The first time my 6-year-old niece came for a sleepover at ol' Aunt Amy and Uncle Dan's house, I was so excited to have her all to myself. It's a cool relationship between you and sibling's or in-law's child; there's none of that tug-and-pull that parents have to endure; no power struggles; no necessary lines drawn in the sand. I mean, it's not like it's a free-for-all without rules, but it's just a different dynamic. I was also a little worried, though -- I mean, our home isn't full of toys or kids' books or video games and plastic princess castles: Would she be bored out of her mind? Would she not even make it past dinner before she wailed, "I wanna go hoooooome!!!!" So I plotted out this extravagant day and night of activities, making sure every happy little second was chock-full of fun, fun, fun. I mean, damn, Favorite Aunt Status is not something to be taken for granted, and I wasn't about to surrender my crown to my brother-in-law's sisters. Forget it! I would go to the mat! It would be like Disneyland at Aunt Amy's house, I thought. I'm going to kick auntly butt. 

In the end, I learned it's not so much about the bells and whistles. I picked up Sabrina, took her to lunch, took her for ice cream at an old-fashioned parlor in my borough, took her to the video store to rent any movie she wanted (which lead me to endure a couple of hours of Strawberry Shortcake and her band of merry technicolor friends--oy!), a romp in the park, and then home to get dinner on the table--which was the one part of the day I was kinda worried about. Ugh, I thought, she's going to be bored! I hoped for the best.

As it turns out, Sabrina was really interested in what I was doing in ye olde kitchen. "Can I help?" she immediately squeaked after I threw on an apron. I got her a sturdy stool, an apron of her own, and together we measured and poured and stirred ourselves into a nice, home-cooked meal, and a tray of brownies for dessert. Had we done this all day, I think she really would've been pretty okay with that.

This, of course, is something author Melissa Iwai knows well. "Getting your kids involved in cooking is a great way to spend time together, both in the kitchen and at the grocery store." Which is pretty much exactly what her wonderfully illustrated book (Iwai has created the artwork for many children's tomes, including her own) Soup Day is all about.

Here, a mom and daughter set out on a snowy, winter day to buy the ingredients to make a nice, vegetable soup for dinner. They walk to the store; they shop; they pick out ingredients. They bring them home and prepare them, waiting for Dad to come in at the end of his work day to a nice, fragrant pot of warm, simmering soup, which they will sit together and eat. And that's the thing--that all sounds very ordinary, doesn't it? It's exactly what I was afraid my niece would die of boredom from--but it was entirely the opposite. In the end, it wasn't about the bells and whistles and dancing bears; it was about spending time with me.

I wish I'd had these tips before that day, but Iwai has some great suggestions for getting little ones involved in the kitchen. Things like:

• Look at a cookbook together and let them choose what dish they might like to try. Or, let them choose some of the ingredients to use, such as what kinds of things to put on pizza and what kind of vegetable or pasta they'd like in their soup.
• Not sure how to get them involved in the prep (the part they most want to be involved in)? Easy, safe, fun prepping tasks for kids can be things like having them help you wash the produce, and shucking corn, snapping off the ends of green beans, and breaking off broccoli and cauliflower florets.
• Children love to work with dough, such as kneading bread, rolling out or cutting shapes for cookies, stretching pizza, or braiding bread dough and making rolls. 
•  Have kids help you set the timer. You can teach them how to set an egg timer by counting the lines in between the numbers (fun with math, people!), or how to press the numbers into a digital timer and press "start."

Next time Sabrina comes for a sleepover (which she's been demanding ever since the last one--Super Aunt success!), I might just sub-out the clown nose for a couple of aprons and a mixing spoon, and I may well give her this book for Christmas and act out the lovely soup day in the pages of Iwai's lovely story. Turns out, the fun of it for her was really more about the time with me than the trappings. And you know, that's what I really liked about it, too.

Melissa Iwai's Snow Day Vegetable Soup

(makes 6 servings)

1 TBSP olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced arrots

1/2 cup diced celery

kosher salt

6 cups chicken, vegetable, or beef stock

2 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1/2 cup carrots, sliced into rounds

2 cups zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

3 ounces dried pasta of choice

1/4 cup packed chopped parsley leaves

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add diced onions, carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt to pot. Saute until onions are soft and translucent.

Add stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add potatoes, carrot rounds, zucchini, and mushrooms to the pot. Add pepper, thyme, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until vegetables are fork tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Bring water to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add a pinch of salt to water. When water ocmes to a boild, add pasta and cook to al dente doneness according to package instructions. Drain and add to vegetable soup just before serving.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish soup with chopped parsley. Enjoy!