Children's Books discussion
The Picture-Book Club
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October 2010: Discuss Our "Autumn/Halloween" Club Reads HERE
Kathryn wrote: "Oooh, Crystal! I'm so happy you made the bird treats from "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" and I would love to see pics if you're able to post them! ;-)I am also glad to know that [book:The Little Old La..."
I will hopefully post those within the next couple days.
I did guess the surprise at the end, but it was still fun to see. I agree it does make the book less spooky for children.
Well, I just read Pumpkin Soup at my preschool storytime this morning and it was a HUGE hit! The kids had been really bouncy and goofy and I was afraid it wouldn't hold their attention, but boy, they were enthralled. Actually, they were looking so worried about Duck being gone that I honestly thought maybe they were TOO on edge and we'd have someone in tears! But the resolution came just in time, and there were biiig grins at seeing the friends together again.
Those glowing illustrations really sold it, I think-- no one was taking their eyes off the pages the whole time.
Mod
I still want to make some pumpkin soup this month!!! I'm going to try for this weekend, as it's supposed to be rainy and cold so should be perfect timing.
Dora, I wish I could have been there to see their faces! It must be wonderful to share a great book with so many children!I finally figured out how to post pictures to my blog. It took a long time tonight, but now that I know how. Hope you all enjoy it. Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...#
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;-)
Abigail wrote: "What adorable children! Thank you so much for posting those photographs, Crystal! :)"Kathryn wrote: "Thank you for sharing, Crystal! So wonderful to see your adorable daughter. And it looks like you all had a great time making the treats! I love seeing them hanging in the tree :-) They look gre..."
Thank you! We did have a good time. It was fun for something different than the norm. Thanks for asking about the birds, I forgot to comment on that! The birds were feeding off them for a couple days. On the third day, there was nothing left there but the yarn! As you can see in the picture we hung them low for the children and we suspect they made a deer very happy!
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Kathryn wrote: "Haha ;-) well, at least various kinds of creatures were able to benefit from your labors!"lol yes! dear/deer lol!
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lol yes! dear/deer lol!"
The pictures were really cute, but it took ages for my dial-up account internet connection to show them. I'm glad you had fun, and it does not matter wether the birds or the deer ate the treats, they both need food (my deer love carrots and lettuce).
Gundula wrote: "Crystal wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Haha ;-) well, at least various kinds of creatures were able to benefit from your labors!"lol yes! dear/deer lol!"
The pictures were really cute, but it took age..."
Thanks Gundula, that is true they both need food! Sorry it took so long to see pics. Next time, I will see if I can make the pictures smaller, but I am not sure it will make a difference with dial-up.
Cute daughter & other kids. Great bird treats!
Mod
lol yes! dear/deer lol!"
The pictures were really c..."
I would rather live in the country with a slow internet than live in a noisy city, although my neighbours tend to love their ATVs, which is a pain at times.
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Kathryn wrote: "By the way, I got my ingredients for pumpkin soup and plan to make it this (rainy) weekend! I'll be back to post my results :-)"Yum! I hope that it's delicious and not too complicated to make. It will be a perfect weekend for soup!
Kathryn wrote: "By the way, I got my ingredients for pumpkin soup and plan to make it this (rainy) weekend! I'll be back to post my results :-)"That sounds so good right now! Can't wait to read the results!
Gundula wrote: "Crystal wrote: "Gundula wrote: "Crystal wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Haha ;-) well, at least various kinds of creatures were able to benefit from your labors!"
My parents live in a rural area. It is nice to get away from it all there.
lol yes! dear/deer lol!"
The pictures w..."
Lisa wrote: "Cute daughter & other kids. Great bird treats!"
Thank you!
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Cheryl wrote: "Now my son is motivated to make the treats. He's 14, so had trouble seeing how easy and cool they'd be, but your pictures sold him."Thanks for sharing! That is really awesome! Have a blast!
Wilhelmina wrote: "Great pictures, Crystal!"Thank you very much! I appreciate that.
I love the pictures Crystal thank you for sharing!
