My next picture book, The Kimchi Fridge, illustrated by Cindy Kang, just published from Little Bee Books on October 6th. One commonality with most of my books is that they include back matter. However, this book has something my other books don’t—a recipe! And that got me thinking—I’ve never seen a blog post about recipes in back matter. Oh, I’ve seen plenty of recipes included in back matter, especially picture books, but how does one go about writing a recipe for publication? And do you submit it initially with your story?
So I
consulted two other authors whose recent picture books included recipes—Melissa
Stoller and her book Stella’s Special Recipe, illustrated by Valerya
Milovanova and Pooja Makhijani’s Bread Is Love, illustrated by Lavanya
Naidu. But first, book summaries:
The
Kimchi Fridge is
about a little girl who wants to eat kimchi stew, but when she looks in the
kimchi fridge, it’s empty. So, the whole family does the tradition of kimjang,
getting together to make big batches of kimchi to store for winter. “…A joyful,
laugh-out-loud kimchi adventure filled with Korean food, k-pop dances, a great
recipe, and a loving reminder that good things come to those who wait.”
–blurb from Amazon This book includes a traditional
kimchi recipe.
Bread is many things. Bread is simple. The dough can be made with just flour, salt, starter, and water. Bread is science. With the right ingredients, in the right amounts, the dough grows and changes. Bread can be unpredictable. Sometimes it rises, like a soft pillow. Sometimes it’s flat and crunchy. But bread is always delicious, especially when it is made with love. --blurb from Amazon This book includes a bread recipe. |
| Pooja's Herby Fougasse |
1. Did
you already have a recipe, or did you come up with one for this book?
Tina: I
didn’t have one, so with my husband’s memories of his mother’s kimchi, plus my
research online, I wrote a recipe that I’ve made numerous times with hubby’s
stamp of approval.
Melissa: First, thank you for including STELLA’S SPECIAL RECIPE: A ROSH HASHANAH STORY in this post! I’m so happy this special story, illustrated by Valerya Milovanova, released from Kar-Ben Publishing on August 4, 2026. I love books that include recipes! With this project, I already had a treasured family recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls, and I built the story around sharing heritage, rituals, and family through the generations. The story is about a little girl who is finally able to help cook her family’s holiday meal using a recipe card passed down from her great-grandmother, to her nana, to her mother, and finally to her, and she wants to add her special touch and a little bit of love as she cooks. My own nana and mother shared their recipe with me, and I knew that I wanted to write a story that captures food, recipes, and love through the generations.
Pooja: I’d
been a food writer and recipe developer for years, so I had a few recipes up my
sleeve! Bread Is Love is a story about a family who bakes a sourdough loaf
every week, using wild yeast. But a recipe for naturally leavened bread would
have required so many pages, starting with instructions for growing, feeding,
and maintaining a sourdough starter. It can take up to 10 days to make a
starter from scratch. Instead, I suggested including a simple bread recipe made
with commercial baker’s yeast. It takes far less time to make a loaf this way,
the process is more predictable, and the flavor is milder. I wanted readers to
fall in love with bread baking as much as I have, and a simpler recipe gives
first-time bakers a much better chance of success. There’s plenty of time to
tackle sourdough once you’re hooked.
 |
| Pooja's pumpkin-shaped boule |
2. Did your recipe need lots of edits? Like what kind of edits?
Tina: Yes.
Actually, one of my critique partners had written a recipe book for kids, so
her knowledge was invaluable. And my copy editor at Little Bee Books was
experienced in writing recipes. I had to include more headers and trim words.
Melissa: The recipe did need some edits to make sure all the measurements were written consistently. I love how the recipe is written out in the story and also in the back matter. Illustrator Valerya Milovanova’s brilliant artwork truly captures the garden where Stella finds many ingredients, as well as the whole cooking process, and the special love (including a heart necklace, an apron, hand squeezes, and hugs) that are passed down to Stella through this special recipe.
