Weird and Wacky Food

Are you all stuffed from your Thanksgiving eating?  How about reading a good book about some odd foods instead of eating more?  Check out these books . . .

Mouse Noses on Toast by Daren King
Paul Mouse gathers a group of mouse activists to uncover the mystery behind the delicacy known as "Mouse noses on toast" which is served in a fancy human restaurant.

Cold Cereal by Adam Rex
A boy who may be part changeling, twins involved in a bizarre secret experiment, and a clurichaun in a red tracksuit try to save the world from an evil cereal company whose ultimate goal is world domination.

Maybelle and the Haunted Cupcake by Katie Speck
Maybelle the cockroach is tired of all the rules she must follow to safely get food from Mr. and Mrs. Peabody's kitchen, but when Bernice, an ant with a head cold, insists on helping out, the situation only gets worse.

Wanna Bake Something?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don't think I've ever come across a Thanksgiving book for teens.  So instead I thought I would continue with the food theme and share some books of teens wanting to cook . . .

Kitchen Princess by Natsumi Ando - manga
Najika is a gifted cook and attends the prestigious Seika Academy cooking school. Her friendship with two brothers, Sora and Daichi, creates resentment with other girls at the school. Her greatest rival is a popular, teen model, Akane who tries to drive Najika from the school by staging a cooking contest.

A La Carte by Tanita Davis
Lainey, a high school senior and aspiring celebrity chef, is forced to question her priorities after her best friend (and secret crush) runs away from home.

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitch Smith
When multiple murders in Austin, Texas, threaten the grand re-opening of her family's vampire-themed restaurant, seventeen-year-old, orphaned Quincie worries that her best friend-turned-love interest, Keiren, a werewolf-in-training, may be the prime suspect.

A Reading Feast

Thanksgiving is fast approaching.  Last week I talked about several picture books about Thanksgiving.  This week, since all those books are now checked out, I thought I would share some great picture books about food.

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
A fussy eater decides to sample the carrots after her brother convinces her that they are really orange twiglets from Jupiter.

Worms for Lunch? by Leonid Gore
Easy-to-read text and die-cut illustrations allow various creatures to reveal what they like to eat.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Little Pea hates eating candy for dinner, but his parents will not let him have his spinach dessert until he cleans his plate.

The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges
In this version of the traditional tale, the duck, the dog, and the cat refuse to help the Little Red Hen make a pizza but do get to participate when the time comes to eat it.

Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson
Grandad bakes Grandma a whopper of a birthday cake. Includes recipe and directions for chocolate cake.


Also -- come by the Arnold Branch this Wednesday (11/27/13) at 11:30 a.m. to watch the movie version of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Fortunately, the Milk

Mother is out of town and Father forgot to get milk for breakfast. 

On the way back from corner shop he hears a humming noise and looks up to find an alien ship. 

This is just the start of Father's amazing journey through space and time on his quest to bring the milk home for his children's breakfast.  Along the way he'll meet pirates, vampires, a volcano god, and a time-traveling dinosaur in a hot air balloon.

Will he ever make it home to his children with the milk?  And will they believe this amazing story he has to tell?

Neil Gaiman has come up with another great book!  Fortunately, the Milk is nonsensical, entertaining and great fun to read!  The line drawings by Skottie Young bring the book to life.  A definite must read for all!

Celebrate Doctor Who!

This is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.  From the very first Doctor to the current Eleventh Doctor, he has gone on many trips through time and space in his TARDIS with his companions.  In celebration of the 50th anniversary, read one of the Doctor's adventures . . .

The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin
With the Vykoid army swarming across Manhattan and sealing it from the world with a powerful alien force field, Amy has just 24 hours to find the Doctor and save the city. If she doesn't, the people of Manhattan will be taken to work in the doomed asteroid mines of the Vykoid home planet. But as time starts to run out, who can she trust? And how far will she have to go to free New York from the Forgotten Army?

Touched by an Angel by  Jonathan Morris
In 2003, Rebecca Whitaker died in a road accident. Her husband Mark is still grieving. He receives a battered envelope, posted eight years ago, containing a set of instructions with a simple message: 'You can save her.' As Mark is given the chance to save Rebecca, it's up to the Doctor, Amy and Rory to save the whole world. Because this time the Weeping Angels are using history itself as a weapon.

Borrowed Time by Naomi Alderman
Andrew Brown never has enough time. No time to call his sister, no time to prepare for that important presentation at the bank where he works. The train's late, the lift jams. If only he'd had just a little more time. And time is the business of Mr Symington and Mr Blenkinsop. They'll lend him some-- at a very reasonable rate of interest. Detecting a problem, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory go undercover at the bank. But they have to move fast to stop Symington and Blenkinsop before they cash in their investments.

Let's Give Thanks!

Even though Thanksgiving is a little over a week today, I thought I would share some books to read before the holiday.  Check out the following books for kids . . .

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet
Tells the story of puppeteer Tony Sarg, the man who first invented the helium balloons that have become the trademark of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Saying Grace: A Prayer of Thanksgiving by Virginia Kroll
Grace is worried about the coming winter, but happily it proves to be mild, and the next fall when Thanksgiving is celebrated, she starts a tradition of giving blessings to God before the meal. Includes author's note about the history of saying grace andsuggested activities.

One is a Feast for a Mouse: A Thanksgiving Tale by Judy Cox
On Thanksgiving Day while everyone naps, Mouse spots one pea, a perfect feast, but he cannot help adding all of the fixings--until Cat spots him.

The Perfect Thanksgiving by Eileen Spinelli
Two families--one that is perfect and one that is far from it--celebrate Thanksgiving in their own loving ways.

The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene
Rhyming verses trace the events leading up to the first Thanksgiving Day.

It's Been a Great 15 Years for Harry Potter

Did you realize that it has been 15 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published?

The world fell in love with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everybody else from Hogwarts in 1998 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  The story of a young wizard who must fight against the ultimate evil of Voldemort stuck a chord with readers young and old and every age in between.

On this 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, pick up the series to read.  Whether it will be your first reading or the fifth reading of the books -- you'll be sure to lose yourself in the world and have a great time!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Also, join us at JCL Arnold Branch today at 2:00 p.m. for Harry Potter Crafts.  We'll be making some great magically-inspired crafts to celebrate 15 years with Harry!  Call 636-296-2204 to sign-up.