peacefulreader

Friday Feature from the Fair; part 2

Here is a quick list of fantastic picture books from our Scholastic Book Fair!! Think great stories + illustrations of beauty!

My Forever Dress by Harriet Ziefert (2009). “My grandma is magic!” [Love that sentence!] “She takes an old dress and makes it new with a snip here, a stitch there, some buttons and bows, and loving care. I call it my forever dress, because it will last forever, and ever, and ever. I think that’s magic, don’t you?” The relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter is one of shared love and respect as they work to create different outfits using the same dress. Perfect for burgeoning eco-friendly fashionistas as well a good example in reduce, reuse, recycle!

Chalk by Bill Thompson(2010). Simple sidewalk chalk is the key element in this magical wordless book when three children venture out on a rainy day to the park. Discovering a bag of chalk hanging from a jumping playground dinosaur each child in turn creates a visual masterpiece that comes alive, right up out of the sidewalk. I loved sharing this with classes from Kinder-second grade and watching their faces light up as the first girl’s drawing of a sun becomes real. The illustrations are so well done my students were able to tell the story as we paged through it. Many had never experienced sidewalk chalk before but they knew it was chalk. So now I know when the weather warms up we will be decorating our school sidewalks…

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown(2009). Liam, on one of his many walks through his dreary city, finds a patch of a color up by the abandoned railroad tracks. He transforms himself into a gardener as the plants happily respond, flourishing under his care. Students loved watching the city come to life with living things- plants, and flowers as well as other gardeners. The first picture of the “dreary” city makes a great comparison when you flip to the second to last page-same view, better place to live. It brought the meaning of the word “dreary” to LIFE!!

I’m always shocked when almost a whole week has gone by without blogging. My Lenten plan is to be more authentic with my family-to be there. Even as I go through my day blogging ideas zing and ping through my brain. Plus…I’ve had a busy week and it is (or will be in one hour)Spring Break! I am heading to Little Rock to see my friend, V as she steps out for her directorial debut for the play, For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. (my review of this choreopoem) I am so excited to be there and we have so many other fun things to do and I am hoping and praying it will be warm-I need a little sunshine. Everyone could use a little more sunshine…

Namaste…

Midnight Weekend Cooking

Tonight we had friends over for a casual dinner. It’s interesting how you often make friends through your children…our children are all in the same third grade class and have been together in school since kindergarten. Even though it was casual I did clean my house. I made fresh biscuits and two pans of lasagna. And went to a two-hour 4-H meeting with G.G.

The lasagna recipe I’ve shared before (from The Grit)except this time I did make the tomato sauce but the biscuits were a new thing. The day passed so quickly I didn’t even take any photos which would have been sweet as Groovy Girl took cutting out the biscuits and dipping them in butter under her proverbial 8-year-old wing. There was flour everywhere!! I would make these biscuits again. It made a lot and according to the recipe the dough can be stored in the ice box for 3 weeks, which means you could break out a chunk of dough and make a coupla of them each night for dinner.

That recipe came from a book fair cookbook-on sale for FIVE dollars; Super Suppers Cookbook 2; More Everyday Family Recipes by Judi Byrd. I bought it because I was impressed that it had a vegetarian section and more than a few of the recipes had whole grains and beans. It also includes fun menu plans like for parties or well, um, casual dinners. Just like what we had tonight except tonight our friends brought the side dishes and I just took care of the main course. I did also make biscuits, endamame (our appetizer), green beans (kid-friendly veg.) and a spring mix salad. I have “become” my grandmother who never wanted anyone to leave her home the slightest bit hungry! We had plenty! One couple brought a rice pilaf dish with cranberries and the other couple brought cheesecake with fresh blueberries nestled on top a lovely layer of whipped cream. Yum!

