Oregon Public Broadcasting

The newly released movie "Julie and Julia" has whipped up a frenzy of cookbook buying throughout the Northwest.

Fans are especially hunting for Julia Child's first book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" published in 1961. Local bookstores can't seem to keep the book in stock. 

By the end of this month the publisher expects the book to hit the New York Times Bestsellers list for the very first time. Richland Correspondent Anna King reports. 

Amanda Divine pads about her massive Richland, Washington, bookstore barefoot. Her shop specializes in hard to find books, games, and comics.

So, it makes sense that she has been pestered by fans of the movie "Julie and Julia" for the famous cook's books.

Even before the movie Divine says that she didn't get many used copies of Julia Child's books into her store.

Amanda Divine: "People hold onto it, it's not one of the ones they generally get rid of."

Those that do come in are well worn. Spills, dog-ears and smudges mar the pages.

Since the movie, even those copies have disappeared within days. Now she's got many of Child's books on backorder.

Amanda Divine: "I think maybe it's just something secure and safe and quality and then the movie just kind of stirred people to realize, 'Oh wait, yeah, I want that back in my life.'"

So many people want that back in their lives that Child's publisher has reprinted 225,000 fresh copies of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Nicholas Latimer is the spokesman for Knoff Publishing in New York. He worked with Child on some of her later books.

He says Child's first book is nearly 50-years-old and a million copies are still in kitchens worldwide.

The extent of the new cookbook feeding frenzy surprised Latimer at first, but he says it makes sense.

Nicholas Latimer: "Food makes people feel good and in a down economy you want to feel good. And the best way to do it, is if you have a good cook book, you can cook your way to feeling a lot better."

Latimer says Julia Child would have been thrilled with her books' renewed success. Most of all he says she would have wanted people to get into the kitchen and cook the best cuisine they can with the ingredients they have available.