picture books

10 Cool Things on a Tuesday

~ jama ~ 26 Comments

1. Virginia author Madelyn Rosenberg has two new books out! Remember when we featured How to Behave at a Tea Party (Katherine Tegen Books, 2014), a picture book about bossy Julia wanting everything just-so, while her younger brother Charles and his friends have different ideas? Well, Julia and Charles are back in How to Behave at a Dog Show!

Is Rexie cut out to be Best in Show? Probably not. Does Julia enter him in the Happy Tails Best of Breed Dog Show anyway? She sure does. This companion to How to Behave at a Tea Party offers readers more laugh-out-loud silly fun with sister-brother duo Julia and Charles and their lovably mischievous dog, Rexie.

With subtle themes of losing gracefully and celebrating the things that make each of us winners in our own ways, this book is perfect for preschool and early elementary children, for readers who enjoyed the How to Babysit a Grandpa series, and for anyone who has ever loved a less-than-perfect pet.

Julia and Charles end up hosting a pet show of their own—don’t be surprised if young readers are inspired to do the same!

Ruff ruff! Sit up and beg for this funny tail, which is again illustrated by Heather Ross. 🙂 Check out this cute trailer:

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AND, Nanny X fans will be happy to know she’s back in Nanny X Returns (Holiday House, 2015):

Something fishy is up and Nanny X, an agent for Nanny Action Patrol, and her young charges plan to investigate in this sequel to NANNY X, which was called “a fun and funny blend of Spy Kids and Mary Poppins” by Kirkus Reviews.

In their second adventure, eleven-year-old Ali, eight-year-old Jake and baby Eliza go fishing with Nanny X, only there is something odd about their catch, it’s robotic! While the gang wonders about this strange occurrence, a robotic squirrel shows up and tries to steal Nanny X’s computer, which is disguised as a box of baby wipes. Meanwhile, a mysterious person known as The Angler is threatening the nation’s treasures if the President doesn’t install a statue of a fish on the White House lawn. Nanny X wonders if these weird incidents are connected, and a series of investigations surrounding a jealous artist yields non-stop action and humor.

Be sure to check out both Nanny X chapter books, written especially for ages 7-10!

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[Review and Giveaway!] Feeding the Flying Fanellis and Other Poems from a Circus Chef by Kate Hosford and Cosei Kawa

~ jama ~ 58 Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Welcome to the Big Top!

In the center ring, behold the rotund Circus Chef as he pulls off the most amazing feat of all: feeding all the circus performers!

IN THE CIRCUS KITCHEN

I’ve never turned a cartwheel, and I’m dizzy in high places.
I couldn’t ever be a clown — I don’t make funny faces.

But put me in the kitchen, and I think you’ll be delighted.
Join us for a circus meal. Everyone’s invited.

I handle special orders and unusual suggestions.
And if you have an allergy, just come to me with questions.

Put me in the kitchen, where the coffee’s percolating.
I’ll mash and melt with pleasure. I can’t keep the circus waiting!

My days are long and sweaty, and the chaos never ends.
But still, I find I’m most content when cooking for my friends.

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Don’t you love him already? For each picky palate, for each quirky personality, this chef aims to please.

For the Ringmaster who’s always on the go, a picnic of salami and mini baguette stashed in his top hat. For the homesick Ukrainian Strongman, babushka’s vushka recipe. And if you must feed a Juggler who likes to juggle (rather than eat) anything that’s round? A square meal, of course!

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[Author and Illustrator Chat + Giveaway] Eat Your U.S. History Homework by Ann McCallum and Leeza Hernandez

~ jama ~ 47 Comments

Huzzah, Fine Friends, Huzzah!

Put on your deerskin skirts and mantles, your finest waistcoats and breeches, your linen aprons, your three-cornered cocked hats and buckle shoes.

‘Tis a banner day for those of us who like to eat our homework. 🙂 Yes, the third book in the popular Eat Your Homework series by Ann McCallum and Leeza Hernandez officially hits shelves today!!

You may remember how these clever, ravenous ladies tessellated our taste buds (Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds (2011)) and cooked up culinary magic in the kitchen lab (Eat Your Science Homework: Recipes for Inquiring Minds (2014)). With their lip smacking recipes, easy-to-digest info and fetching illustrations, these books quelled math phobia and demonstrated scientific principles at work in our everyday lives.

