Quokka's all-time favourite, Lemon Cake.

Miss Eleven and I both hope that there will be a new book to come some time in the future, featuring Blong the Cat's favourite recipes. Of course, they would have to be printed in his signature Blong-a-Gram format!

My 13-year-old daughter loves baking and can pretty much follow any recipe she's now given. She always uses my cookbooks but I thought this would be a fabulous start to her own collection. The Quokka Logic and Baking Book has an attractive front page featuring a baker quokka and a smaller quokka with a collection of baking delights found inside. The book comes spiral bound which makes it a lot easier to keep the page open on the recipe you want. Each page features a tasty recipe with a colour picture and a hand-drawn illustration of a quokka saying things like, "If it ain't broke, try and fix it anyway", "hope for the worst but prepare for the best", and my favourite, "be yourself, but not too much". The back of the book has an "About Quokkas" section which gives you a little bit more info about Quokkas and the author's introduction to them. As it mentions, quokka logic is not very logical and can sometimes be downright silly. Mrs. Quokka, the quokka featured throughout the book, also features in the Elastic Island Adventure series, so this book would be a great addition for kids who are familiar with the series.

When I gave this to my daughter, it took longer for her to choose something to make than it did for her to actually make it! There are some great staples, like chocolate chip cookies, lemon cake, and chocolate fudge. Most recipes use pantry staples, hence the delay in choosing something to make. I really liked the fact that it had pictures as it gives you a really good idea of what it should look like.

My daughter finally decided on the Chocolate Cake which was very easy to make, thanks to the clear instructions and ingredient list. Well, what can I say, the chocolate cake was a hit with the household and didn't last long. Both daughters are now perusing the book to see what they can make next (I hope they choose the Lemon Cake!).

Overall, this is a great recipe book for kids and adults! I know you can get recipes easily enough on the internet, but using a cookbook can't be beat and will be used over and over. The recipes are all things you would want to bake with kids and most of the recipes are 'old school' and come from the author's mum and nana. I can honestly say there is not one recipe I wouldn't be happy to make.