[.ca] Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls: Facsimile ... (ISBN 0764526340)

Yay! It's back!:
I have a dilapidated copy of this book that a friend bought for me. I really enjoy it for the copy, illustrations, and the garish color inserts. But most of all, the recipes are fun, quick, easy, and generally delicious. My kids and I enjoy them and my husband begs me to make the drop biscuits about once a week. Of course, some of the copy is hokey, some of the illustrations are corny, and some of the recipe names are goofy, something that some people might take offense to now. However, it would be a mistake to not own this cookbook because of a line drawing and text that appear on one quarter of a page. One hopes that a person who purchases a retro cookbook reproduction can understand that times have changed, and our ideas about racism, as well as nutrition, have evolved since the original publication date.

What's the problem with Old Black Joe?:
Another reviewer complained that this vintage reprint did not bow to the god of political correctness by including a recipe called "Old Black Joe". Setting aside the initial (Pavlovian?) reaction some folks seem to be conditioned to have at the word "black", what precisely is "racially offensive" about this recipe? Is the "Old Black Joe" depicted in the book unemployed, behind bars, drinking a 40 oz., smoking crack, fathering other recipes out of wedlock, or exhibiting any other stereotypically negative "black" behavior? Uh...no. The shriveled prune in the recipe is made to resemble the wrinkled face of an elderly person. The dark color of the prune suggests an "African American". If the prune happened to be pale in color, the recipe could just as easily have been "Old White Granny" without skipping a beat. Please people, let's stop barking on command and begin using our brains again.

Not An Authentic Reproduction:
I have several copies of the original Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls and have found deletions of some of the old recipes in the new reproduction. There is no Easy Orange Cake and Clear Orange Sauce in the new. I noted several other changes too! On p.62 in the old is the recipe for Chocolate Fudge Milk Shake and in the new is Cake and Frosting Mix. I was very excited about hearing that they were going to reprint this recipe book as my original copy was completely falling apart. I had bought several on an auction site to hand down to my kids that were not in good shape. I was going to buy the new one until I went through it and found that it is a revised reproduction and not a genuine reproduction. I would have liked them to have revised it by giving the exact old recipes and writing what changes were to be made if items were no longer available.

My First Cookbook:
This was my first cookbook; and, although its condition is worn and the cover is duct taped together, I still planned to pass it on to my daugthers. What fun, what memories, what an excellent first cookbook. With the reissue, I have purchased two, one for each of my kids! A memory and an heirloom!

It's only a cookbook....:
I just checked my copy of this book...NOT the reproduction but the original thing from the very early 60's (I'm 43), and I was young enough to have scribbled with a red marker in it. The recipe everyone is worried about being politically correct, at least in my old book, is "Old Hobo Joe," not "Old Black Joe," and yes, it's a prune on cereal. I guess you can infer from the color of a prune that the hobo on the cereal is a prune-of-color, wearing a banana and cherry hat. I'm more offended by his neighbor on this page whose name is "Fatso," who is a half a peach on Cheerios. There is also a "Little Man Who Wasn't There," who is a half a banana on Kix cereal, and the orange slice for his hat makes it appear to be a sombrero. Do you suppose he's from Mexico? Anyway....I'm just having fun here! The name is "Old Hobo Joe," at least in my old cookbook, and I loved that cookbook & used the heck out of it, along with my mom! This is a wonderful classic, & if you're looking at this page, you really should buy a copy!!!