General
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Butter and Tortillas
Want to make a fun snack? How about making your own tortilla and slathering it with homemade butter? Here’s how:
BUTTER:
Butter only needs one ingredient: heavy whipping cream. You will also need a glass jar with a tight lid. You can use a clean, dry baby jar, or a canning jar with a lid and ring.
No matter what size jar you use, only fill it up halfway with the cream.
Tighten the lid securely and start to shake it as hard as you can for as long as you can. It might take over ten minutes to separate into butter and buttermilk (the liquid left over), so it helps to have some friends over so you can trade off shaking. Maybe set a timer and challenge your friends make up silly words to a song while you shake, shake, shake. Dancing helps!
It might not look like anything is happening for a while, but soon enough you will see a lump forming in the liquid. Keep shaking until there is a clear separation of butter and liquid.
Once the separation has happened, pour off the liquid (or save it for another recipe that calls for buttermilk, like biscuits!). You can mush in a little salt to the butter, so it has more taste.
Now it’s time to make tortillas!
TORTILLA:
Ingredients:
2 cups masa harina (a special corn flour)
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ cups warm water
In a medium bowl, stir the masa and salt together. Then pour the warm water in and stir until it is mixed and smooth. Cover your dough with plastic wrap and set it aside for about 30 minutes.
Take the dough and divide it into 12 pieces and roll them into balls.
This part needs someone who is safe to use and supervise the stove.
Heat a cast iron skillet until it is very hot. Take one dough ball at a time and flatten it out with your hands, pressing the heel of your hand in a circle so the dough looks like a tortilla.
Cook them one at a time for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. The edges should be a little brown. Do this one by one, keeping the warm tortillas folded in a cotton dish towel.
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Pack Horse Librarians
Can you imagine riding your horse or mule over 100 miles each week, crossing steep terrain, hooves slipping on treacherous footing on barely discernable trails, perhaps with drop-offs hundreds of feet just beside you? Yikes! How about crossing icy waters that made your boots freeze to your stirrups—all the while packing up to 100 books and hoping that your horse didn’t trip on submerged rocks and dump you into the water? What if you rounded a turn and came face-to-face with a wild animal?
That’s exactly what librarians braved in the early 1900’s through 1943. The dedicated women of The Pack Horse Library Project delivered books to families in remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains where there was no access to books. Because of these women and their equine partners, children and their parents were able to expand their knowledge of the world. Books lit up their imaginations, allowing them to dream of possibilities that they might never have known otherwise. Some families even began donating recipes and quilting patterns to share, bringing families miles away closer to each other in friendship.
I found this information and much more on a Wikipedia link—more information than I could share here.
I can hardly believe that 63 counties in Kentucky had no libraries at all when today we can buy and borrow books via our computers and tablets within seconds.
There were abundant challenges for the Pack Horse Women and for their trusted equines. The women received paychecks, but I suspect that their reward came from seeing the shining faces of families as they sorted through new selections of books. I can hear the shouts of joy when someone found just the book they wanted. If it was me, I would’ve been looking for any ‘horse book’ first—of course.
I encourage researching the Wikipedia page to learn more about these dedicated librarians and to find links to books written on this subject, including The Giver of Stars, a historical fiction Best Seller for which Universal Pictures has purchased movie rights.
In the meantime, I think I’ll head out back to see my horses and tell them about how their ancestors helped expand the world of readers back in the day. They always like a good story.
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Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid)
Scare yourself silly with Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney, the #1 international bestselling author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
Grab a flashlight, crawl under the covers, and dive into the twisted, unexpectedly hilarious world of Rowley Jefferson’s imagination. You’ll meet zombies, vampires, ghosts, and much more in these comically terrifying tales.
Rowley’s spooky stories might leave you laughing, but beware—you could end up sleeping with the lights on!
And don’t miss Rowley Jefferson’s first two awesome friendly books, the instant #1 bestsellers Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s Journal and Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure!
For readers 8-14.
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Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom (Cookie Chronicles)
Meet Ben, a literal-minded kid with a big heart and an even bigger sweet-tooth, who cracks open a fortune cookie and discovers that TODAY might be his last day on Earth! Perfect for fans of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID or THE TERRIBLE TWO.
Live each day as if it were your last.
When Ben reads his fortune-cookie fortune, he’s alarmed and inspired. Immediately, he begins drafting a bucket list of unfinished tasks and lifelong dreams (finish his 1000-piece model of the Taj Mahal, eat an entire cake, etc….). As Ben marches himself in and out of trouble, takes useful risks, and helps both his parents to see the bigger picture, readers discover how something that seems scary can instead be empowering–leading to friendships that might never have been made, neighbors that might never have been known, and apple pies that might otherwise never have been baked.
Written by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by Robbi Behr this is for readers 8-12.
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The Snow Queen
I have always loved all kinds of fairy tales, and even as a grown-up I have an extensive collection of them from around the world. There are many I cherish, but by far my favorite has always been The Snow Queen by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. I’m not the only one who loves this story. It has been told in many forms from plays, ballets, operas, and even a video game.
It is the story of a little boy and girl who grow up next to one another and are very close. But the boy is struck by a very tiny and evil splinter in his eye and his heart. It makes him cold and mean. His vision is twisted so he only sees the evil in people. While out in the snow playing with his friends, he is taken by the Snow Queen to her Ice Palace, far up north. The girl travels for a very long time and over many lands to find him. Her tears of joy and sadness melt his heart and wash away the splinters. They are reunited and he is able to love her again.
