An 11-Year-Old Cookbook Author

Aired on: June 22, 2009, January 30, 2009

When sixth grader Deja received an invitation to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama as part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference, her excitement quickly gave way to concern: How was she going to afford all of the expenses involved with the trip? But that didn't stop this ingenious 11-year-old, who combined her love of cooking with her writing skills to create her own cookbook, Kids in the Kitchen: Deja's Delights Cookbook. Filled with recipes from family members and other useful information like cooking times, equivalency charts and a glossary of cooking terms, the book sold enough copies for Deja to be able to attend the historical event.

Rachael, who's had a bit of cookbook writing experience herself, is impressed. "This is an amazing cookbook," she tells Deja. "This is such a great tool for getting kids to get into the kitchen and to get their families eating a little healthier."