jacksgap: tea for two, or maybe three million

January 15, 2014February 23, 2014 ~ jama ~ 8 Comments

You know, it’s that dang British accent that gets ’em every time.

Add boyish charm, a dash of cheek, a thirst for adventure, comedy sketches, travel documentaries, entrepreneurial genes, video production chops, a boatload of high octane go-for-the-gusto, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for the YouTube vlogging sensation Jacksgap.

It also doesn’t hurt that the 20-year-old Harries twins are very easy on the eyes. The camera loves them, as do millions of teenage girls all over the world who just can’t get enough of their rickshaw-running, ball-bouncing, mail-opening, Maoam-chewing, bungee-jumping, unicycling shenanigans.

Jacksgap! Five minutes of your life that you won’t get back!

Dial back to July 2011, when younger-by-two-minutes Jack decided to document his gap year by starting his own YouTube channel. He attracted a fair number of followers in the first 6 months, but it wasn’t until Finn joined the fun that things went viral.

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cooking with aliens: a delicious chat with erik weibel about the adventures of tomato and pea

December 10, 2013September 2, 2017 ~ jama ~ 33 Comments

I’m tickled pink (and red, green, yellow and blue) to welcome newly published author, faster-than-lightning reader, This Kid Reviews Books blogger and budding philanthropist Erik Weibel to Alphabet Soup today!

Eleven-year-old Erik is beloved in the kidlitosphere (he started blogging when he was just nine!), and continues to impress everyone with his consistently incisive and candid book reviews and irrepressible enthusiasm for reading and writing.

He worked on his new chapter book, THE ADVENTURES OF TOMATO AND PEA – Book 1: A Bad Idea, for 3 years (i.e., 1/4 of his life). It is the first in a planned trilogy featuring tiny aliens called Smidges from the planet Oarg, and is notable for its cast of colorful, quirky characters, lively narrative with hilarious rapid-fire dialogue, vivid descriptions, and enduring themes (friendship, cooperation, courage, the triumph of good over evil).

In Book 1, super crime-stopper Tomato, his techno-savvy sidekick Pea, and two other Smidges find themselves tricked, then trapped aboard the rocket ship S.S. Poofy with the evil Wintergreen and his unsavory cohorts. After they crash-land on planet EAR-TH, they must all learn to work together to ensure their survival and find a way to return home to Oarg.

Erik displays remarkable writing chops in this fun, quick read, and it’s exciting to see someone so young accomplish so much.

Yet one question remains:

Can this boy cook? 🙂

After all, he did include a character named Skew in the story, Tomato and Pea’s yellow friend who is a good, resourceful cook. Erik has said there’s a bit of him in each of his characters, and that he loves to cook. You can see why I had to investigate. 🙂 🙂 🙂

And so, my hungry readers —

*drumroll*

for the first time on any blog anywhere —

*trumpet flourish*

Erik the Great Weibel dishes about food in The Adventures of Tomato and Pea, his plans to take over the world, his personal food preferences, and then (*drool*) cooks up two mouthwatering, out of this world, Smidge-approved recipes with his alien friends (including notes and tips). Intergalactic Yum!!

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squeak peek for the week: mouseton abbey

December 2, 2013June 25, 2024 ~ jama ~ 45 Comments

Holy Gorgonzola!

Suffering from a little “Downton Abbey” withdrawal? No need to get your knickers in a twist. Now you can nibble on this new gouda picture book until Series 4 debuts in the U.S. on January 5, 2014.

Whether you be man or mouse, Mouseton Abbey: The Missing Diamond by Joanna Bicknell, Nick Page and Tim Hutchinson (Make Believe Ideas, 2013), is sure to get your whiskers twitching with its veddy British tongue-in-cheese humor.

Whoever said, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play,” knew only half the story. Not only are there mice in this house, they own the place, which is not too shabby considering it dates back to the 13th century and now has over 300 rooms.

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a pair of fun foodie gift books

November 25, 2013November 24, 2013 ~ jama ~ 26 Comments

Actually, you don’t have to be a card-carrying foodie to love these two new Fall 2013 books.

Both encourage us to play with our food and appreciate food as art. Nothing I like more than a fanciful feast. 🙂

EAT YOUR ART OUT: Playful Breakfasts by IdaFrosk (Kontur Publishing, 2013). Norwegian food artist/enthusiast Ida Skivenes has been posting her creative breakfasts on Instagram every day since the summer of 2012.

She believes food should be healthy, tasty and fun. Most of the breakfast plates featured in her book take between 5-15 minutes to prepare, require simple equipment and available ingredients, and all are meant to be eaten. What started on a whim one morning has turned into a great food adventure (100,000+ followers, international media coverage, columns in newspapers and magazines, special projects).

I love that her first ever creations were a bear and a fox. She also includes a few tips and recipes for pancakes, hot cereal, granola, scones, and nut butter. Check out her blog for behind-the-scenes pics and background on her Instagram features. Fun for all ages!

feedthepanda — Feed the Panda (and yourself) All images © 2013 Ida Skivenes

crazylikeabritishsconefox — Crazy Like a British Scone Fox

red — Little Red Strawberry Riding in the Hood

munch — Edvard Munch: “Scream” (Art Toast Project)

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BIG APPETITES: Tiny People in a World of Big Food by Christopher Boffoli (Workman Publishing, 2013). This is a collection of Boffoli’s internationally-known series of photographs featuring tiny people posing in real food environments. Amusing, outlandish, snarky, and handily skewing our sense of perspective, Boffoli’s photos tease the imagination, whet the appetite for worlds beyond our own, and enable us to see common food items as never before — for their beauty, intense color, and wonderful textures. Readers of all ages will be drawn to these fascinating scenes, but the tongue-in-cheek captions will likely go over the heads of most kids. Have you ever dreamed of playing golf on a split papaya, mowing an orange peel, bathing in blue Jell-O? Feast your eyes!

“With market prices skyrocketing, strawberry seeds were disappearing into the hands of poachers” (© 2013 C. Boffoli)

bananas — “A chance taken on a new path led them to swear off pineapple riding forever”

cucumbers — “Everyone just wanted to relax. But after Deborah got a few beers in her, she just wouldn’t stop talking”

bears — “An elite squad was not always successful against superior numbers”

♥ Find out more about Seattle-based photographer Christopher Boffoli at his official website (and check out that giant pumpkin pie).

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Deidre Wicks of Water in My Paint

November 5, 2013September 28, 2017 ~ jama ~ 20 Comments

Ever have this thing where you don’t know what you’re looking for, but you absolutely know it when you see it?

That’s exactly what happened when I spotted Deidre Wicks’s charming animal paintings on Pinterest recently.

Cerebral dogs and cats wearing glasses! Birdies balancing on the edges of pretty china teacups! Other animals decked out in derby hats, bowties, berets, and tutus, some blowing bubbles, others stealing cupcakes! And a good number of them with mustaches :).

Since Deidre’s watercolors got me right where I live, I had to find out more about her work. A fashion design major from Toronto, Canada, Deidre was unhappily working as a pattern drafter when she decided to follow her passion for illustration.

She’s an ardent animal lover living with two dogs and two cats who happily keep her company and provide endless inspiration for her drawings. I love the blend of realistic animals + whimsy + humor. Each of her paintings tells a story and you just can’t help but smile when you see them.

Deidre sells originals, archival prints, t-shirts and other goodies at her Etsy Shop — and yes, she takes custom orders. I thank her for visiting Alphabet Soup today along with Schaffer, Bronie, Orange Peel and Tina.

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