story time + snacks: funfetti madeleines for madeline

Sometimes the story on the page sustains us, and sometimes, well, we need funfetti.  Yes, I did take the ever classy, oh-so-french madeleine cookie and white trash it up a bit with an entire bottle of star sprinkles thrown into the batter, and it was so good.  Normally, I don't like to clutter my kitchen cabinets with gadgets and pans that only have one task, so buying a cookie pan that would only be used to make one specific type of cookie didn't appeal to me.  However, the key to making the classic french madeleines is a madeleine pan.  Most madeleines start with a base of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, but from there, they are quite versatile.  You could add chocolate chips, orange zest, dried fruit, whatever you want.   

Eating French cookies got us in the mood for everyone's favorite red-headed frenchie, Madeline!  I have loved Ludwig Bemelmans' stories about Madeline for as long as I can remember.  We think nothing of reading about a strong, independent female character today, but Madeline was doing her own thing long before it was the norm.  I found this volume of every Madeline book published into one collection a couple of years ago.  It's a treasure!  

Funfetti Madeleines

• one cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 stick butter
• one bottle colorful sprinkles (optional)

1. combine flour and baking powder in a bowl.
2. beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until thick (this takes a couple minutes.)
3. fold flour mixture in to egg mixture.
4. melt butter and add to batter.  put batter in the refrigerator for about an hour. stir in sprinkles.
5. preheat oven to 325 degrees.  butter the madeleine pan.  fill molds of pan with batter.
6. bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

An Unexpected American Hero: Gingerbread for Liberty! by Mara Rockliff

Have you every heard of Christopher Ludwick, the real world German immigrant who aided the American colonist army by volunteering to bake and cook?  I must confess that I had never heard of this forgotten hero until I found this wonderfully cheerful book, Gingerbread for Freedom by Mara Rockliff with pictures by Vincent X. Kirsch.  When the American colonists were struggling to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War, Ludwick tells his wife that he is going to close his bakery and enlist in the war effort.  His wife laughs at him and reminds him that he is old and out of shape, surely of no use to the soldiers.  He goes anyway.  When he gets to the front lines, he sees that the soldiers are starving with no quality food to eat.  Instead of pick up a musket, he picks up his oven mitts and works night and day to feed the troops.  Ludwick wasn't just a war hero.  He was also beloved in Philadelphia for his kindness to the poor and needy.  To this day, the Christopher Ludwick Foundation gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to underprivileged children in Philadelphia each year.  This is just a feel good story that would be great for some Fourth of July reading.  

story time with snacks! sweet corn mountain muffins with a story of mountain life

Story time is always better with snacks, right?  Today's snack inspiration comes from the classic tale of Appalachian life, When I Was Young In The Mountains by Cynthia Rylant with pictures by Diane Goode.  My copy has the Reading Rainbow stamp of approval on it which is probably where I first was shown this story.  Reading Rainbow is the best!  So many of my childhood reading favorites come from watching that show and then going out to find the book that was talked about.  When I Was Young In The Mountains is the story of a young girl who lives in the West Virginia mountains with her brother, grandmother, and grandfather.  The book gives a depiction of life during that time that is all at once happy, simple, and challenging.  The grandfather works in a coal mine and comes home covered in soot.  The grandmother makes beans, okra, and cornbread for dinner, and the kids jump in swimming holes to escape the summer heat.  

The recipe for this story time is inspired by all of that good cornbread that was and still is baked in Appalachian kitchens.  These muffins are sweet and buttery with a nice crumbly texture from the cornmeal.

Sweet Corn Mountain Muffins: 

ingredient list:

• one stick of melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole milk or buttermilk 
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup of your favorite yellow cake mix

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. whisk melted butter and honey until well combined. add egg and milk.  whisk again.
3. add dry ingredients.  mix until combined.
4.  line a muffin tin with muffin papers.  fill with batter. 
5. bake until brown on top (about 15-20 minutes)

I love to split these open and spread a little softened butter or jam, but they are also good just as they are.  Try them out! 

book of the day: it's only stanley by jon agee

Author and illustrator Jon Agee has been contributing to the world of children's literature for a long time, and his works like Milo's Hat Trick and The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau are loved for the playful story lines and detailed cartoon-style illustrations that bring them to life.  Agee's newest book, It's Only Stanley, definitely keeps with what fans of his work expect.

