June 2010: Discuss Our "Culinary Delights" Club Reads HERE

[Crystal]

Thank you, I am glad too.=)

[Serena]

Kathryn,
I am an overachiever in all of my bookish endeavors, so I use the master lists as opposed to just what has won our elections. I'm having trouble acquiring the May 2010 books [I left you an explanatory message over on May's thread], so working concurrently on May and June now.
I have Stone Soup and How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. Looking forward to reading these books.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
I am an overachiever in all of my bookish endeavors, so I use the master lists as opposed to just what has won our elections. I'm having trouble acquiring the May 2010 books [I left you an..."

I'm happy you are looking at the master lists -- that's exactly why we kept them up, so that people could look at ALL the wonderful books that fit the theme, rather than just the five that were chosen :-)

[Serena]

Hi Kathryn,
I forgot to ask before, but.. is it okay to read a PBC book in translation? I have one book from the June 2010 master list in another language (which is not written in the Latin writing system, by the way) and I could definitely use the reading practice.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Serena wrote: "Hi Kathryn,
I forgot to ask before, but.. is it okay to read a PBC book in translation? I have one book from the June 2010 master list in another language (which is not written in the Latin writing..."

Yes, totally okay! :-) Looking forward to your review!

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "Hi Kathryn,
I forgot to ask before, but.. is it okay to read a PBC book in translation? I have one book from the June 2010 master list in another language (which is not written in the Latin writing..."

In my opinion, you should read books in whatever language you want. Just make sure that you post about them in the group in English. It’s what I do with German or French books, read them in those languages then write my reviews etc. in English.

[Serena]

I will.

[Serena]

Kathryn,
Update: Fannie in the Kitchen came in from the library on Friday. Since I only had 4 checkouts, my librarian called to ask if I wanted to borrow the actual Fannie Farmer cookbook as well. My mom said she did, so I requested it.
The other book from this thread that arrived on Friday was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which I only own in Arabic, not in English. I therefore needed an English copy to compare to. [So now you know what non-Latin language I'm learning to read, as I mentioned earlier.] They sent the ''expanded edition'' which...I'm curious to see. What could they possibly have expanded?

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
Update: Fannie in the Kitchen came in from the library on Friday. Since I only had 4 checkouts, my librarian called to ask if I wanted to borrow the actual Fannie Farmer cookbook as well. ..."

So is the Arabic version much different from the English original? I recall that the German version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is pretty similar to the original.

Eric Carle’s life story is pretty interesting. He was born in the USA of Germany parents and the family moved back to Germany for a short visit (as the mother was homesick) and then got stuck in Germany once the Nazis took over.

The author’s note for Carle’s The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is really worth reading.

[Serena]

It's the same except it does not have the die-cut holes. I remember researching TVHC for my juvenile lit class last year and wondering why my Arabic edition was hole-free. TVHC really is one of those perfect books for learning a new language.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "It's the same except it does not have the die-cut holes. I remember researching TVHC for my juvenile lit class last year and wondering why my Arabic edition was hole-free. TVHC really is one of tho..."

The German edition that was read to me when I was a toddler definitely had the holes, as I remember how much they fascinated me (I also tried to feed some caterpillars outside with cake etc., lol).

[Serena]

Dear Manybooks,
So you speak German. Wow. I'm a linguist and am seriously considering taking German. I speak English, Spanish, French, very bad Italian, can read Greek, and currently study Latin and Arabic. I will be adding Hebrew when I change schools, hopefully soon. Maybe you can help me with German.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "Dear Manybooks,
So you speak German. Wow. I'm a linguist and am seriously considering taking German. I speak English, Spanish, French, very bad Italian, can read Greek, and currently study Latin an..."

With all your languages, you will likely have no trouble learning German. Main thing with German is to memorise genders.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Serena wrote: "Dear Manybooks,
So you speak German. Wow. I'm a linguist and am seriously considering taking German. I speak English, Spanish, French, very bad Italian, can read Greek, and currently study Latin an..."

That so impressive! :-)
I'm glad you could read TVHC in Arabic! Did you find an answer as to why the Arabic edition does not contain holes? I absolutely loved the holes when I was a kid, too, as did both my sons. I think they are a big part of the appeal, though the story and illustrations are very nice, too.
Let us know if you end up trying any recipes from the Fannie Farmer cookbook :-)

[Serena]

Kathryn,
I am a proud-in a good way- CSA [Christian Studying Arabic] who plans to one day use her words to make a difference as a Middle Eastern missionary. My CSA identity has gotten me in trouble before-even here on Goodreads. I debated telling the PBC I would be reading a book in Arabic, but as this is Arabic Language Awareness Month, I decided to be brave and tell you. And what do you know? I sense that I have found a true sadiqa [ally] in you,. Your review of Yoko and shelf-evident interest in religions inspired me to tell, which is why I asked about your other mediums of contact. As there are none, I post here. Hey, maybe there can be a Middle Eastern/Muslim PBC thread.

