I love this book because it is not only a cookbook with recipes that everyone in the family will enjoy, but it also reinforces that a family meal is an important part of life. I grew up in a small family and it never occurred to me that a family would not have every meal together as much as possible. It was shocking to me when I was older to realize that many of my friends in college had not experienced family meals growing up. I also realized that these friends did not appreciate cooking and food the way I grew up appreciating the kitchen. I still believe that the kitchen is the center of the house and this book reinforces that feeling. The recipes are great, lots of pictures and many recipes will only require common pantry ingredients. Art Smith includes recipes for stock, pizza dough etc that provide a basis for the reader to then go and experiment with food. I have used the recipe for pizza dough to come up with many different toppings and even gone to make individual quarters depending on what's in the pantry and how my family feels about the degree of spice on the pizza. I would recommend this book to every mom out there that wants to ensure that kids look forward to shared meals. Many of the recipes do not require a lot of time and kids can often help with some of the more simple tasks involved.