Read a book where food shows up in the story, then make it together. Green Eggs and Ham. The pancakes from If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Turkish Delight from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (it's basically fancy gummy candy). Butterbeer from Harry Potter.

This turns reading into a multi-sensory experience that extends beyond the page. The book becomes a recipe source, a cultural artifact, a reason to get messy in the kitchen. Kids remember books they've eaten — they'll recall the story every time they taste the food.

For older kids, cookbooks count as reading too. A kid who "doesn't like books" but will spend an hour reading a cookbook is still reading. Let them own that.