Friends, you need to get your big fat paws on this brand new picture book. Talk about a roarin’ good time!
Here I was, my meek, mild-mannered self minding my own business, when this ferociously funny SOUP BOOK growled at me. Open me, read me, devour me, it said, slurp. up. every. word! Who am I to ignore such a request?
Seriously. I didn’t stand a chance from the get-go. When I opened the book, I saw this:
Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
See what I mean? Look at the endpapers! I want to marry them.
InTiger in My Soupby Kashmira Sheth and Jeffrey Ebbeler (Peachtree Publishers, 2013), a young boy left in the care of his older sister begs her to read his favorite tiger book to him. Alas and alack, she is too absorbed in her own book to pay him any attention, prompting the boy to pull out his most imaginative stops to get her to change her mind.
This gorgeous photo essay features an adorable, diverse group of kids reveling in the pleasures of growing, preparing and eating healthful foods. They’re shown in a variety of everyday settings (kitchen, playground, grocery store, garden) stirring oatmeal, pouring milk, devouring fruits, sandwiches, pizza, yogurt, and soup (!), picking fresh veggies, assembling tacos and green salads, making fruit shakes and freezer pops, even reading package labels in the supermarket. Just look at those happy, eager faces on the cover — who wouldn’t want to eat exactly what they’re eating?
Of course since it’s actually parents and caregivers who buy and cook the food, Shelley and Sheila have also included helpful tips for them, all in accordance with the new USDA MyPlate Guidelines. Additional photos showing kids engaged in active play illustrates the importance of daily exercise along with a healthy diet, reinforcing the overall theme of “Good Food Makes Me Strong!”
I’m happy to welcome Shelley and Sheila, who are here today to tell us about how they created Yummy! You’ll be inspired to share this delectable book and eat some feel-good food with your favorite munchkin(s) very soon!
Note: Because of copyright restrictions, the photos used in this post are close facsimiles rather than actual photos from Yummy!.
They’re light and buttery, a little chewy, just a touch of brown around the edges. The fragrance of vanilla and cinnamon wafts through the kitchen as they gently puff up in the oven.
Some describe it as a soft, old-fashioned sugar cookie; some say they are neither cookie nor cake, but most agree that Southern tea cakes are all about childhood, family, and a big ole batch of feel-good memories. If a bite of Southern cuisine could hug you, the tea cake would be it.
I would be lying if I didn’t confess that Tea Cakes for Tosh (Putnam, 2012) had me at the title along with the picture of the grandmother and grandson on the cover. Certainly their special bond is the heartbeat of this tender, multi-layered intergenerational tale so lovingly told by Kelly Starling Lyons and masterfully illustrated by Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner E.B. Lewis.
“Thoughts become things! What we think about is what we bring about. Think Big and Dream even Bigger!” ~ Vanessa Brantley Newton
TA DA! EXCITING NEWS!
Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I mentioned that children’s author/illustrator Vanessa Brantley Newton had entered the We TV Mary Mary Singing SpotlightCompetition and that she needed your votes to make it to the Final Round?
WooHoo! Hooray hooray! We are SO THRILLED for Vanessa because no one is more deserving. When I first saw her audition video back in December, I was totally blown away. What a set of pipes! Moreover, I could just feel the love, the energy, the pure joy that came through in her song. And the fact that she could sing, and sing so well was such a fabulous surprise — I’d known about her talents in writing, illustration, fashion design, cooking, crafting, doll-making, etc. before, but not singing.
Finalists were judged based on: 50% creativity, 35% vocal talent, 15% charm. Vanessa is a veritable creative machine, oh-so charming and hilarious! Did you see her final, “please remember to vote for me” video? Who could top those glasses, big mustache, and sneaky smile? The girl oozes charm. Some people just have it. Did I mention Vanessa is also a songwriter? I’d say the judges were spot on by selecting her!
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Vanessa’s Grand Prize includes a trip to Los Angeles, where she’ll have a recording session with professional producers, a musical critique from a leading record producer, career advice and much more.
I love it when good things happen to good people!
Here are some of Vanessa’s children’s books in case you’re not familiar with her work. She’s illustrated a number of picture books (including two based on Bob Marley’s lyrics and Think Big by Liz Garton Scanlon, which we featured here), many chapter books, and she’s also self-illustrated Let Freedom Sing, a picture book highlighting significant events in the Civil Rights Movement and — *wait for it* — a food-related book called: Don’t Let Auntie Mabel Bless theTable. 🙂 Her projects aptly reflect the many facets of her creativity and enviable versatility as an artist. Her pictures are infused with energy and vitality and reflect her genuine love of people.
She has (I think) five new books coming out this year, including this picture book about Billie Holiday written by Amy Novesky, being released in June:
and here’s the more recent Bob Marley-inspired title:
Here’s the trailer for ONE LOVE in case you’d like to see more of her art:
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What an inspiration she is to us all.
CONGRATULATIONS, VANESSA!
♥ To see Vanessa’s winning audition/entry video, click here.
What do you do when even your dog won’t eat your math homework?
Eat it yourself, of course! If you’re someone who shudders at the mere mention of fractions, integers, algorithms, formulas and polygons, you’ll be happy to know you can actually eat your way to a better understanding of these concepts and have a lot of fun doing it. 🙂
Author Ann McCallum and illustrator Leeza Hernandez, math chefs extraordinaire and creators of the delightfully delectable, Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds (Charlesbridge, 2011), are here today to take the lid off the dreaded “fear of mathematics.”
Their charmingly illustrated, yummy collection of edible math projects, served up with generous sides of kitchen tips, fun facts, and chewy appeteasers makes what is often puzzling palatable and transforms numerical drudgery into drool-worthy deliciousness.
Getting past the anxiety of numerators, denominators, diameters and circumferences is as easy as whipping up a batch of Fraction Chips — cutting fried tortillas into equal pieces to share with your friends. Learn about the very cool Fibonacci sequence by skewering the right number of strawberries, marshmallows, grapes or any other favorite snack onto sticks. Yum!
Help yourself to a Fibonacci Snack Stick, or two, or three . . .
Understanding constants and variables is duck soup when you make your very own Variable Pizza Pi, and don’t even get me started on the Tessellating Two-Color Brownies. Not sure what tessellations are? Chocolate is the answer, my friend. I love how this book shows kids the beauty of math at work in everyday life. Pass me another brownie, please. 🙂
Jama's Alphabet Soup 