 The Wimbeldon family live in a big, old house with their dog, Stanley.  One night, the family's sleep is interrupted over and over again by strange noises.  When each noise is investigated, it always ends up being Stanley.  A bump in the night is Stanley fixing a plumbing leak.  A eerie clanking noise is only Stanley cooking in the kitchen.  A mysterious creaking from the living room is only Stanley adjusting the television antennae.  What is up with this industrious pup?  The Wimbeldons find out at the end what Stanley has been up to this whole time, and it will make the reader smile.  recommended age: all ages

I see London. I see France. Vegetables in underpants!

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman brings the kid giggles big time in its story that reads just as it sounds.  Broccoli in underwear!  Tomatoes in underwear!  Boxers, briefs, tighty whities, you name it.  Kids and kids at heart (not me, I'm definitely too mature for this type of potty humor. clears throat and stifles giggle) will thoroughly enjoy this funny romp through the produce aisle.

 My boys were full on belly laughing the entire story time, and my two year old recent potty training graduate loved the page that pointed out that kids wear underwear and babies wear diapers.  That was a triumphant page for us both.  Woohoo to no more diapers!  Big kids and veggies love their underwear. If you would like to see more of Jared Chapman's awesome art work, head to his website www.jaredchapman.com.  His previously published kids book, Pirate, Viking, Scientist is one that we have not read at our house yet, but I will definitely be picking up a copy.  

Why is it so much fun to put googly eyes on produce?!  Try it some time.  I love these buddies.

illustration alert! the boy who held back the sea by thomas locker

Jan was a mischievous boy who never did what he was told.  Instead of going to school or church, he wandered off to watch boats at the dike's edge or hunt for birds in the forest.  So when he discovers a leak in the dike wall that could break and flood his whole town, he runs to get help, but no one believes the mischief maker.  He becomes a hero when he stays at the dike all night blocking the leak with his finger until the adults come to find he was telling the truth.  

This is a retelling of a classic Dutch folk tale, and the illustrations are created in the style that made Dutch art famous - the Dutch art renaissance of the seventeenth century.  This period is characterized by landscapes taking precedent over people, moody color palettes, and of course, the windmills and clogged feet that make us fall in love with the Netherlands. The pages of this book really take you to another place and time.  age: 6-10  

books that inspire travel: ways to get kids excited about a new destination

Last summer, my family and I took a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska.  As we were preparing to go, I sought out as many picture books as I could find on the last frontier state.  I found some really great ones.  Under Alaska's Midnight Sun by Deb Vanasse is the story of a little girl who is determined to stay awake all night during the summer solstice when Alaska experiences twenty four hours of sunlight.  I collected great books about Alaska's dog sledding and totem pole making traditions as well as books about what it is like to be a kid there, like the book Recess at Twenty Below by Cindy Aillaud that shows just how many layers of clothing the kids in a town around the Arctic Circle have to put on to go outside to play (spoiler alert: that makes for a lot of layers!)

Reading up on your travel destination and having lots of conversations about what the place is like helps to get kids excited.  That being said, I have a confession to make.  I was WAY more excited about my new Alaska book collection than my kids.  They liked the stories about the racing sled dogs but weren't really interested in the rest.  The lesson I learned in this experience came after the trip.  We spent a week in Alaska gazing at glaciers, spotting seals floating on iceberg chunks, and eating plenty of salmon.  When we got home, I found my kids pouring over the Alaska books that they had previously tossed aside.  "Wow! Look at that totem pole.  It is just like the one we saw."  