Pooja: After
I had developed the “first draft” of the recipe, I had more than half a dozen
friends test it for me, which was incredibly helpful. Their feedback gave me a
lot of confidence that the recipe was clear, approachable, and—most
importantly—worked! Macmillan’s copy editors had notes, and I’m grateful for
their sharp edits.
 |
| Tina's traditional kimchi |
3. Tips
for authors wanting to include a recipe with their story
Tina:
Melissa: I loved using my family recipe to anchor this story. My tip for authors is to mine your family history and research any special recipes that have been passed down in your family. Or, maybe you have created a new and special recipe that you want to share with your community or with future generations. Writers and young readers can also interview family members about any special recipes they cooked throughout their lives. Find a hook relating to the recipe that can make the story special and relatable to children everywhere. I hope readers will try our family’s stuffed cabbage roll recipe, and will be inspired to experiment with special recipes of their own.
Pooja: I’d encourage authors to be very realistic about the recipe’s audience. If you’re writing for children or families, a recipe with a long list of ingredients or complicated techniques may be intimidating. Think about what will make someone feel successful the first time they try it. And test, test, test. Have people with different levels of cooking experience make it, and pay attention to where they hesitate or have questions.
 |
Melissa's Cabbage Rolls |
4. Did you submit your story with the recipe initially, or did your editor ask for one? Or you mentioned you had one available?
Tina: I
didn’t include one, but my editor asked for one. Panic! In fact, I had never
made kimchi before!
Melissa: Yes, I did submit the recipe when I initially submitted the story. In fact, my mother and youngest daughter spent a full day with me cooking and making sure the recipe passed our taste test. What a fun and special day! My mother passed away almost two years ago, so she didn’t see the published book, but she did know that Kar-Ben Publishing acquired the manuscript. I am so grateful that she knew our family story would soon be out in the world! When submitting, I also included photos of the cooking process and back matter information about stuffed cabbage rolls around the world. These extra materials didn’t make it into the book, but they are on my website at www.MelissaStoller.com. I also offer a free curriculum guide on my website that educators and families can use – some of the enrichment materials focus on recipes and how they relate to family heritage.
Pooja: Bread
Is Love was created in partnership with my editor, who initially came to me
with the idea of a “bread book” after following my work as a food writer and
recipe developer. I think we both assumed from the outset that a recipe would
be part of the book! I developed the recipe after the manuscript was acquired.
Here are
some links to articles about writing recipes for publication & a list of
picture books with recipes.
How to Write a Recipe by Melissa Drumm
How to Write a Recipe from VA State University
Good Reads list of picture books with recipes
 |
| Tina's jar of homemade kimchi |
Where to
find us:
Tina Cho is a kindergarten teacher and author of many books including Rice from Heaven, The Ocean Calls, (4 starred reviews, JLG, Freeman Honor Award), God’s Little Oceanographer, The Princess & the Grain of Rice, and The Kimchi Fridge. Her graphic novel, The Other Side of Tomorrow received five starred reviews, a JLG Gold Standard Selection, SLJ Best Graphic Novels List 2024, Kirkus Best Middle Grade 2024, Freeman Book Honor Award from NCTAsia, SCBWI Golden Kite Award, state lists, etc…
Tina Cho https://www.tinamcho.com/
@tinamcho
on Instagram, X, Facebook
https://www.MelissaStoller.com
https://www.MelissaStoller.com/blog
http://www.facebook.com/MelissaStoller
www.instagram.com/Melissa_Stoller
www.pinterest.com/melissa_Stoller
Pooja
Makhijani is the author of Mama’s Saris, Bread Is Love, Together For Mama, and
Aunties. Her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post,
NPR, Real Simple, The Atlantic, WSJ.com, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Publishers
Weekly, ELLE, and Bon Appétit among others. Pooja is a 2026 New Jersey State
Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellow in prose and a 2026-27 Baldwin For
the Arts Fellow. Find her at poojamakhijani.com.
Great post, Tina! I just ordered your book, so now I can try out your recipe. I included my favorite pumpkin pie recipe in my book, The Pie that Molly Grew.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue! Ah, thanks for ordering. How neat you have a published recipe too!
ReplyDelete