And now, with Eat Your U.S. History Homework: Recipes for Revolutionary Minds (Charlesbridge, 2015), Ann and Leeza serve up six chewy slices of America’s early history by highlighting events and food from 1620 – 1789. That would be from the time the Pilgrims landed in America till George Washington became our first President. 🙂

Wrap your lips around some Thanksgiving Succotash while reading about the arrival of the Pilgrims and how the Wampanoag people taught them to hunt and grow food in the New World. Sweeten your understanding of the thirteen original colonies while getting down with some Colonial Cherry-Berry Grunt. Nosh on Lost Bread while considering what was behind the French and Indian War.

No lesson on slavery and Southern plantation culture would be complete without a tall stack of Hoe Cakes, and when there are rumblings of discontent about unfair British taxation and 45 tons of tea get dumped into Boston Harbor, you’ll want to fortify yourself by joining the patriots for coffee and Honey-Jumble Cookies in the taverns where they’re making big plans. Finally, when it’s time for full-out war and signing the Declaration of Independence, nothing better to get you riled up than an Independence Ice Cream food fight!

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[Review, Author Chat + Giveaway] Pat Zietlow Miller on Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story

~ jama ~ 74 Comments

What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner?

Is it that steamy mound of creamy mashed potatoes, begging for a generous splash of savory gravy? Grandma’s candied sweet potatoes or Aunt Beverley’s green bean casserole? Maybe for you it’s all about the turkey itself with its golden brown crispy skin — moist when you slice into it, even better with cornbread stuffing and fresh cranberry sauce. Can’t forget the pies — homemade pumpkin or apple? Yes, please!

Safe to say, this traditional holiday meal wouldn’t be quite as delicious without all the sharing — the sharing of cooking, baking, and serving tasks, and of course, having family and friends sitting around the table to devour every last bite.

Pat Zietlow Miller’s delectable new picture book, Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story (Schwartz & Wade, 2015), invites us to step back into the 19th century to feast with a lively family of 10:

Mama, fetch the cooking pot.
Fetch our turkey-cooking pot.
Big and old and black and squat.
Mama, fetch the pot.

An enthusiastic young boy coaches each member of his family on a specific task: Mama prepares the turkey, Daddy tends the fire, Sister kneads the dough, Brother bastes the turkey, Grandpa boils the cranberries, Grandma bakes pumpkin pie, Auntie mashes potatoes, Uncle pours cider, and even Baby’s got a job — to “be a sleeping mouse.” With his brother and sister, the boy also makes paper pilgrim hat placemats, and when all is finally done, he calls everyone to the table. Yum!

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[Review and Author Chat] Jorge Argueta on Olita y Manyula: The Big Birthday/El gran cumpleaños

~ jama ~ 16 Comments

Look who’s here! 🙂

By now, most of you know I’m a big Jorge Argueta fan. I’ve previously featured four titles from his fabulous bilingual Cooking Poem Series here at Alphabet Soup: Rice Pudding/Arroz con leche (2010), Guacamole (2012), Tamalitos (2013), and most recently, Salsa (March 2015), all published by Groundwood Books.

Today, Jorge is here to talk about Olita y Manyula: The Big Birthday/El gran compleaños (Luna’s Press Books, 2015), a new bilingual picture book that represents yet another milestone in his esteemed literary career as author, poet, publisher and bookstore owner — a semi-autobiographical story that’s especially close to his heart.

Since founding Luna’s Press about 20 years ago, Jorge has published a number of chapbooks by San Francisco poets, but Olita y Manyula is the press’s first children’s book. This charming story features a young girl named Holly (Olita) who travels from the U.S. to visit friends and family in El Salvador. Once there, her aunt, cousin, and two friends excitedly escort her to a special birthday party for Manyula, whose house is within walking distance.

On the way, they stroll through the San Jacinto neighborhood with its colorful painted houses under the “tik-tik, tok-tok” of warm, intermittent rain, laughing and jumping in mud puddles. Rather than divulge any details about Manyula’s identity, the boys instead focus on pointing out several notable landmarks en route (the San Salvador volcano, beautiful Alcehuate River, a cement statue resembling a big handkerchief).

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