1. Well, now, here’s something I haven’t done before: get my daily dose of Vitamin C from a pair of boots! Orange you just tickled by these? Certainly a fun way to brighten up a rainy day.
In case you haven’t noticed, I have a “thing” for fake food. When I visited Japan years ago, I LOVED all the fake food dishes displayed in the restaurant windows. They looked very realistic and handily solved the problem of not being able to read the menu. 🙂
RamenDan Dan NoodlesSausage Variety Plate
Fake Food Hatanaka sells these orange boots and other accessories, along with plates and bowls of amazing deliciousness: Chinese, Japanese, or Western food, sweets, fruits, sandwiches, and drinks. They also do miniatures if you’re a dollhouse person. Get Google to translate the Japanese to English on the site, purchase via Paypal, and you’re all set!
Liz and Jimmy Reed, the creators of the Cuddles and Rage webcomic, have whipped up a truly delectable picture book debut featuring the antics of competitive twin cherries who will do anything to outsweet er, outsmart one another.
For this pair of twin cherries, everything is a competition. If Girl Cherry can swing higher, Boy Cherry will boast that he can swing lower. If one is smarter, then the other is cooler. So when they enter a contest to build the best dessert ever, they immediately pit themselves against each other. But when you’re attached at the stem, there’s only so much you can do on your own. Things could be easy as pie so to speak if they put aside their differences and join forces. Will Boy Cherry and Girl Cherry cream the competition by working together or will one try to be the cherry on top?
With loveable characters and laugh-out-loud situations, Sweet Competition is the perfect addition to any child’s bookshelf.After all, there’s always room for dessert!
Hats off today to Tel Aviv based costume designer, milliner and educator Maor Zabar!
His head-turning, wildly imaginative, exquisitely crafted couture designs grabbed my attention recently — how could they not?
I confess I’ve always loved hats but rarely wear them. I envy those who can pull them off with aplomb. These days you might catch a cool hat or two in the crowd, but for the most part, they’re no longer considered an essential element to top off an outfit.
The grandson of a tailor, Maor fell in love with theatrical hats and headpieces as a teenager and went on to study fashion and costume design at Shenkar College. He’s been a costume designer for 13 years (dance, theatre, operatic productions) and took private lessons to learn how to make hats professionally.
Do you have a bossy older sibling? Wish you could eat ice cream for breakfast instead of oatmeal? Why ride the bus to school when a helicopter would be so much better?
Ah yes, life’s little injustices! If you can’t change them, may as well laugh about them.
In No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood (Orchard Books, 2016), eminent New Yorker contributors Calvin Trillin and Roz Chast serve up big helpings of funny with their poems and pictures about various and sundry everyday things that can drive kids nuts. No matter our age, we’ve all been there. Ever have a wardrobe crisis in the morning?
GETTING DRESSED
Oh, this is such a silly rule —
That people must wear pants to school.
A better rule, a wise man said,
is wear your underpants instead.
This little morning complaint is just the beginning. There are complaints about school and for the evening, too. As the title states, no fair! no fair!
Many of the 23 rib-ticklers in this collection were inspired by real-life experiences from Trillin’s children, grandchildren, and his own childhood. Young readers will giggle in recognition at the ploys used to convince one’s parents to get a pet, the earnest desire to send back a new baby brother, and horror of all horrors — sitting next to a scoocher sister who won’t stay on her side of the backseat. Grrrrrr.
She’s over the line,
she’s over the line.
She occupies space
That’s rightfully mine.
Some of you may know we love talking about Presidential Food here in the Alphabet Soup kitchen.
Whether it’s polishing off a bowl of JFK’s clam chowder, whipping up a batch of George Washington’s hoecakes, or wrapping our lips around Barack Obama’s homemade chili, learning about our leaders’ favorite foods makes them more human and accessible.
I like associating Ronald Reagan with jelly beans, George Bush with pork rinds, Jimmy Carter with peanuts. But what of the first female presidential nominee?
I guess HillaryRodhamClinton can be summed up this way: she’s a hot pepper and a smart cookie. 🙂
Jama's Alphabet Soup 