global warming – Peaceful Reader

Amazon Burning by Victoria Griffith

Amazon Burning

(2014)

This is not your typical Peaceful Reader type of book based on the cover and the title but it does have an environmental aspect that I bit right into and I enjoyed most of it.

What I liked:

The setting is the Amazon rain forest and I enjoyed learning more about the Amazon and the Indigenous people who live there and struggle with the changing landscape. The ecology of the rain forest is an extremely important issue and one that gets brushed aside by politics but also by everything local that often takes precedence. It’s difficult to care about what goes on thousands of miles away when there is enough causes here in the US to focus our attention on. This book brings this issue to the forefront as Emma and her swarthy photographer friend bring to light not only an animal smuggling ring but discover truths about the rain forest they never imagined. More books including young adult books should be written about this area to keep it in our minds. The writing for the most part was good. Ms. Griffith is a journalist, well-traveled, and did a great job with dialogue.

What I could live without:

It’s a romance and I’m not a prude but WoW. I know the word burning is in the title. I get that something had to be burning but I thought it would have been in higher order if the burning was the issue not the sex. The sexy scenes were far too graphic for me and they seemed uncomfortable for the author and her characters as they didn’t flow well. What momentum Griffith created in good dialogue reverted to dime-store romance novel in a second. I like the mystery of a romance and I think it damages the overall good impact a book like this can have. At the end of the day are you writing soft porn or saving the rain forest? I vote rain forest and the book has so much to offer but there are many friends I can’t hand this book to because of those very raw scenes.

I also thought the struggle between Emma and her professor was a very timely issue to add in and might have made the perfect reason for her to stay out of the sheets until the end of the book-leaving us with the understanding that her and Jimmy would now be free to pursue their passion for each other. Emma’s ability to shut her professor down makes her a strong and worthy character that might think twice before jumping into bed. Just my 2 cents worth. Now you want to read it more than ever just to see what I’m talking about…let me know if you want to borrow my copy of Amazon Burning OR
You can buy it from Astor + Blue’s website for $4.99 right now.

Weekend cooking; O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

We went yesterday to get our tree and I wish I could say it was a glorious event but it wasn’t. The kids argued for a bit, the selection was low from this summer’s drought, and we were in a hurry so husband and Teenage Boy could get to the movie theater to see the new Brad Pitt movie (excellent they said).

Our Christmas tree search is an annual event we do with another family but they blew us off this year with some excuse about too much to do on Saturday. We understand busy but Groovy Girl was steamed about this as she thought it was “boring” without their rambunctious young kids. She was left with just us and Teenage Boy who made her mad in the car but did get her laughing at the tree farm. What’s she going to say when it’s just me and her dad with her? Even more boring, I’m sure. O families!

We did manage to laugh together. We had glasses of cider inside the lodge while we waited for our tree to be shaken. We did run into other friends and in general enjoyed shopping for our tree at the same place we’ve gone for the last four years. After the movie my husband got the tree in the stand with NO cursing and we toasted the tree with some homemade hot chocolate to top off the day.

Did I cook this week though? No really.

It was a strange (non) cooking week for me as I spent most of the week down with a cold. Monday night I sent TB to get a pizza so I would not have to cook. Tuesday I made a quick Ramen-type meal for them and went to bed. And the week continued like that.

Last week I’d whipped up a big pot of chicken noodle soup using the chicken from our Thanksgiving meal. I sauteed onions, celery, carrots, and lots of garlic and added the broth from cooking down the chicken bones. Once the broth and the vegetables are together I added big fat eggless noodles. I make it just like my grandmother made it before me. I remember watching her fascinated as she picked the meat out of the small nooks of the chicken. For years I used this same soup method but substituted the chicken for blocks of tofu. I used Miso paste or vegetable stock and my kids still loved it, especially the thick noodles. How I got sick after eating this soup all last week is a mystery to me. Maybe though it is why my cold only lasted for four days!

This week I’m waiting for inspiration. I have sweet potatoes and a butternut squash waiting for me to get creative. Any ideas?