Angel Biscuits

Makes 16 biscuits (I think more)

nonstick cooking spray
5 cups of flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/4-oz package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk
Flour for rolling
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

One: Preheat oven to 375 degrees (okay, really you don’t need to do this until you are rolling out the biscuits, but that’s just me). Coat a 13x 9-in pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Two: in a large bowl combine the 5 cups of flour, the baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Three: In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water, add buttermilk. (buttermilk can easily be made with a quick pour of vinegar added to reg. milk). Using a fork, stir until just moistened.

Four: Pat or lightly roll dough to 1/2-in. thick. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/4-in. biscuit cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary and dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Dip each biscuit in melted butter and place in prepared baking dish. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from baking dish and serve warm.

Plan Ahead: Prepare recipe through Step Three but don’t preheat oven or coat dish. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 weeks. (Bake when ready.)

Easy. I used a mix of whole wheat flour and unbleached white (KAF). I was a bit mortified by the dunking in butter so I tried one pan without dunking and they were fine but not quite as delicious/light and fluffy as the dipped. Duh.

Hope everyone’s having a marvelous weekend. Now for the rest of the weekend I plan on resting and finishing the two books I am reading; She Looks Just Like You by Amie Klempnauer Miller and Bright Young Things by Ana Godberson.

Book Fair Shopping

My book fair is all set up. I stayed late to do it on Friday after school so it will be all set for Monday. In between classes and during conferences I’ve done some serious browsing and there are so many books that I want; some for school and some for myself. Here’s a partial list:

1. The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Haworth.

Welcome to The Merriwether, Florida’s once-grand-hotel built on Hope Springs, where nothing is quite as it seems. Hidden staircases give way to shadowy servants’ quarters, and old-fashioned speakeasies make for the perfect hide and seek spot. Allie Jo Jackson knows every nook and cranny of The Meriwether-she’s lived there her whole life-and nothing surprises her, until the first time she spots the beautiful Tara emerging from the water of the springs. Tara’s shimmery skin, long flowing, and fondness for moonlight swims hint-and once Allie Jo and her friend Chase discover Tara’s secret, nothing will ever be the same.

2. The Healing Spell by Kimberly Griffiths Little.

Eleven-year-old Livie is keeping a secret, and it’s crushing her. She knows she is responsible for her mother’s coma, but she can’t tell anyone. And it’s up to her to find a way to wake her mamma before anyone uncovers the truth of what really happened.

3. Radiance by Alyson Noel.

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife-a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice neighborhood. When she is summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definetely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many soul catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley…(I enjoyed reading Everafter and this seems different yet similar)

4. Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow. (and for my historical fiction craving)

World War II has just ended when 13-year-old Mikhail finds a dying man and his German shepherd, Zasha, in the woods. It’s dangerous-some say traitorous-to own a German dog after Germany attacked Russia, so Mikhail must keep Zasha a secret to keep her alive.

5. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson.

Lying in bed at night, twelve-year-old Henry York can’t ignore the thumping and scratching he hears on the other side of the wall. He scrapes off the plaster and discovers doors-ninety-nine cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he hears the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room-with a man strolling back and forth! Henry and his cousin Henrietta soon understand that these are not just cupboards. they are, in fact, portals to other worlds. I noticed on the author’s website their are already books 2, Dandelion Fire, and 3, Chestnut King, ready in this series, which means no waiting around for more.

All synopsis notes are from the back blurb on the book.

That is just from the fiction section.

A whole ‘nother post is waiting for the fabulous picture books from the book fair!!

and a Rant for the day:

The word of the day is BOOK-whenyou bring your child to the BOOK fair-buy them a book, then if they still want the pencil with the Pokeman eraser, go for it. But the BOOK is the most important item. After all it is a BOOK Fair, not a crazy writing utensil fair. There I’ve said my piece.

February Recap

It was a good reading month for me. I’m off to a better start on all my reading challenges. I had promised to fulfill last year’s 100+ challenge before I started anew and I accomplished that this month. I’m feeling pretty happy about that

1. The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran; old ARC from my favorite deceased bookstore in Little Rock, made the move with me here. I finally read it and need to pass it on. Anyone interested? Good story about trying to settle in, well, Tuscany. Reading from my own shelves project challenge.