Going to the places in the books sparked a curiosity in them that just simply reading about something hadn't.  That is one reason that I love travelling with my kids.  It can be tiring, challenging, not to mention so darn expensive these days, but it made me happy to give them real world context that only first hand experience can give.  Where are you taking your family?  Have you found any good books to get everyone excited? 

new in picture books! seen and not heard by katie may green

Seen and Not Heard by Katie May Green is quickly becoming one of my new favorites in picture books!  In a spooky, old mansion, there is a nursery filled with old, dusty toys.  On the walls of this nursery, paintings of children hang in frames.  During the day, these sweet, dear children sit quiet and perfectly still.  BUT, at night, they climb down from their frames and run wild!  They slide down the stairs, raid the kitchen for sweets, paint on the walls, and jump on all of the beds.  When the sun comes up, their fun is finished, and they return to the wall to be well-behaved kids once more.  The illustrations in this are spot on, and the story is so playful and a little dark at the same time.  Both of my kids laughed at the mischievous trouble the kids go into as well as the little bit of suspense at the end when the kids raced to get back into their frames before the sun came up.  This is Katie May Green's first book, and I can't wait to see more from her! 

book of the day: the red balloon by albert lamorisse

The French have a real knack for surrealism and fantastical art.  That French surrealist spirit is celebrated is The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse.  The story follows a lonely boy named Pascal.  Pascal finds a red balloon tied to a lamp post that seems to have no owner.  He takes the balloon with him as he goes about his day at school and home.  Then something interesting happens.  Pascal realizes that the red balloon seems to have a mind of its own.  It follows him through the streets of Paris like a puppy would follow its master.  Pascal is no longer lonely because of his new, red companion.  

This book was originally a short film shot in the 1950s. The film was so successful that the director took still shots from it and created the lovely children's book that we see here.  The pictures provide plenty of fun action and some of that chic romance that the French are known for.  The story is engaging and unique, and young readers will connect with a the story of a kid who is misunderstood by the adults in his life but is rescued by a special friend.  

book of the day: rufus the writer by elizabeth bram and groenink

Rufus loves to write stories, especially stories about his friends and family.  In this sweet and colorful picture book, we get to read some of Rufus' stories like the one where he explains why orange is the best color in the world or the one he wrote to give his little sister for her birthday, and we also get little snippets of Rufus' happy life with his family and classmates at school.  I think this is a great addition to any kids' collection, and that all ages will enjoy it. 

fun pop-up book alert! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory pop-up edition

The illustrations of Quentin Blake are part of what makes the work of Roald Dahl so memorable and cherished.  His squiggly, lanky-legged, pointy-nosed figures are what brings an extra dash of humor and vitality to tales like The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, and of course, one of Dahl's most famous stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  This pop-up edition is a fun new way to interact with Blake's illustrations.  Take a peek inside.  

Violet! You're turning violet, Violet!!

book of the day: butterfly park by elly mackay

Butterfly Park by Elly Mackay is the story of a girl who moves to a new town that, unlike her old town, is seriously lacking in green space and community.  She finds a gated and empty piece of her neighborhood with a sign out front that reads "Butterfly Park", but there is one problem. There are no butterflies.  There are no flowers and plants to attract butterflies.  The girl gets her neighbors together to build a beautiful garden that butterflies will love.  I like the message of this story that team work and love of nature can change a dusty, dirty place into a space that has meaning and can be enjoyed by everyone who lives there.

The pictures in this book are so beautiful that calling them mere pictures isn't doing them justice.  Anyone who grew up playing with paper dolls will fall in love with Mackay's style of art work.  She meticulously creates and arranges paper figures to create this layered and intricate paper doll world that is both cozy and mesmerizing.  Read more about her creative process here -   http://www.ellymackay.com/process.  It is fascinating to see how she works.  Read Butterfly Park today and then go take a stroll through your local park to appreciate how lucky we are to have wonderful touchstones of nature in our lives!

four books that introduce the world of art to kids!

Here are four great books that introduce kids of all ages to the wonderful world of art!

