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.

I couldn't believe it when I saw that this cookbook was available as a "new" book (authentic reproduction) again. I received it - probably as a birthday gift? I don't remember - when I was a young child, about 50 years ago. I have always been a cookbook reader, and I spent many happy hours as a child reading this book. So when I saw that it was available again, I eagerly bought a copy for the sake of nostalgia.

As an object of nostalgia, I would rate it 5 stars. It looks exactly like the original, and has the same durable and convenient hardcover spiral binding that I remember. Although if you look carefully, you can tell that the cover is from a "photo of a photo," as the image isn't quite as crisp as an original would be. Also, the green glossy material used on the inside of the front & back covers was not in the original. However, everything else about the book is a perfect reproduction.

As a 21st-century cookbook for children to use, I'd probably give it only 3 stars. There is a lot about cooking that has changed in the 60 years since this book was first published:
* Our understanding of nutrition has improved significantly
* We encounter a greater variety of ingredients, especially fresh produce, in our stores
* Our food landscape has been enriched by many contributions from nearly every continent and every corner of the earth (I had definitely never heard of hummus or chiles rellenos when I used to read this book on lazy summer afternoons), and
* Rather than seeing canned/highly processed foods as exciting miracles of modern culinary technology, we now see them as the less healthy and less tasty versions of food.

This cookbook is definitely rooted in the food styles, tastes and knowledge of its mid-20th-century era.

That being said, this was a very, VERY good children's cookbook for its era. The recipes are creative, attractive, and often whimsical. There is a LOT of information for a budding cook who doesn't want to just learn a particular recipe, but actually wants to learn how to cook - such as cooking methods and terminology, types of utensils, safety guidelines. It piques the interest through extras like the illustrations (including many gorgeous full-page color glossy photos of finished recipes) and the sidebar tips from the 12 kids who were the "Junior Testers" of all the recipes in the book.

So, bottom line:
1. If you are an adult who was in love with this book as a kid, buy it.
2. If you are thinking of buying it for a child in your life today, I would say go ahead and buy it for its instructional value in the basics of cooking, but give the child a more contemporary children's cookbook at the same time.

Very disappointed. Do NOT buy the Classic Reprint Series of this book, it is nothing more than a poor quality scan of each page of the original book. The pages are not straight nor do the even fill the page. Pictures are dark, text is unclear. Not worth the paper it is printed on, will be sending it back.

My grandma's was falling out of the binding and she could find the chocolate chip cookies with her eyes closed. But this one was in great condition, so I guess I'll have more time to use it to rags. Love this book. And I was not expecting it at the steal of a price I got. I got lucky. 10 stars if I could.

Received the book. It is in remarkable condition for being nearly 30 years old.
The cover of the book I received matches the photo on the listing....but not the description. Be forewarned, this book does NOT contain the beautiful photos described in the review. In fact it contains on a very few black and "white" (the book is old) illustrations. Other than feeling a tad bit ripped off that the book is not as described, it is in great, readable condition and appears to have all of it's pages intact. Overall, especially for the price, I am pleased with my purchase. However, the Review/Description should be amended to match this particular book so as not to deceive customers.
UPDATE:
Just received my other book which is the one in the photo for this listing. It is the 1976 (1969 copyright) Betty Crocker Cookbook with the Pie diagram on the front. This book is in remarkable condition considering it's older than I am. Very happy with this purchase. This one receives 5 stars. The seller sent exactly what was ordered.
Apparently several different books are lumped under this one photo/listing/description.

This cookbook was purchsed as a gift for a 10 year old girl. She loved the gift and together with her mother, has prepared a couple of the recipes in this book. she said it was really easy to read and understand, and it gave her a list of supplies that was required to make each recipe. The pictures are colorful which makes it even more interesting and eye catching. I, a senior lady, still have my original cookbook just like this which was given to me by my deceased mother. As a child, I loved using it and cooking with my mother's help.

I had a first edition of this cookbook as a little girl. I have no clue whatever happened to that book, but I am so happy that I found this one. I gave it to my grandkids to have at my home for cooking with grandma. They have all penciled in their names on the pages that they want to cook from with grandma. The book only have drawings rather than photos, but that is fine as the recipes are not all that difficult and it just makes in more exciting for kids to see what the real deal looks like in the end.