Brenda wrote: "I love the pictures Crystal thank you for sharing!"Thank you for taking a look! I am glad you enjoyed them. =)
I just read the following books:Scary, Scary Halloween: This book was alright. I really loved Jan Brett's illustrations since they were so beautiful, but I felt that this book was a little too predictable and the ending didn't really excite me that much.
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf: This book was also alright, but the story felt a little bit too average and I was kind of expecting a book about autumn, although I really did love the informational content about how to plant a tree and about different types of leaves on a maple tree.
Mod
Vegan Pumpkin Soup
1 TBSP margarin
1 medium onion, chopped
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups almond milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
In a soup pot, saute onions in margarine until clear, then add other ingredients and simmer 15 minutes.
Easy-peasy!
Overall, I was pleased with the results. Most recipes I found online called for soy or rice milk, but I prefer almond milk and thought the nutty flavor would go well with the sweetly-savory ingredients and it did. But, the overall result wasn't exactly super-flavorful, much more mild than I was hoping for. I would like a little more sweetness, or a little more "kick" next time; there are lots of other recipes that add spices for more of a peppery or curry flavor and some very sweet ones with coconut milk and I am really curious to try those.
Anyway, it was fun making my own pumpkin soup at least and even my husband enjoyed the results ;-)
Mod
Vegan Pumpkin Soup
1 TBSP margarin
1 medium onion, chopped
..."
Thanks for posting that recipe. Kathryn. I would probably add both curry powder and pumpkin pie spice if I were making it.
Mod
That sounds great! I was trying to make a recipe most similar to the one in the book but I definitely want to add more spices next time--those both sound like they'd do the trick :-)
Mod
That sounds great! I was trying to make a recipe most si..."
Pumpkin pie spice is great, really versatile and really livens up flavours (in my opinion).
Kathryn wrote: "Well, I searched around online and pulled together a few recipes to make my own vegan version of PUMPKIN SOUP!!! ..."
Thanks for sharing! Now I want pumpkin soup!
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Thanks for sharing! Now I want pumpkin soup!"
You're welcome! :-)
I'm really curious if anyone makes the actual recipe from the book :->
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Thanks for sharing! Now I want pumpkin soup!..."
I would have, but my library copy also did not contain the recipe. I wish I could have pumpkin soup today, but I don't have any pumpkin (and that's kind of essential, ha).
I read 4 of 6, all except The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, which I'll try to read after Halloween, and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf which I remember reading in the past & mainly reemember admiring the pictures. I had read Pumpkin Soup before & enjoyed re-reading it, especially because of the illustrations. Though not really a Halloween book, its message of friendship, sharing and tolerance was handled well.
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves is a delight! The illustrations are wonderful, and the messages about friendship, and adapting to and accepting change were on target for its audience.
I really like Scary, Scary Halloween which I have read aloud before. Very sharp readers might realize that the skeleton is wearing shoes and must be a costume, but most kids won't process that. Some of the text is very poetic and a bit scary, and the illustrations excellent, especially the green eyes.
Boris and Bella is a real find for me and I hope to be able to use it in the future as a read aloud. I enjoyed the story of reluctant friendship and found the illustrations nicely detailed and just gruesome enough for kids!
Gundula wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Gundula That sounds great! I was trying to make ..."
Gundula wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Crystal wrote:
I didn't have a recipe in my copy either. Would have probably tried it too.
David wrote: "I read 4 of 6, all except The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, which I'll try to read after Halloween, and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf which I remember reading in the past & mainly reememb..."
I wasn't able to read Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. Thank you for sharing. I am so glad you enjoyed Boris and Bella and hope you do get to share it as a read aloud. Tell us if you get the chance!
I just read Pumpkin Soup and I really enjoyed this book!! I loved the way that the book talks about friendship and it was so hilarious!! I also copied the pumpkin soup recipe at the end of the book just so I could try to make the recipe later on!!
David wrote: "I read 4 of 6, all except The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, which I'll try to read after Halloween, and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf which I remember reading in the past & mainly reememb..."I loved Pumpkin Soup and Boris and Bella too David! I really enjoyed the friendship theme in Pumpkin Soup and I loved the gruesome images in Boris and Bella! I'm definitely looking forward to reading these two books over and over again!