• Mix It Up by Herve Tullet

This is not a board book but the pages are very sturdy for little toddler hands that might not be as gentle as they need to be.  These sturdy pages allow for the kind of action the book calls for - touch here, mix here, press here. The colors are "magically" mixed as the reader follows the book's directions.  Not only does it teach color concepts, but the engaging story fascinates little minds.  for ages 1-5

• The Great Art Adventure by Bob Knox

The Great Art Adventure by Bob Knox follows two children as they wander through an art museum.  They see paintings that span different eras of time and different cultures, everything from Chinese landscape paintings from the Ming dynasty to decorated animal hides from native tribes in North Dakota.  What is entertaining about this book is the way each work of art is presented with one page dedicated to the actual work and a short paragraph of facts and the opposing page showing the two children imagining themselves inside the painting.  The reader gets to see a medieval French tapestry with a castle, knights, and horses, and then its funny to see the kids in the same poses.  It makes the art more engaging for young readers. for ages 6-10

• A Child's Introduction to Art by Heather Alexander and Meredith Hamilton

This art book for kids focuses on two things: introducing young readers to classic famous artists and some of their best work and teaching basic art concepts.  Artists featured include Mary Cassatt, Jackson Pollock, and Cezanne, and each have a small section of the book devoted to their biography and an analysis of their work that is both kid-appropriate yet still very thorough and educational.  I was impressed with the amount of knowledge that was poured into teaching kids about real art.  The book also teaches concepts like the color wheel and drawing perspective.  It comes with some really cool coloring pages too! for ages 6-12

• Art Up Close

What sets Art Up Close apart from other art books for kids is its genius format.  Claire d'Harcourt has taken the classic "I Spy" kids book where the reader searches for objects inside busy pictures (in other words, "Where's Waldo?") and applies the game to classic works of art.  It draws both kids and adults into a work of art that maybe seemed unapproachable and outdated before.  for all ages.

There you have it!  Four great books that will inspire all of the mini Picasso's out there to make something wonderful.  

4 fun cookbooks for families

If there is one thing I have learned about parenthood, it is that kids have to eat.  If they don't, things get pretty cranky.  With that in mind, I am always on the lookout for a cookbook that strikes the happy balance of satisfying adult and kid tastes with an appreciation for budgeting of time and money.  Family Meals by Maria Helm Sinskey through William-Sonoma and The Family Dinner by Laurie David fit that balanced bill.  Also thrown into the mix are two books just for fun: Eat Your Math Homework by Ann McCallum and Funky Lunch by Mark Northeast aren't so practical as they are entertaining additions to your cookbook collection.

1. The Family Dinner by Laurie David  

The Family Dinner by Laurie David is more than just a cookbook, although the recipes alone are yummy enough to warrant buying this book.  This book is part recipes, part argument in support of reinstating the sacredness of family dinnertime, part party planner with fun dinner table games and ice breaker conversations to remind us that meal time is about pleasure and fun with family and less of a chore.  I also love the page-long vignettes written by famous chefs and celebrities talking about their personal dinnertime traditions.  You just might a new tradition to add to your family's dinner table. 

• William-Sonoma Family Meals by Maria Helm Sinskey

This is a book that shouldn't be judged by its cover.  I picked it up at my local William-Sonoma store a few years ago on a whim.  It didn't jump out at me, didn't promise to make my children love kale brownies, didn't have a ton of press.  I honestly don't remember why I picked it up, but I'm so, so glad that I did.  This book is filled with some of the best recipes that have become staples that I cook every week.  It has really solid basic recipes like different breads, ricotta cheese, and yogurt, along with tasty meals that are adventurous enough for adults but safe enough for the pickier bunch in our family.  My favorite recipe is the honey wheat bread.  It is delicious and simple to make, and the best part of this recipe is that it makes two loaves which tells me Sinskey understands me as a time-strained mom.  I make it once and have enough bread for two weeks!  

