I picked up a first-edition of this delightful little book years and years ago. The illustrations couldn't be more charming, and the recipes in most cases are very approachable. I imagine it would make a thoughtful present for the tiniest cooks and bakers in your life. 

This is the cookbook that taught me what 'real' food was all about.  The freshness of vegetables and fruits and what a few other amazing herbs and ingredients can do to enhance their flavor. 

This book was in constant use in our kitchen for years.  My daughter (very young at the time) learned to cook from 'Fanny' and found she had inherited her grandmother's light touch for baking and pastries.

I still can smell the wonderful aroma of the first organic chicken roasted with small red potatoes and garlic wafting through our house, our mouths watering.  And the finished product did not disappoint.  Some people feel that there is no taste difference between organic and regular(?)raised chickens.  I beg to differ.

I too give this book as a gift to young cooks, but it transcends age.  A beginning adult cook would be hard pressed to find a better tutor.