2. Sophie the Hero by Lara Berger (elementary fiction)cute story about a young girl trying to find her own special talent. Read it with Groovy Girl.

3. Milo; Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg-best middle grade fiction book I’ve read in a long time, so innovative and personal. Everyone should experience Milo!! Library Project Challenge. Click here for my review.

4. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters-book club read for Feb., spooky but filled me with questions. Waters is an exceptional writer who I plan to read more of. Click here for my review.

5. Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella-bought this at our local used bookstore when Tina suggested I read it. I surprised myself by enjoying the heck out of it. Plan to read more of them. Perfect summer sitting-by-the-pool-read. Last year’s Reading from my own shelves project. Need to review.

6. Clara’s Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari– great Depression-era memoir cookbook. Food and Library Project Challenge. Click here for my post.

7. Come to the Table; The Slow Food Way of Cooking ed. by Katrina Heron-Lovely California farm stories withe recipes. Food and Library Projects Challenge. Click here for my review.

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-I bought this one when it first came up, my mom borrowed it and “lost” it. I rebought it at the used bookstore one day and decided this was the book to read from Reading from my own shelves project for this month. Reading from my own shelves project. Need to review.

P.S. While I was feeling all spunky about reading 8 books this month my reading/blogging/librarian friend, TINA, commented that she had a good reading month with like 16 books!! How does she do it??

I also had a great month of Rodale Plastic-Free thinking. While I am already neurotically earthy this challenge did make me consider packaging more…I couldn’t buy a few favorite items and well, I lived through the month so I guess I don’t need my fancy orange juice, every month. Perhaps it will make it a rare and delicious treat. I did point out to my husband that I at least reuse the plastic orange juice jug time after time.

I do have a large collection of ball jars and Pyrex dishes for food storage. This challenge did make me think creatively outside the box, digging deeper for solutions.

I hope February was filled with innovative solutions, good cooking and lots of reading.

Weekend Update; fun library picks and the Oscars!!

Groovy Girl and I stopped at one of the two public libraries we are fortunate enough to have in our adjoining small towns. She plunked herself down with a stack of interesting picture books while I ventured out to look around. I am always on the search for chapter books to capture her attention. She is a struggling reader and as of yet hasn’t really finished a chapter book on her own. One reading teacher told me I’m enabling her by always reading to her but I did this with our other children-the oldest one was already an accomplished reader by the time we met but she still loved listening to stories. Teenage Boy didn’t take off on reading until his 3rd and 4th grade years so I’m not worried but none-the-less ever the good librarian I seek a perfect reading fit that will send her to a quiet corner to read and marvel.

We picked Orphan Train Children; Lucy’s Wish by Joan Lowery Nixon, which I thought would appeal to her American Girl love of history and Amber Brown is Not a Crayon by Paula Danzinger, which is a 3rd grade character like herself and filled with fun.

I brought home only two treasures from the new section: In the Garden with Dr. Carver by Susan Grigsby; a picture book, and She Looks Just Like You; A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood. Groovy Girl actually picked this last one out as we perused the new adult nonfiction. I’m not a fan of nonfiction and maybe I was looking for cookbooks but G.G. pulled this one out and liked the mother/daughter on the front cover. She was thrilled that I decided to check it out!

Tonight we go off to an Oscar party at a friend’s house. We usually sit home and watch them with our score pads. My husband is a bit obsessed with watching all the nominees. Luckily we can get half of them from Netflix. I hope that Winter’s Bone, The King’s Speech, The Kid’s Are All Right, and Black Swan do well. I liked Inception, 127 Hours and The Social Network also-so many good ones this year.

