Wednesday Comix!

Can't get enough of this heat, you say? Then head on over to School Library Journal's Good Comics for Kids blog and check out their too-hot-to-handle review of our Rudyard Kipling "Just So" comics!

Here's the gist…

"CLEVER"

"WHIMSICAL"

"FUN"

HOT!

Okay, I made that last one up, but you get the idea. And who knows? Maybe a collected edition of these WILDLY awesome comics is on the horizon. (nudge nudge, wink wink.)

More soon,

:Donnie

How about some wombat stew?

When I was a kid I was a voracious reader. I would read anything and everything I could get my hands on – my Dad's science books, my Mom's romance novels, whatever childrens' books and classic literature found it's way into our home – I would even read aloud to my parents any bill boards I saw and, much to my Mother's horror – any writing I saw on the insides of public bathroom stalls. My poor Mom was caught between a rock and a hard place of trying to encourage me to read a lot, but not to read EVERYTHING.

I had a LOT of favorite books. Some stand out in my memory more than others. One of my absolute favorite picture books was one that I saw once in a library and have never seen again. I later found out it was an import from Australia. It was called Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughn and was filled with all sorts of fun, stylized illustrations as well as a song that I can still sing to this day!

"Wombat stew, Wombat stew, gooey, brewy, yummy, chewy, wombat stew!"

What were some of your favorite or most memorable books from childhood?

Kristi Carlson
Graphic Designer

Foodie Friday: Hocus Pocus Bruschetta!

In honor of Michael Dahl's new book, Hocus Pocus Hotel, I'd like to share my recipe for magical Hocus Pocus Brushcetta. With gardens full of fresh tomatoes and basil, it is the perfect season for this treat. What makes it magical? It is always quick to disappear!

Hocus Pocus Brushcetta
5 medium tomatoes, chopped small
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
10 leaves of basil, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients and serve on crackers or toasted garlic rounds.

Be sure to visit www.hocuspocushotel.com to read a chapter from the book, watch a book trailer, and much more!

Hocus Pocus Bruschetta is kid-approved too!

The 30th Olympiad and Onion Rings

There's been much controversy surrounding the logo for the 2012 London Olympics. Is it unreadable? Is it obscene? Are we stuck in 1987? No matter your opinion, this Olympics' logo is certainly a conversation starter.

Though each host city will design a logo for their respective games, one element of that logo will always remain the same: the Olympic rings. The rings, originated in 1912, were specifically designed to represent the different regions of the world that meet, or interlock, to participate in the games. The five colored rings, along with a white background, also incorporate almost every color seen on the flags of each participating nation. It's a truly international symbol.

So, what does this have to do with Foodie Friday? Aside from my wife and I being complete Olympics addicts and eating most of our dinners the past week-and-a-half in front of the television, the Olympic rings remind me of another ring I'm quite fond of: the onion ring. As a matter of fact, I'm going to have one for lunch today. My reliable area lunch spot, "The Chalet", is featuring one of my favorite menu items this week: The Crown Jewel Burger. It's a third-pound, fresh, 100% natural ground angus chuck burger cooked medium and layered with pepperjack cheese, pecanwood smoked bacon, creamy horseradish sauce, and topped with—you guessed it—a gourmet onion ring crown. Absolutely delicious. I bet even the Queen of England could get on board with this royal sandwich.

The London 2012 Olympics end this Sunday and will soon be forgotten, along with its controversial logo. But the onion ring will live on, just as the Olympic rings have, for many more years to come.


Bob Lentz
Art Director

From our readers . . .

Last week, Katie Woo author Fran Manushkin shared a heart-warming letter that was sent to her from a mother of a young reader. It served as a wonderful reminder that our books make a real difference to the children who read them, and it has inspired us as we plan for more Katie adventures. Here is what this thoughtful mother had to say:


I am sending you a heart-felt thank you for helping my soon to be first grade daughter find her love of reading and books again.  She had a horrific kindergarten experience and she lost that enthusiasm she has always had for school.  It was painful for me to watch as her mother and a Middle School Language Arts teacher.  I happened to be at the IRA annual conference in the spring where you signed a copy of Katie Woo and the Class Pet.  I brought her home the signed copy and it was truly amazing to watch her excitement and level of confidence grow instantly.  She gained back her confidence to read on her own and found that she can find success in reading at this early age, she just needs to believe in herself.  The story lines in your Katie Woo series directly relate to her own life and she anxiously anticipates Katie’s next adventure.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing this experience for her at a time we needed it the most.  She is now devouring all the books in the series and I often find her with covers over her head and a flashlight reading a Katie Woo book.  She carries them with her everywhere we go and frequently re-reads each book.

Foodie Friday: What do faeries eat?

Two friends, torn apart. Soli and Lucy argue, and then Lucy disappears, taken by the faeries who live in the forest near their homes. Can Soli save her friend, even if it means facing the biggest dangers she's ever experienced and going up against the Willow Queen?

You might remember back in October when Art Director Kay Fraser wrote about Faerieground, a new series filled with gorgeous art, intriguing stories, and the mysterious world of faeries. The series is co-authored by two of our own, Kay and Beth Bracken, and it has been fun to watch it develop from a strong initial idea to an absolutely beautiful finished product.

Faerieground is the inspiration behind this week's Foodie Friday post. I took an informal poll and got all sorts of ideas about what faeries, or fairies, eat. According to experts ages two to teenage (plus one 22 year old), this is what they eat:

Belle: pumpkins from a garden
Kathryn: peas, cherries, and water
Amelia: strawberries
Nolan: leaves (actually lots of boys figured they eat leaves)
Taylor: cake!
Jacob: leaves
Sam: rabbits (Mom guesses that Sam believes in slightly vicious fairies!)
Izzy: glitter (she is definitely on to something here)
Kaleb: stars (isn't that magical?)
Quinn: Cherrios
Anna: flowers
Sophie: nectar from flowers
Luke: more leaves!
Kenedy: fruit
Jaimie, our 22-year-old: Pixie Stix (of course!)
Hannah: leaves
Eliot: pizza
Owen: breadsticks (I would like to be a fairy at Eliot and Owen's house)
Benny: grass (the perfect side to all those leaves
Emma: teeth and marshmallows (fairies must like both squishy and crunchy foods!)
Ashley: candy
Baylie: fruit

Kaleb and Quinn's mom had lots to say about what faeries like to eat. (She got some help from the Faery Hunters.) They love naturally sweetened foods, nothing artificial. Honey cakes, honey milk, sweet butter...yum! Legend has it that if you set out some of their favorite foods, they cannot resist. It might look like they haven't touched it, but faeries are magical: They can gain nourishment from the food's "essence."