1. Happy November and Happy Election Day! We’re going full-tilt 💙BLUE💙 for maximum good luck in today’s critical race. First, behold several blue beauties from Vermont artist-author-illustrator Ashley Wolff’s A Year of Birds Challenge.
“Blue Grosbeak”“CA Scrub Jay”“Peacock”
Each day in 2022, Ashley painted a different bird, an awesome opportunity for her to study one of the most varied and fascinating groups of animals on earth. Love seeing so many new-to-me species rendered in luscious, vibrant gouache.
“Indigo Bunting”“Grandala”
Each 5″ x 7″ signed painting is a OOAK original, and Ashley is donating 20% of the proceeds to wildlife conservation. Why not treat yourself or a special someone to one of these gorgeous pieces? 🙂
It’s almost Halloween, that special night when wee ghosts, goblins and witches roam the streets collecting sweets. What’s your favorite? Snickers, Twix, Kit-Kats? Well, much as we love chocolate, the furry Alphabet Soup kitchen helpers and I agree there’s no finer treat than a brand new Paddington picture book. 🙂
In Paddington’s Trick or Treat by Michael Bond and R.W. Alley (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2024), our beloved bear from darkest Peru is super excited about his very first Halloween party. There’s just one problem: an uninvited guest is spoiling all the fun. Can Paddington trick him into leaving?
It all started Halloween morning, when Paddington came downstairs to breakfast carrying Mrs Bird’s best broom and wearing a trash bag draped over his duffle coat. He was working on his costume, since Jonathan and Judy had promised to take him trick-or-treating. Judy suggested they have a party afterwards, to which Paddington heartily agreed, as he’d never been to a Halloween party before.
After some convincing, Mr Brown okayed a small family-only celebration. So Paddington popped off to the market for pumpkins and baking supplies, while Jonathan and Judy worked on their costumes and party decorations.
When he got back, Paddington helped Mrs Bird bake “squashed-fly” (Garibaldi) biscuits, since he couldn’t find any at the market, while Mrs Brown hollowed out pumpkins for lanterns.
Later that afternoon, Paddington passed the time writing Halloween poems until it got dark. Finally, it was time to go trick-or-treating! In his cape, pointed hat, and frayed-rope wig, Paddington made a very convincing witch. The finishing touch was a set of fangs Judy had fashioned from an orange peel turned inside out. Spooky!
They had great fun trick-or-treating; Paddington got so many treats he could hardly carry them. Best head home — but before doing so, Paddington wanted to call on their grumpy neighbor Mr Curry despite Jonathan and Judy’s objections. Paddington disguised his voice while reading his poem, but Mr Curry recognized him. That’s when our well-meaning bear accidentally let slip that they were having a party.
Time to wrap your lips around apple pie, crumble, crisp, pandowdy, buckle, slump, cobbler and dumpling. Inhale the heavenly fragrance of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sip some warm cider. When it comes to apples, they can’t be beat for variety and versatility.
What’s your favorite type of apple? I’m partial to Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith because they’re pretty much available year round. Have you ever wondered whether Granny Smith was a real person?
I recently found out in this crunchy picture book biography, Granny Smith Was Not An Apple: The Story of Orchardist Maria Ann Smith by Sarah Glenn Fortson and Kris Aro McLeod (Peter Pauper Press, 2023).
Back in the 1800’s, Maria Ann Smith, an English “tough to the core” itinerant worker and orchardist, struggled to find work when manual laborers were being replaced with faster, more efficient farm equipment.
Since she and her husband could barely support their family, Maria Ann helped deliver babies in her village (historically, midwives were called ‘Granny’). She received payment in the form of food and clothing, then eventually worked in an apple orchard, where she learned about grafting and harvesting.
One day, two foreign agents arrived at the orchard looking for experienced laborers to work in Australia with a free voyage. Ignoring her neighbors’ warnings not to go, Maria and her family boarded the ship to Australia, enduring the arduous 4-month journey during which her five children fell ill. Maria kept her spirits up by thinking about a better life.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)
1. Hello, October, you are the prettiest month! To celebrate, we’re featuring the art of Minnesota illustrator Laura Irene (Chimney Smoke Art).
Laura is all about the warm and cozy, and is inspired by nature, home life and the changing seasons. Love how she captures the beautiful autumnal colors and a slower pace of life. Whether strolling down the lane or baking an apple pie, the people in her pictures seem to thrive on simple pleasures.
Creating her illustrations in a studio right off the kitchen means she’s never far away from the tea kettle. Is that chili and cornbread on the table? You can purchase prints and postcards at her Website Shop or Etsy. For the latest updates, check out her Instagram.
“In El Salvador the full moon is a celestial pupusa.” ~ Francisco X. Alarcón
Right about now, I’m hungry for a warm, savory pupusa. Filling of choice? Pork, beans and melty cheese. Don’t skimp on the salsa roja or curtido! Officially declared the national dish of El Salvador in 2005, pupusas are the ultimate happy-making comfort food and the delectable subject of Jorge Argueta’s new picture book.
This joyful celebration of El Salvador’s favorite food is also a love letter to Argueta’s home country, where his family once owned a restaurant and he grew up with the colors, smells, and sounds of traditional foods being lovingly prepared by his mother and aunts in his own kitchen.
As the story opens, our friendly narrator explains that pupusas are a very popular, magical food in El Salvador, where it’s eaten morning, noon, and night. Pupusas are made from corn or rice flour, were once cooked in clay griddles, but are now made on big metal grills. And they’re round!
Las pupusas son redonditas, son como llantitas, son como la letra O, son como la luna, son como el sol.
Pupusas are round, like little tires, like the letter O, like the moon, like the sun.
Though most pupusas are filled with beans and cheese, some are made with cheese and loroco, a tiny white fragrant flower:
¡Qué rico huele el loroco! Es una flor blanquita como las nubes. Picadita, la flor se revuelve con el queso y se pone en la masa haciéndola una bolita. La bolita se aplasta aplaudiendo. Así se hacen pupusas de loroco. ¡Ayyy, qué loroco, más loco y qué delicioso!
Loroco smells so wonderful! It’s a little flower, white as clouds. Chopped-up loroco gets stirred in with the cheese and kneaded in the corn dough to make a little ball. You flatten the ball by clapping. That’s how you make loroco pupusas. Ahhh, loroco, it’s loco, and yummy in the tummy!
Jama's Alphabet Soup 