Manybooks,
Thank you for engaging and being curious about my Arabic book and what makes it different. That makes me feel so special. I sent you a ''freund'' request.

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
I am a proud-in a good way- CSA [Christian Studying Arabic] who plans to one day use her words to make a difference as a Middle Eastern missionary. My CSA identity has gotten me in trouble..."

Danke! I cannot believe you have had issues with bigotry just for studying Arabic! Well, people who do that are basically mindless dolts.

[QNPoohBear]

AWW last weekend I participated in an edible book festival challenge at the local library and the winner was a mom (and two young girls) who decorated cupcakes to look like the VH caterpillar and his first meal. (No meats though. She ran out of colors). The little girls each decorated a cupcake with whatever colors they felt like LOL! The mom did all that while the kids were asleep and set it up with a baby hanging in a carrier on her chest and the girls eyeing the cupcakes "Is it time to eat yet?"

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Serena wrote: "I debated telling the PBC I would be reading a book in Arabic, but as this is Arabic Language Awareness Month, I decided to be brave and tell you. ."

Serena, I'm so glad that you feel comfortable in here in the Children's Book Group! Thank you for sharing. We strive to be a welcoming and respectful group :-) And, thank you so much for the suggestion to do a Middle Eastern picture book thread in future. We have discussed a few books with Middle Eastern protagonists that have been tied to other PBC themes in the past but not as a specific focus. I know there are many wonderful picture books we could explore.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

QNPoohBear wrote: "AWW last weekend I participated in an edible book festival challenge at the local library and the winner was a mom (and two young girls) who decorated cupcakes to look like the VH caterpillar and h..."

How CUTE! ;-) That sounds like a really fun festival.

[QNPoohBear]

The edible book festival was fun. I came in third (of 4) with my Harry
Potter Acromantula cupcakes. I'm bookmarking this thread for future edible book festival ideas. It doesn't HAVE to be a children's book but the event is marketed towards families AND children's books are illustrated so it's easier to judge the interpretation of the book.

Here's the winning entry.
https://tinyurl.com/VHCcupcakes

It's a popular book to adapt! Google "edible book festival" and it comes right up.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

Loved the VHC cupcakes!

[Serena]

Kathryn,
There is more to my CSA story. TVHC is actually the first book i have ever been able to read in Arabic. Part of my disability is visual, so learning to read has been a struggle because there are many Arabic letters that look almost EXACTLY alike. In addition, I've lost friends because I am learning to read, studying Islam, and want to be a missionary to Muslims. Like the young Patricia Polacco, I began to believe I would never learn to read and always be misunderstood. But then there was a PBC assignment and...I had my Falker moment on Friday. (I'm a Thank You Mr Falker fan too.) So I want to say thank you [or shikran ] for helping me make progress in Arabic reading without even knowing you did so. ''Honey is sweet and so is knowledge...''
Your friend,
Farah [my Arabic name]

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
There is more to my CSA story. TVHC is actually the first book i have ever been able to read in Arabic. Part of my disability is visual, so learning to read has been a struggle because the..."

Serena,

If you have lost so-called friends because you are studying Arabic, then these individuals were not really your friends anyhow.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

QNPoohBear wrote: "The edible book festival was fun. I came in third (of 4) with my Harry
Potter Acromantula cupcakes. I'm bookmarking this thread for future edible book festival ideas. It doesn't HAVE to be a child..."

How fun! I think it's great you participated. I love creative bakes with artistic elements. I just bought my youngest Kim-Joy's latest cookbook as it was bargain priced and he had so much fun with her style on the GBBO. He's nowhere near being able to make them yet but he likes to get inspiration and design his own.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Serena wrote: "Kathryn,
There is more to my CSA story. TVHC is actually the first book i have ever been able to read in Arabic. Part of my disability is visual, so learning to read has been a struggle because the..."

Thank you so much for your heartfelt post, Serena. I am so glad that you have found a comfortable and inspiring place here in the PBC! I admire you for what you have accomplished with your reading, and in multiple languages now, and for sticking to your dreams despite the naysayers. I look forward to your participation in the future threads for the club :-)