What captivates me the most every time I reread this story is the steadfast love the little girl has for her friend. She must escape the eternal Spring of a witch, convince a Robber Girl to help her, and travel on the back of a reindeer to a cold and scary Ice Palace. But she never wavers in her journey to save him.
I would like to think I would do the same for those I love. My family and friends are the most important part of my life, and even if they were somehow hit by a flying splinter of a magical mirror that makes them see the world in a twisted way, I would love them anyway. I would never give up on them.
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Starfish
Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse by author Lisa Fipps
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world.
In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.
This is for readers 10-13
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Lady’s Blue Ribbon
She was a little girl’s dream horse—a deep golden palomino with three white socks, a diamond star on her forehead, a white strip streaming like a comet tail down her delicate face. Her mane and tail were silky white. She was so perfect—she looked like a Barbie Doll horse.
She loved to be groomed and petted and fussed over. She loved to compete in horse shows, where she always tried to be perfect—and almost always was. She practiced and trained at home and performed just that way when at shows—relaxed and confident, not a bundle of nerves (like I sometimes was).
Yep, that was my darling Lady Diamond Cut. I wasn’t a little girl anymore but I felt like one whenever I spent time with her. Which was almost always.One day at a show I discovered something very endearing about Lady.
That day, the officials changed the order in which they announced awards. Instead of starting with first place they started with the lower-place ribbons.
Lady and I were lined up with the other riders at the end of our first class. The announcer began to call out the placings—eighth, seventh, sixth. Smiling contestants rode their horses forward and accepted their ribbons.
About the time fifth place was announced, I noticed that Lady had been watching each of the horses and riders called forward, then swinging her head left and right, considering each of the horses remaining in the line-up.
At fourth place she moved a hoof restlessly, then stomped. So unlike her to do so.
I leaned forward and stroked her neck. “What’s up, Lady?”
She blew air out of her nostrils forcefully when the next rider was called forward.
Then I knew what was up.
Used to being called out first or second, Lady couldn’t understand why she was still in the line-up. When we were finally called forward to accept our first place prize and blue ribbon, she eagerly stepped forward.
Could Lady tell the difference in the color of the ribbons? I don’t know. But she sure understood what it meant when we were awarded a prize. As the day progressed Lady stood quiet and confidently in the line-up until they announced us in the higher places.
This story may seem fanciful but I assure you it’s true. There’s so much about our wonderful horses, their thoughts and their feelings and more, that we can learn about and appreciate.
Even though I’ve had some of my horses for more than fifteen years, I have no doubt they are wondering how much longer it will take for me to really know them.
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Rivals
From Tommy Greenwald, the author of the award-winning Game Changer, comes a gripping novel about two student-athletes searching for stardom, a young reporter searching for the truth, and a cross-town basketball rivalry that goes too far.
The people of Walthorne love their basketball—and one of the things they love most is the special rivalry between the Walthorne North Middle School Cougars and the Walthorne South Middle School Panthers. As the season begins, two star players are feeling the heat: Austin Chambers, captain of Walthorne North, worries that he’s not good enough to live up to his father’s legacy, while across town, the brilliantly talented Carter Haswell, captain of Walthorne South, is already under pressure to get a scholarship that might ease his family’s financial stress.
While both boys do whatever they can to make sure their team wins, Alfie Jenks, a school sports reporter, discovers that behind-the-scenes scandals are just as much a part of youth sports as on-the-court action. When she blows the story wide open, the whole season is jeopardized.
Told through a series of flashbacks, newspaper reports, social media posts, and interviews, Rivals will have readers tearing through the pages to see what happens next—and asking themselves if winning has become more important than doing the right thing.
For readers 10-14.
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Upside-down Drawing
I have always believed people who can draw were magical wizards with a secret power only a few had–and to be honest, I still think that. Artists look at the world in a different way. They see color and shapes and perspective and are able to transform what their eye sees onto images on a flat piece of paper or canvas.
But there are some techniques artists use that everyone can learn. One of them is upside-down drawing. Start in a quiet place where you can work. Find a picture that you would like to draw (maybe an animal or a house or a picture of a person), a piece of paper, and a pencil. Then turn the drawing upside down and try not to see “giraffe” or “cat.” Instead focus on the shapes you actually see. How do the lines fit together? Where do the lines form spaces? Start drawing these lines and shapes.
Keep concentrating on the lines and shapes and not the idea of “house” or “person.” You might find you lose yourself in the task of fitting the lines and shapes together. Only when you are satisfied you have drawn all the pieces should you turn your drawing right side up. How did you do?
This exercise helps your brain to stop seeing the “idea” of an object and seeing all the pieces of the actual object in front of you. Everything you need when you draw something is right in front of you. You only need to practice looking carefully.
Maybe you truly are one of those magical wizards—an artist!
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Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature
In this humorous, mystery-solving graphic novel series Sherlock Bones and his ragtag team hunt down a swamp monster!
Sherlock Bones’ home, the Natural History Museum, has added an exciting new exhibit, Reef to Shore, that includes a mangrove forest and shallow coral reef habitat, with touch tanks in between. When Sherlock overhears a that a swamp monster has been sighted, he gathers his team to investigate. At first Sherlock Bones suspects Nivlac, a quirky octopus with a talent for camouflage—and tank pranks.
But then, loud bellowing leads Bones and team to the mangroves, where they find a horrifying long-haired green beast! Can they escape the creature—or is it too late for our frogmouth bird skeleton and his ragtag mystery-solving team?
Great for readers 8-12.
Yep, that was my darling Lady Diamond Cut. I wasn’t a little girl anymore but I felt like one whenever I spent time with her. Which was almost always.
