Taking a Bite out of Cookie magazine

One tough Cookie: As an editor, I love pretty much anything that has words printed on it, from chemistry textbooks to novels to Chinese takeout menus. As a mother, I have less and less time to read said products with printed words, and am (sadly) more likely to look at the takeout menu than the novel or the textbook. But when Cookie Magazine landed on my desk, I had to take a nibble.
Edited by Pilar Guzman, formerly of Real Simple, and published by Fairchild Publications, Cookie is one of those magazines that is both ridiculous and sublime. In interviews, Guzman has referred to the magazine as "a stylish and worldly mom treat."
It's certainly stylish, and certainly wordly, and also apparently edited by people who have never seen, smelled or been in the same room as a baby. (Guzman's bio says she has a toddler, but she's clearly making that up.)
After reading two issues, I'm not sure which made my eyes roll further back into my head: The pictures of the fat-free model wearing a formal gown and swinging a diapered infant in her arms, the consumer guide to $800 stollers, or the pictures of the baby Ugg booties. If I ever have cause to wear a floor-length gown again, I will not come within puking distance of my sweet diapered infant. And if anyone in my house gets to wear shoes that cost upwards of $100, it's going to be ME, not someone who has yet to learn to walk.
That said, it's fun to dream of a world where I have time to make wholesome, organic fish dishes and can afford to order tea and jump on the bed at the Four Seasons or some similiarly posh hotel. It's pure escapism, and in a way it makes sense. A photo spread of clearance items at Baby Gap or -- Who am I kidding? -- Wal-Mart wouldn't be nearly as sexy. And I'm sure no one wants to look at pictures of a baggy-eyed mom dispensing Tylenol to her screaming, teething infant at 4 a.m., even if she does do it in a fabulous pair of Jimmy Choos.
So read Cookie Magazine at your own risk. It's delicious, but it may not be good for you.
Incidentally, my 8-month-old son did, literally, bite into Cookie. I'm not sure what he thought of the magazine's flavor or texture, but he did fight like mad to keep the wad of paper in his mouth. I guess that's one positive review.
-- Elyssa Andrus
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B6 on March 1, 2006.