This post is very loosely linked to Beth Fish Reads weekly cooking meme. Check out her sight for many more cooking related posts. She has a fabulous post up about mouth-watering pull-apart rolls.

Another HOT book to explain climate change…Winston of Churchill; One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming

by Jean Davies Okomoto

illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell

(2007)

Churchill’s a large great white bear who” hunts the Hudson Bay near the town of Churchill in the Canadian province of Manitoba.” He’s obviously like the polar bear president because all the other polar bears listen to him as he explains why their icy habitat is melting more and more every year. He gets them all fired up; “We will fight for ice,” boomed Winston. “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight on the hills. We shall never surrender.” (9) Yeah! The bears are filled with hope and excitement that change will come. Except one little bear in the back asks two important questions…”we don’t live on an island” and “who are we fighting?”

Winston explains that one, he was speaking metaphorically about the island and two, people are melting the ice with their cars and smoke stacks and deforestation practices. The whole time Wiinston is speaking he is sucking on a big old cigar. See, even Winston needs to make a change and Winston’s wife isn’t going to let him forget it. She won’t participate in the demonstrations he has planned until Winson quits smoking! As she points out the cigar is an “instrument of pollution.” (17) Eventually the polar bears protest in front of all the nice tourists that come to see them and hopefully, they take the message to heart.

Each of us, while we try to be eco-smart, aren’t perfect and could probably do just one more thing to prevent climate change. While I read this book I couldn’t help but be reminded of my latest favorite commercial. I don’t watch very much television but I think this one came on during the Super Bowl and I fell in love. with the polar bear. in the Leaf commercial. Do you know the one?

Don’t let the cuteness of the polar bears detract from their message…we all need to work hard to be earth-friendly so there’s less melting, less pollution, less habitat loss. While writing this I read an article at National Resources Defense Council’s website and watched this video about our changing weather. I know lots of people who don’t believe in climate change but for me as an environmentalist I don’t know how we can’t be effecting the earth at an alarming rate with all we pour into and take out of our one amazing planet.

Ivy + Bean; What's the Big Idea?

by Annie Barrows + Sophie Blackwell
(2010)

From the book:

“It’s Science Fair time at Emerson School and the kids in Ms. Aruba-Tate’s class are supposed to find a way to cool down the earth. Some kids are making litterbug-eating robots. Some kids are holding their breath for a very, very long time. But what should Ivy and Bean do? Somehing with explosions? Something with ropes? Or maybe something…different.” (inside front cover blurb)

Ohhh, we positively glowed and giggled while we read this book! I won this special copy from a giveaway a few months back (a signed copy!) and Groovy Girl and I read it together. We’ve loved the six other Ivy + Bean books and this was no exception-and in fact this may have been our favorite. We liked that best friends, Ivy and Bean, focused their attention on the science fair project and ways to help the earth. This book is a fantastic introduction to global warming and how solutions are hard to find. It will take more than just one or two ideas from one or two people. It will take many of us, working together, using multiple solutions but certainly alerting future generations to the concept is a great start.

After a dull presentation by several fourth graders, the students in Ms. Aruba-Tate’s classroom are curious about polar bears and their habitat loss. Taking advantage of a teachable moment, Aruba-Tate turns the upcoming science fair into a global warming fair. Every other student team easily decides on a project while Ivy and Bean are long on ideas but none that work. We enjoyed how they kept problem-solving, brainstorming and generally thinking outside the box until they finally come up with the coolest idea ever! I hope Barrows and Blackwell have other books cooking as this one is a hit. Any age person will love reading this newest addition of second graders, Ivy and Bean.

We can all help…Do what you can, one step at a time. Buy some reusable sacks and leave them in your car for grocery shopping. Even better find some second-hand canvas bags and reuse those as grocery bags. Do your laundry at night when usage is low or dry your clothes outside now that the weather is just beginning to warm up. Barrows includes a list of Save-the-earth ideas at the back of the book. Highly Recommended.