I can’t decide if The Illustionist, How to Train Your Dragon or Toy Story 3 should win for best animated movie-I loved all three! I don’t understand why Julianne Moore wasn’t nominated at all-I thought she should have been in best supporting actress category. In will all be over within the next couple of hours and I know it is not the Most Important Thing right now but it serves a purpose, just like going to the movies or reading a book for that matter-to escape, for just a little bit.

Happy Sunday.
and I’m off to the Oscars…

Weekend Cooking with Slow Food

Come To The Table; The Slow Food Way of Living edited by Katrina Heron with a foreward by Alice Waters presented by Slow Food Nation easily caught my eye as I browsed the new nonfiction at the public library. This book, filled with 12 California farm stories and a section of delicious sounding recipes, is packed full of information-all that and sage bits of wisdom from Alice to open the book. Heaven.

I’ve enjoyed paging through this book, looking at the earthy photographs of farming people, animals, and the fruits/vegetables of their labor. In each section I’ve found pearls of wisdom that I’m taking to heart. Sometimes it seems when our heart is into something we feel we know all about it. Reading this book made me realize I have so much more to learn about “organic” and sustainable-living. In “How-to: Store it/Saving from Scratch” I read this bit ” It seems obvious, but people forget: You can save a lot of money if you buy food you can store and use over time. For example, beans. Dried beans are far cheaper than the canned ones.”(11)

Reading about the 12 farms was enriching and made me ready to sow some seeds of my own. I can’t have chickens where I live but we do garden and these stories inspired me to try some new plants, to reach farther in my gardening quest. I read about Jennifer Greene, a grain specialist, who decided to see how many people one woman could feed…she says about 100. She grows grains the old-fashioned way in northern California in an idyllic setting. Now I like King Arthur Flour myself but I can only imagine what it would be like to buy flour from a woman farmer just down the road. That would truly be cool. Each farm family has an story worth telling and many have taken over family farms and turned them back to what they were years, and years ago. Funny that a big handful of people knew that what was once tradition would now be new.

At the tail end of the book live many slow food recipes I plan to try over time but not this weekend as Groovy Girl are on our own and we had take- out Chinese last night that did not muster up to what we can make ourselves. I was just trying not to have to cook after a very long day. Hmmmph.

Here is a short list of recipes titles that I’m interested in making:

Paul’s Best Biscuit Recipe (Sweet Home Ranch)
Spearmint-Stuffed Artichokes (Full Belly Farm)
Jennifer’s Chickpea Puree (Windborne Farm)
Battered Fried Zucchini (J & P Organics)
Pastaless Vegetable Lasagna (Tierra Miguel Farm)
Bean and Barley Stew (Redwood Roots Farm)
Eggplant Curry Soup (Vang Family Farm)
Okay, that recipe looks just so easy to type I’m going to share just this one:

Eggplant Curry Stew
2 or 3 Chinese eggplants, thinly sliced
1 T yellow curry paste
1 can coconut milk
3/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots
3/4 pound chicken breast and thigh, cubed in 1/2 pieces
3 or 4 lemon tree leaves or 1 stalk lemongrass can be substituted
Salt to taste
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring the mixture to a low boil, then simmer until chicken is cooked to your preference. Add salt to taste. This thick stew can be served over rice.
Makes 4 servings(130)
[unless i’ ve recently cooked one of the few organic/local chickens from my freezer i would substitute tofu for chicken]

I’ve never read a recipe for Suckling Pig (Clark Summit Farm) but there is one listed and for dessert, let’s all have California Cloverleaf Farms Organic Cheesecake (Burroughs Family Farm).

Thank you to the library for such a feast of cookbookery!!
This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Click to her to find a whole slew of other foodie folks blogging about what they’re cooking up.

Look for it at in IndieBound bookstore near you by clicking on the title/link:

Come To The Table; The Slow Food Way of Living

This book counts toward my Foodie’s Reading Challenge.