• Eat Your Math Homework by Ann McCallum

Baking and cooking with all of the measuring and timing are a natural lesson in math. This book teaches geometry and probability and other mathematics principals through recipes like tessellating two-color brownies and probability trail mix.  Learn something and get brownies out of the deal too!

•   Funky Lunch by Mark Northeast

Food can be art, and this book elevates even the PB&J to something Instagram worthy.  Some of these do take a bit of time, but others are quite simple to make.  Happy food equals happy people.  

new in graphic novels: the lunch witch by deb lucke

I didn't really connect with the fact that I have always loved witches until my oldest was finally old enough to sit down and watch some of my favorite childhood movies.  My picks were any Harry Potter film, Mary Poppins, The Worst Witch, Teen Witch . . . Seeing a theme here?  Huh, I really like witches, I thought to myself.  I have never liked any entertainment that is truly horrifying.  My active imagination just can't handle an actually scary movie.  Instead, I love the kind of characters that are laughably evil - trying their best to do wrong but with enough humor and kindness to make them lovable instead.  

Grunhilda comes from hundreds of generations of witches, all of them evil and wicked, but in the modern world, a genuine witch is out of luck.  No one seeks out a magical potion to solve their problems.  In the modern times of iphones and science, no one believes in spells and magic at all.  Grunhilda is out of a job.  She gets a job as a lunch lady in an elementary school and tries her best to not reveal her true identity to her coworkers or the kids. This doesn't go so well, and when one little girl discovers who she truly is, things get a little messy.

I loved the tone of this story.  Its humor was just the right balance of dark and witty with the consideration that this is written for kids who want things to be funny and friendly.  The illustrations are wonderful.  Deb Lucke has a real attention to detail that I appreciated.  Things like one of her grandmothers was the witch in German story Hansel and Gretel, and in the picture, she is wearing a traditional Black Forest hat.  There are a lot of little things that made me smile.  

book of the day: jampires by sarah mcintyre and david o'connell

Jampires is a story of mystery.  Who keeps sucking all of the jam out of Sam's jelly doughnuts?  He sets a trap one night to catch the thieves.  He can't believe who the culprits are - jampires!  These two little devils tell Sam that they have flown too far away from their home and their moms and can't find their way back.  

They fly with Sam home to the magical land of jampires where everything is sweet and edible - sponge cake flowers and blueberry pie mountains and more.  Finally, they find the little jampires mommies.  The jampire mommies are so happy to have their babies back that they deliver fresh jelly doughnuts every day for Sam to enjoy.

I read this book to my kids -ages eight and two.  I liked the way it is written in playful rhyming language.  Both kids thought the jampires were cute.  The illustrations are truly adorable and add to humor of the story.  However, I do feel like my eight year old got more out of the story than my two year old.  It was written in a way that was just a little over his head right now.  This book probably works best with early elementary school ages.  I can't confirm this from experience, but I bet upper elementary ages would like this one too.  Vampires that suck jam and live in a magical world of sweets is such a unique concept that everyone could enjoy this!  

book of the day: chu's day at the beach by neil gaiman & adam rex

Our family just got back from a little beach vacation time.  Breathing in the salty air and swimming all day are definitely things we are missing now that we are home in our beloved but land-locked city.  It's the kiddie pool for us until school starts!  Luckily, with Chu the panda around, even the plastic pool from Target looks cool.  

Chu is a panda with a good heart but a crazy sneeze.  His sneezes seem to wreak havoc with every achoo!  (one word for Chu's parents - antihistamines)  On a summer trip to the beach with his mom and dad, Chu is having a blast - eating ice cream, watching the people on the sand, looking out at the ocean.  Until . . . his sneeze causes quite the commotion actually splitting the sea apart.  His sneeze broke the ocean!  Only another sneeze can make everything right again.  

My two year old just loves it when books have funny noises, and the way Chu's sneezing is written on the page was sending him into belly laughs.  The pictures are very detailed with a lot of action and intricate characters.  We spent a lot of time just looking at each page and finding interesting little details.  

