Among all the tasty projects Alyssa Pazdan and her 6-year-old son have tackled in the kitchen of their Barrington home, the most ambitious by far is a cookbook for kids that has raised more than $20,000 for a local food bank.

Pazdan said her son, Carson, loves to be her "cooker helper" at dinnertime and about a year ago came up with the idea for a cookbook for kids written by kids. It occurred to her that such a book could be a good way to teach children about hunger in the world.

"I talked to Carson about building awareness … and showing kids that not everyone is as fortunate as they are," she said.

Her son asked classmates at Countryside Elementary School in Barrington Hills and others to give him their favorite recipes. Within months he and his mom had compiled a cookbook containing more than 800 recipes, including two of Carson's favorites: omelet in a bag and a shooting star sandwich.

Oprah Winfrey heard about the project and sent Carson her recipe for corn fritters. Other celebrities also contributed, including Chris O'Donnell and Maria Shriver.

Close to 2,000 copies of "Kids Feeding Kids," have been sold at various Barrington venues and online at kidsfeedingkids.info. Earlier this week, Carson and his mother presented at check for $20,107.31 to the Northern Illinois Food Bank to be used in their youth nutrition program.

"It's definitely unique," said the food bank's Jarrod Daab. "We don't too often get a 6-year-old who wants to help out the way he did."

The kindergartener plans to be a "scientist magician" when he grows up but said what's on his mind right now is helping children.

"I really want to feed hungry kids," Carson said. "Not just for the fun of it but because they need it."