New Homemade Kitchen
Joseph Shuldiner
New Homemade Kitchen
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
250 Recipes and Ideas for Reinventing the Art of Preserving, Canning, Fermenting, Dehydrating, and More (Recipes for Homemade Kitchen Pantry Staples, Gift for Home Cooks and Chefs)
by Joseph Shuldiner
The text is written at a 7th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is gentle with no concerning themes.
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About This Book
The kitchen is buzzing with the clink of jars and the hum of bubbling pots. You’re right in the middle of turning leftover veggies into crunchy chips and making your own tangy cheese from scratch. Suddenly, you hear a strange pop—what just happened in the fermenting jar?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade fiction book introduces children aged 9-12 to traditional foodcrafting techniques such as fermenting, canning, and making homemade pantry staples. It combines practical recipes with educational content on kitchen skills, encouraging creativity and an appreciation for a slower, hands-on way of cooking. The book is appropriate for this age group and offers a positive, informative experience without any concerning content.
Why we rated New Homemade Kitchen 12C
New Homemade Kitchen is written at a Level 7 reading level across 352 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 8.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, New Homemade Kitchen works for readers up to grade 9.0.
We rate New Homemade Kitchen as 12C ("Clear") because the content sits in the "Gentle" range — no conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly gentle; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the gentle intensity score.
Thematically, New Homemade Kitchen explores home economics, cooking, creativity, and education — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about home economics, cooking, creativity.
- ✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.
Maybe not for
- ! Readers whose emotional readiness lags behind their decoding skills — this book's intensity outruns its reading level, a classic "gifted kid" mismatch.
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
12C — ClearNo conflict beyond everyday childhood experiences. Safe for sensitive readers.
Was our "Gentle" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781452161198
- Pages
- 352
- Publisher
- Chronicle Books
- Published
- 2020
- Type
- Nonfiction