This is a great addition to our collection of beach-themed picure books.  It might even replace our all-time favorite beach book, Bats at the Beach.  Do you have any favorite beachy picture books?  Any recommendations for me?  I love hearing about a book I haven't read yet, so let me know!  

3 great comic books for kids

Okay so here's the deal - there are a lot of comic books out there.  Some veer a little too much into the world of violence for the elementary school aged audience in my opinion.  Some are going for more of a "graphic novel" feel concerning themselves more with the art of the pages than whether the story is actually engaging the kids reading it.  The three comic series here today might not be the most artistically sophisticated or Instagram-worthy, but they are comic books that my son goes back to again and again.  The covers are worn from love.  The jokes make him laugh to the point where he comes running over to me with the book to share.  In other words, these comics are awesome.  

1. Tiny Titans by Art Balthazar and Franco Aureliani

The Tiny Titans take classic super hero side kicks and place them in elementary school. They form friend clicks, deal with bullies, have crushes on the cutie in their class, and do other normal school kid stuff with one exception - they are super heroes!  The humor in this series is so perfect for the intended audience - my son laughs and laughs.  Any fans of the super hero world with find this fun too.

2. Plants vs. Zombies by Ron Chan

Plants.  Zombies.  Battles.  Yep.  This comic is based off of a popular web game.  

3. Sonic the Hedgehog 

Who didn't love powering up their Sega console to play with the world's fastest, roly-polyest blue hedgehog and his friends? Our kids may have no idea what the word "Sega" means, but Sonic the Hedgehog still entertains in the land of comic books.  There are more collections and series in the Sonic world to count.  All of them seem to offer great action packed reading for kids to enjoy.  

What comics are your kids loving these days?

wordless picture books: journey and quest by aaron becker

Picture books without words are becoming really popular.  If you are curious about this trend, the work of Aaron Becker is an excellent place to start.  Journey is the first installment about a lonely girl with no friends. A magical red crayon appears in her room, and with it, she draws a door that leads her to a fascinating and fantastical world.  She finds friendship in a beautiful purple bird.  At first the world is friendly, but things take a sinister turn when evil men catch the bird and lock it up.  The girl frees the bird only to be locked in jail herself.  The bird helps her escape and leads her to a new friend, a boy with his own magical purple crayon.

In Quest, the story picks up where Journey left off.  The girl and the boy are visited by the king of the magical city they visited in the previous book.  The city is in trouble, and he gives them a map that locates all of the magical crayons needed to save the king and his people.  They go on a quest to save the city.  

I know what you are thinking . . . how can you get all of that story from a book without any words?!  Reading a wordless picture book is a different experience for sure.  It is a malleable experience molded into different stories at different times.  Every time we read it, the story might change or grow.  We read it differently out loud than we would ponder it quietly by ourselves.  The pictures by Aaron Becker give so much.  They are amazingly detailed and expressive. I love how each character has a signature color, so that without saying a word, you recognize who they are and what they have built.  What other wordless picture books have you read?  

astronomy fun: the stars, a new way to see them by h.a. rey

"This book is meant for people who want to know just enough about the stars to be able to go out at night and find the major constellations, for the mere pleasure of it." 

I think H.A. Rey says it best above.  Simple pleasure can be derived from hauling a telescope to an open field on a clear night and looking up.  The stars and the constellations they form are fascinating on a lot of levels.  Scientifically, we can study what a star is composed of, their life cycle, how their light travels.  Mythically, each constellation has a story connected with its name that can be read and enjoyed.  

The Stars: a New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey is an excellent guide to astronomy for the beginner whether that be a child or adult.  The book is a history text book, constellation guide, science lesson, and fun trivia collection all in one.  The Stars: A New Way to See Them was first published in the 40s and has been updated through the years to keep up with advancing discoveries. How many books can print an endorsement from Albert Einstein on the back cover?  This one can!  My next book purchase will be for my youngest astronomer - a toddler version called Find the Constellations.