New gear: color-coated Santoku knife

($16, The Pampered Chef, http://www.pamperedchef.com/)

Finally, a decent knife for small hands.

Launched as part of its new artichoke-colored line of kitchen gadgets, The Pampered Chef’s lightweight color-coated Santoku knife sports a 5-inch ultra-sharp blade.

Though a bit blade-heavy, the knife overall weighs so little the lack of balance between blade and handle isn’t bothersome. Recesses cut into the blade and a special coating minimize food sticking to it.

In a world where professional-grade (and often quite hefty) knives increasingly are the norm, it’s a welcome change for people who don’t want to feel as though they are lifting weights when dicing an onion.

Most men will find this quite attractive knife too small. The blade is short in both length and height, meaning large fingers hit the cutting board before the blade does. But it should be appreciated by anyone with small hands.

On the bookshelf: ‘Cooking with Max’

It’s hard not to admire the sort of pluck involved in a 8-year-old boy publishing a cookbook. A vegetarian cookbook at that. And Max Nania, author of “Cooking with Max: 45 Fun and Kind of Messy Recipes Kids Can Make,” demonstrates plenty of pluck. The book was published by Little Five Star and costs $14.95.

Max’s book (assembled with help from Mom, Sienna Nania) feels one part family scrapbook, one part kid-friendly cookbook. It’s a formula children will relate to and enjoy – and that’s reason enough for parents to embrace it.

Max has the potential to be a great role model for children. He demonstrates not only that food and cooking can be fun, but also that boys as much as girls can and should get in on that fun.

The recipes are simple and most can be completed with just a bit of adult help (the Tarzan Wraps, for example, are whole-wheat tortillas slathered with peanut butter and covered with sunflower seeds and banana slices).

An especially nice touch: Each recipe includes suggested reading, a children’s book loosely tied to the theme of the recipe.

That said, here’s hoping Max’s mom steers him away from processed foods in his next book (to focus on snacks). Too many recipes rely on packaged items, which can be loaded with sodium and fat.

Sure, given the intended audience, there is a necessary emphasis on ease. But children can be just as happy playing with food made from scratch as from a box.

That aside, Max is a cute kid with a good idea. It’s just a matter of time before he’s on a morning show near you.

New gear: Gombe Reserve coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

($17.95, http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com)

Consider this the continuing evolution of coffee from morning wake-up call to political action. Vermont’s Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ latest “special reserve” offering is being produced in conjunction with Jane Goodall.

That’s right, your morning brew can help save the chimps. The coffee, called Gombe Reserve, is being grown by a cooperative of 2,700 farmers along the border of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, where Goodall first began her work with primates.

Because coffee plants grow best under the shade of a forest, the hope is that producing coffee will encourage the protection of the park from the deforestation that has affected the lands around it.

The coffee is just the latest entry in a long line of fair trade, organic and sustainably grown coffees available today, helping you turn those groggy first moments of consciousness each day into a political act.

Green Mountain describes the new coffee as having “floral top notes and vibrant flavors of tropical fruit.” An early batch provided to The Associated Press brewed up smooth and, true to the description, ever-so-slightly fruity.