Friday Feature/Black History Biographies

I’m trying to be consistent by posting this Friday Feature before I leave school on Friday afternoons. Today was an unusual day at school for me and one of our school families. I can’t go into the details but it greatly affected me. So this post is late but still done because sometimes consistency is all you have. Have a blessed day.

I’ve been working with third grade students, cementing the idea that the Underground Railroad is a journey slaves took from the Southern plantations to the North and freedom. I highlighted six great books last week about slave experiences. This week I want you to know about four fantastic biographies. There are biographies that are good for research but I like to see if they make good readalouds. Unless it is someone a teacher points to or someone already talked about in the history books kids don’t pick up biographies which is sad because we have some beautiful ones. Oh, unless it is a wrestler, pop star or sports figure, i mean.

1. I, Matthew Henson; Polar Explorer by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Eric Velasquez
I find Matthew Henson’s life story fascinating and when this book came out I was so happy-I thought for sure kids would pick it up just for it’s cover. I’ve read this one aloud several times and once you read it to kids they love the story. Matthew, at just 13, walked himself from D.C. to Baltimore to find a ship he could work on and each page reveals another step he took to become Admiral Peary’s right hand man and fellow explorer of Nicaragua, Greenland and eventually the North Pole. Gorgeous illustrations.

2. Satchel Paige; Don’t Look Back written by David A. Adler; illustrated by Terry Widener

We are a baseball family. We love the sport and my husband has all his old cards from when he was a kid. Often we are disappointed by players mistakes nowadays-Miguel Cabrera-if your reading this my son is so very disappointed in you. It makes us happy to read stories like this one where Satchel Paige played hard and spoke his mind when confronted with segregation. A true hero, Paige played for the Mobile Tigers, a semiprofessional black team after serving time in reform school for stealing toy rings. He eventually become the first African-American to pitch in a World Series game; the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves! Also amazing illustrations.

3. Talkin’ about Bessie; The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes; illustrated by E.B. Lewis. This book is especially unique because it tells Bessie’s story from many different perspectives. Here’s the beginning of the “school teacher’s” memories: “When it came to knowledge, Bessie was a miser, hoarding facts and figures like gold coins she was saving up to spend on something special.” This fictionized account helps to explain how Bessie became the first female licenced pilot of African descent.

4. Stealing Home; Jackie Robinson against the Odds written by Robert Burleigh; illustrated by Mike Wimmer. This book is easy to read outloud with a small amount of text to tell thestolen base story but each page includes a baseball card with added historical information. A sample: “Jackie’s mother decided to take her family from rural Georgia to Pasadena, California. All aboard! Things were better for black people in California than in than in the South. But not by that much. The family found it difficult to rent a house. Food was scarce. The children were called insulting names.” Reading this to older kids it would be easy to add in these extra bits of critical information.

Honorable Mention goes to Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo for the amazing Bryan Collier’s collage-style illustrations and it’s easy to read style-told from the point-of-view of a young girl who admires Langston Hughes.

Have a peaceful weekend.
Love yourself and your family.

Fabulous Little Picture Book; Monkey Truck by Michael Slack

“When there’s trouble in the jungle, Monkey Truck knows what to do. “ and the cute little truck zooms off to save a bug from a very large elephant foot. This book has BIG WORDS, funny expressions (banana gas) and a perfect rhythm paced for little listeners. With words like rev, rev, toot, Vroom, Vroom kids were reading along with me when I shared this with first graders. Michael Slack has done a fabulous job making a silly monkey/truck into an jungle action hero framed against a lush jungle background.

Mr. Stack sent this book to me a few monthes ago after I reviewed The Flim-Flam Fairies , illustrated by him. I took Monkey Truck to school and shared it then brought it home and Groovy Girl and I read it. She laughed and had a great time exploring the illustrations. Then the book sat on my to-review shelf for a few days…days turned into weeks and then one day in January I sat down to write the review but couldn’t locate the book. I couldn’t figure out what happened to it and was sad cuz it had such a beautiful inscription from Mr. Slack, who by the way should win a prize just for coolest last name.

