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soup of the day: the battle of the red hot pepper weenies by david lubar

~ jama ~ 28 Comments

Hot diggety dog!!

Have I got a book for you.

Put on your flame retardant jumpsuit and sombrero, then let out a big OLÉ, for the master of the macabre and undisputed King of the Weenies, David Lubar, on the official release today of The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies (Starscape, 2009)!!

    
     THE BATTLE OF THE RED HOT PEPPER WEENIES
       by David Lubar (Starscape, 2009),
       Ages 9-12, 192 pages.

Ay Carumba!!

Si, it’s time for a brand new collection of 35 short stories — strange, weirdo, bizarre little gems that’ll make you laugh and creep you out at the same time. There’s the girl who doesn’t have a date for the school dance, until her father makes her one in his lab. The family who’s enjoying a nice Thanksgiving dinner, until a torrent of turkeys seek revenge. A princess who must face a pea-brained suitor. And, *wait for it*, a scorching battle between two red hot pepper weenies that ends in flames!

  
    Call the fire department!

That David. He’ll do anything for a good story. Yes, this man has a rare, ointment-laced, demented mind. Case in point: three previous collections of wildly popular Weenie stories — In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, and The Curse of the Campfire Weenies. These books were gobbled up by middle grade readers and left them begging for more. The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, which includes a Reader’s Guide and David’s comments about what inspired the stories, looks like a sure-fire, made-to-order feast on a bun that will satisfy any craving.


Legions of Lubar fans waiting for him to cut the mustard.
(photo by KS Girl)

Hungry yet?

Sometimes we all need a little freaky fare, and David always delivers. So, grab your biggest spoon, slather yourself with hot sauce, and dive into this bowl of celebration soup (seasoned liberally with red pepper flakes), especially for our favorite book weenie. Come on, all together now: "Señor David, Congratulacion!!"


Today’s Special: Hot Tamale Tomato with a Side of Bourbon
(don’t worry about the fly — he won’t eat much).

To learn more about David and his books, including Hidden Talents (ALA Best Book for Young Adults), visit his website and Live Journal blog , Gadfly in the Ointment (bring your own swatter).

If you’d like the scoop on all the Weenies, click here for "A Guide for the Perplexed" (fully downloadable)!

The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies can be ordered through IndieBound or any of the usual suspects. Relish it! 


Shame on you! Don’t even go there!
(photo by grizzly_lightning)

              

friday feast: spoon-fed

~ jama ~ 25 Comments


    photo by Snugglemuffin

Put on your bibs, because today I’m going to the spoons.

This is not the same as going to the dogs, going to the mattresses, or going bananas.

Going to the spoons means finding a poem which nourishes the soul with just one tiny spoonful of sweet sustenance.

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soup of the day: waiting to score by j.e. macleod

~ jama ~ 3 Comments


SWISH — WHACK — SCORE!!

*and the crowd roars*

Tap your hockey sticks together and scream out, "Hip Hip Hooray," for debut novelist J.E. MacLeod, a.k.a.,  , on the official release today of Waiting to Score (WestSide Books, 2009)!

    
      WAITING TO SCORE by J.E. MacLeod (WestSide Books, 2009),
      Young Adult, 200 pages.

February has been a kickin’ month here for new releases, especially by first-time authors. My kitchen helpers and I have been busy busy busy preparing bowls of, big kettles of, a virtual flood of alphabet soup. Yep, we’ve been drowning in the stuff, but couldn’t be happier to get in on the excitement of freshly baked, intriguing, awesome new stories — probably the best reason in the world to dish it up!

 

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SOUP’S ON: James Rumford in the Kitchen Interview!

~ jama ~ 24 Comments

        

Today I have the distinct honor and privilege of welcoming award winning children’s author/illustrator, James Rumford, to alphabet soup! As I mentioned in the profile I posted recently, Jim has published over a dozen picture books; most are works of historical fiction or biography, which display his passion for and unsurpassed knowledge of ancient languages, alphabets and numbers.

A native of Long Beach, California, Jim is a world traveler who has lived in Manoa, on the island of O’ahu, for the last thirty years or so. There he creates gorgeous picture books that are a distinctive blend of art, calligraphy, lyrical text, and innovative book design. Jim also makes beautiful handmade books for his own company, Manoa Press.

In 2008, Jim published Silent Music (Roaring Brook Press), and Chee-lin: A Giraffe’s Journey (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). I asked him about these two projects, his love for languages, and all about his general creative process. You will see, by his answers, why he has been called a Renaissance Man.

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why we only have short bushes (and no flowers) in our yard

~ jama ~ 43 Comments

For years and years, we kept wondering why our shrubs never grew.

Too many rocks in the soil?
Not enough sunlight?
Wrong type of fertilizer?

Well, I think we’ve finally found the answer:

Sneaky-quiet four footed bush trimmers!

Yeah, silly us. No matter what the landscaper tells you, there’s no such thing as deer-resistant plants. When they’re hungry, they’ll eat everything in sight.

So, while other people might have beautifully landscaped yards, with petunias, pansies, tulips, cute little planter boxes full of primroses, and lush, full shrubs come spring, we’ll just go on watching our bush trimmers maintain the scrawny plant status quo around here.

But we don’t mind. The deer were here first. We took away some of their habitat when we built our house. Though some people hate having deer eat their plants, we love watching them, and think it’s kind of a miracle that they’re still around, despite how much development has taken place in our area.

Every day when I look outside, if it’s not deer, or Fuzzy the Fox, or a pileated woodpecker, or Mr. Donnelly the groundhog, I might spot yet another marvelous creature — like this friendly hawk, who likes to shop for dinner and practice his flight maneuvers. 


It’s a good feeling.

Besides. There’s a certain kind of beauty in short bushes.