Food Memory

                    

A few years ago, after the movie about Julia Child came out, my mom and I decided to cook our way through the Julia Child’s cookbook and blog about our experience much like the main character of the movie did. It started off great, every night we had a new dinner. It was fun, great bonding time, and really freaking delicious. My mom did most of the cooking and I was responsible for the blog posts, but as Mrs. Frazer probably knows, keeping my blog updated is a real struggle for me. Both my mom and I have very short attention spans when it comes to long term projects like this, our mission to cook our way through the cookbook slowly began to fade away.  We never got anywhere close to the end, and honestly, I am kind of glad; I recall seeing a recipe that called for cow brains, and I am very happy that I won’t have to eat that. I will say that everything my mom did make from that cookbook has been delightful. She still cooks our favorites, and every time she does I think of what a crazy idea it was to try and cook through that huge cookbook, especially with the two of us, we can’t seem to commit to anything.

Children's story

Summer Garden

 

My name is Lily. My mom named me after her favorite flower, and boy does she love flowers! She has a garden in our backyard full of fruits, vegetables, and the most beautiful flowers you could imagine. But Momma tells me that I’m her most precious lily and she loves me with all her heart.

 

In the summertime, when the sun is hot and the days are long, I help Momma water the plants. One day when I was watering I saw a small green caterpillar eating a leaf. He was a cute little bug so I named him Henry. I watched him for hours just imagining what he would tell me if he could talk. Maybe he’d tell me about all his ladybug friends or about how terrible it is to eat leaves all day.

I watched Henry for days until one day I couldn’t find him. I was so upset I went to cry to Momma. She came outside with me and pointed at a little green bundle hanging from a stem. She told me that Henry was in there and he’d come out when he was ready, and he’d be more beautiful than he’d ever been. So I sat there and waited, and waited, and waited.

I eventually gave up on that idea and almost completely forgot about Henry. Then a couple weeks later when I was watering my momma’s plant I saw that the green bundle was all torn up. Poor Henry, Something must have eaten him. But before I knew it I saw a butterfly fluttering it’s breathtaking wings of bright pink, orange and yellow. It swiftly landed on my shoulder and I knew right away that it was Henry. Henry was a butterfly! Momma was right, he sure was pretty too.



Books For Kids!

Title: Smartypants (Pete in School)
Author: Maira KAlman
The bio in the back of the book says:
     Maira Kalman is an author of 12 childrens books, she lives in New York City, and it goes on to list the awards she has recieved.

The cover of the book is a picture of a dog sitting at a school desk; the colors are all very bright and vibrant.

38 pages.
Characters:
Poppy Wise
Mookie
Pete
Uncle Rocky
Doreen Parsley
Butch BArker
Judy
Miss HoneyBee
Milton
Mr. Grompi Spitzer
Miss Magma
Miss Lulu Crumple
Mr. Moosebrugger
Mr. Dividar Divecky

The setting is what seems to be an elementary school.
Summary:
      Poppy Wise is the main character. She doesnt like school very much, but when her trouble maker of a dog comes to school, it becomes the best day ever.

Have animals as characters? yes
Use rhyme? no
teach a lesson? yes
have monsters or creatures? No
have kids as characters? yes
adults as charcters? yes
humor? yes
illustrations? yes
color? yes
actual photos? no
sentimental/lovey tone? yes
lots of words per page? yes
one word or phrase repeated? no
Favorite Sentence:
     "Obviously you do not expect me to be a sentient being, biut emerically speaking, you cannot deny that I am speaking."

I think this book would best suit ages 7-10 because there are challenging parts, but the storyline still seems geared towards young children.

  I probably would have liked this book as a kid because it is funny and interesting.