Then one night I came up to tuck Groovy Girl into bed and found her reading to her doll, Jaime. She was reading Yoko by Rosemary Wells. Hmmm. Light Bulb. “Groovy Girl, do you remember Monkey Truck?” “Yeah” and right there it was in a basket of books she’s been reading to Jaime. Ohhhhh. Enough said. Michael-I’m very sorry I didn’t get the book reveiwed faster but just so you know….dolls and girls are loving it too! This is the perfect book for an active PreK-1st grade crowd. This is his first attempt at writing and illustrating together and I hope he is working on more, which he probably will not send me after I lost track of this one.
Check out his fabulous website, Michael Slack, and this awesome video:

Other great thoughts on this book:
BoingBoing
Jen Robinson’s Book Page

Buy it from an IndieBound (I am an associate but have yet to receive a dime)

Monkey Truck

How can I go to bed when my to-do list isn't finished?

~~1. Call Barb~~

2. Call brother ~~(text)~~

3. ~~relook at library budget line items~~

4. ~~Practicum student arrives today~~

5.Check out new magazines

6. blog
7.read

This is a question I ask myself nearly everyday. I hardly ever get my entire list done and then everything I didn’t get done today gets automatically added to the beginning (or sometimes end) of tomorrow’s list. I feel this constant surge of never quite measuring up. I have to have just one or two things on my list that are TOP PRIORITY-those I get done (on a good day) and the rest-ho hum. But then what happens when late in the day you realize that one of your low priority items really should have been a TOP.

Like today when it dawned on me that my Scholastic Book Fair begins next week and I have yet to get up any of the posters or ready the flyers for students to carry home. Am I crazy? How do I let these things slip through the cracks? I knew the book fair was during conferences and I knew conferences were coming up but next week?? How is February ending so soon? I did find a cool list making tool online while freaking about my own to-do list. Check it out here: http://tadalist.com/?ref=public

Want to view my to-do list for today (notice book fair publicity isn’t even on the list!!”:

http://peacefulreader.tadalist.com/lists/1862425/public

I did get two baskets of laundry folded (not on the list), I did call Barb for her birthday and talked until my phone died (should have had “charge phone” on the list), and I did spend quality time with Groovy Girl while she did 3 homework projects. Also I poked my nose into one of my new magazines (Eating Well) while she was doing her homework. I found about 10 recipes I wanted to make and several articles worthy of blog posts but I now go to bed without calling Julie and no yoga. I did text my brother but that doesn’t really count. All I can hope for is a better finish tomorrow. My plan is to focus and spend 5 minutes in the morning right when I get to school (or maybe at home as I eat my breakfast) and prioritize my list with my date book next to me. I’ll add that item to my list!

Are you a list maker?

January's Sparrow by Patricia Polacco

I ordered this in my last Titlewave order without knowing anything about it, other than the cover art was striking. Usually I only order books I’ve read a review about, heard about or have looked at myself personally at the public library but because I have such good faith in Patricia Polacco-I oredered it with out a preview.

Once again Polacco’s book overwhelmed me, brought me to the brink of tears and showered me with great joy. This is the amazing story of the Crosswhite family, a slave family, working for a terrible master in Kentucky. After January, a family friend/brother figure is captured, returned back to the plantation then beaten by local slave traders in front of the family-it is more than they can bear. That and the secret knowledge that their sons are soon to be sold at auction gives the Crosswhite’s reason to flee the plantation even knowing what it will mean if they are captured.

This book highlights the Underground Railroad stations as well as Marshall, Michigan, a town where many residents disagreed with slavery and the Crosswhites get used to this taste of freedom, staying there for several years. Ultimately they must rely on the neighbors surrounding them as well as white townspeople to save them from recapture. If you haven’t had a chance to read this; this would be the perfect month to use this for a readaloud.