Dora wrote: "Well, I just read Pumpkin Soup at my preschool storytime this morning and it was a HUGE hit! The kids had been really bouncy and goofy and I was afraid it wouldn't hold their attention, but boy, th..."I just read Pumpkin Soup Dora, and I really enjoyed it!! I loved the illustrations and I loved the characters, especially Duck! I agree that the scene where Duck leaves the cabin was a little heartwarming since we can see how much Cat and Squirrel really cared about the Duck. I'm definitely looking forward to reading this book over and over again!
Kathryn wrote: "Well, I searched around online and pulled together a few recipes to make my own vegan version of PUMPKIN SOUP!!! Here's what I used:Vegan Pumpkin Soup
1 TBSP margarin
1 medium onion, chopped
..."
That recipe sounds great Kathryn!! I'll have to try it out sometime!!
For those of you who had read Pumpkin Soup, but don't have the original recipe for how to make Pumpkin Soup, here is the recipe:Pumpkin Soup (makes 4 servings)
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cans (14 ½ ounces each) chicken broth
2 ½ cups water
2 pounds pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes (about 5 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup milk
1. In a deep pot, sauté the chopped onion in the butter over medium heat until it’s golden in color
2. Add the chicken broth, water, pumpkin cubes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin cubes are soft
3. Remove from heat and puree the mixture in a blender or food processor, then return to the saucepan
4. Add the milk to the puree and bring to a boil over medium heat.
5. Adjust seasonings – you may wish to add a pipkin more of salt – and serve
Ronyell wrote: "For those of you who had read Pumpkin Soup, but don't have the original recipe for how to make Pumpkin Soup, here is the Thank you so much Ronyell for posting the recipe! I will try this. I may try it with the white pumpkin we picked up at the patch. :) Very nice of you to take the time to post this.
You're welcome Crystal! Glad to help!! :)
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Thank you so much Ronyell for posting the recipe! I will t..."
Thanks for posting the recipe, Ronyell, another one to try. I will likely use non-dairy milk (like almond milk), vegetable broth and olive oil instead of the milk, chicken broth and butter listed.
It does sound yummy and certainly perfect for the season. Thanks for posting Ronyell.
Mod
That's a great point about the little details/clues in the illustrations, David! Glad this one was a good read-aloud for you and I, too, am looking forward to hearing how the "Boris and Bella" read-aloud goes :-)
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Thank you, Ronyell!
You're welcome everyone!!! Glad to help! :D
I just read the following books:Fletcher and the Falling Leaves: I thought this book was really cute and I really loved the ending of the book, since the illustration of what the tree looks like in the winter was just truly beautiful!!!
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything: This book was alright, but it felt too predictable for me, especially about the idea of clothes running after you, it just didn't feel spooky enough.
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I'm a Fletcher fan to but wasn't as huge a fan of the follow up book.I think that's a great aspect of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything: it's not too scary. I've known kids who have a lot to be scared of who like it because it's one time they can be less scared than someone else, in this case the lady, the lady who usually isn't even scared.
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Yes, the spring blossoms just wasn't as special, for me. I hope the magic can be reclaimed in the new winter story
Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas
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Me too, especially if you live by yourself and have left the closet light on (I swear it looked just like a lurking stranger, but all it was, was an outfit I was going to wear to a party).
Kathryn wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I'm a Fletcher fan to but wasn't as huge a fan of the follow up book."Yes, the spring blossoms just wasn't as special, for me. I hope the magic can be reclaimed in the new winter sto..."
I didn't know that there were sequels to Fletcher and the Falling Leaves! I'll have to check those sequels out!
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I am also glad to know that The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything was a hit with your daughter. When I read it, I thought it would be perfect for a read-aloud, especially with kids who like to say words along with you since they are such fun words to say and the text is so cumulative! Did anyone guess the surprise on the last page? I thought it was a fun, nice way to give a happy ending to a book that might otherwise have been rather scary for some kids.