Quick Quote:

“Think-how do you cool down a hot thing?” asked Ivy, “Ice cubes! If we could put ice cubes up in the sky, the air would get colder, right?” “Right,” said Bean. “But how are we going to put ice cubes in the sky?” asked Ivy. “Well, in real life, they’d probably have to drop them out of airplanes, but for the science fair, we could just throw them up in the air to show what we mean.” Bean slapped her hand on the table. “Great idea! And easy, too!” (47)

Other excellent reviews:

Kathy @ Bermudaonion
first daughter @ There’s A Book

A Place for Delta

by Melissa Walker, PhD

(2010)

272 pages, includes glossary and further reading

Every once in awhile I’m contacted by an editor, or publicist, to read a certain book because it matches my interests. You never really know if the book is going to be a good fit but this one was perfect. A Place for Delta, sent to me by Lisa Roe, from Online Publicist, is an environmentally-friendly, pay-attention-to-the-world-around-you, kind of book! It is a fast read with great details, the first book of a series, and I love when a series excites kids about reading!

Synopsis from Whale Press website:

The first book of the series, A Place for Delta, was published in June 2010, and has already been selected by International Book Awards as winner of the Best Children’s Fiction category. It is a 272-page, smythe-sewn, jacketed hardcover; a middle reader chapter book for 9-12 year-olds. A Place for Delta captivates, inspires, and empowers children. The novel incorporates current environmental concerns into the narrative of one family’s multi-generational adventures. Eleven-year-old Joseph travels to Barrow, Alaska, the most northern town in the United States, to help a group of wildlife biologists care for an orphaned polar bear. Stationed at a research center with his Aunt Kate, Joseph becomes a player in a complex web of mystery, scientific discovery and danger.

I appreciated how this book merged a great story with such deep scientific facts. As a non-sciencey-type person I enjoyed learning about the natural environment of both Georgia and Alaska. The above synopsis mentions the multi-generational structure of the book so you get a feel for how important the link is between our past and our future. Most of the story focuses on Joseph and his Aunt Kate taking care of Delta, first in the Alaska research center and later at a natural habitat on Joseph’s grandmother’s Georgian farm. Kate records data for Dr. Yu as he strives to learn more about the polar bear population and how global warming, and the local oil companies, may or may not affect their survival. He discovers a young polar bear on an ice floe one morning and later they find the mother bear dead. A mystery unravels as Joseph flies to Barrow, Alaska, to help his aunt care for the baby bear. Taking care of Delta turns out to be only part of his grand adventure.

Because my 15-year-old son has traveled to Alaska three times for fishing excursions I kept fact checking with him. “Would you actually see a moose close to downtown Anchorage?” and he would answer me (an exchange of conversation occurred-YEAH), filling me in with all sorts of his own details. Yes, it is possible to run into a moose in Anchorage and he knew of the spot Walker makes reference to in the tale. I was happy that each time I fact checked he was able to answer in the affirmative and it was a great way for me to hear more about his previous trips. I love a story that has the details correct-even fiction needs to make sense most of the time.

Melissa Walker has created a timeless tale using current issues, interesting cause and effect, problem-solving and makes it all very mysterious. It also is written in language easy-to-understand so students won’t feel overwhelmed.

Random Quote:

Inside the toy box, Joseph found a fuzzy wind-up mouse for Delta to chase, a blue ball the size of a canteloupe, and a bag of large foam blocks. Then he sat down on the floor next to the cub. For a few minutes, she was still as they looked into each other’s eyes. Joseph wondered what could be going on in her mind. All he could do was stare back, almost hypnotized by her gaze. Slowly Delta moved closer to Joseph. (97)

Kids will want their own “Delta” to feed and play with, perhaps opening their minds to the real issues facing all Arctic animals. Highly recommended for middle grade and everyone above, science read-alouds, animal lovers and earth-friendly classrooms. I look forward to the next book in Walker’s Delta series. Thank you Lisa for sending me a copy.

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