Paris party!

Let them eat cake!


Sweetness from Cafe Pray...
 
It's always fun to play with noses
on famous art...
They puzzled over my hand-drawn pieces of  Picasso's Woman & Bird


and then played "Pin the Nose on the Picasso"


After a scavenger hunt, and treats,
we made wee matchboxes des Paris.

Ah the joys of the small things in life!

Paper. Art-making. A clamor of cousins. Laughter. Balloons.
Joyeux anniversaire! Happy birthday!

Here's to finding joy in the small things and the good things, my friends!

Au revoir!
C'est la belle vie!
Swan song!

Books!

Adele and Simon by Barbara McClintock
The Iridescence of Birds by Partricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Hadley Hooper
Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter
A Giraffe Comes to Paris by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, ill. by Jon Cannell
Picasso and the Girl with the Ponytail by Laurence D'Anholt
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Aloha

A small friend is turning 6 in two weeks.

She lives across the country,  

and we can't make it to the luau party.

We can't come for cake and balloons and birthday hugs,

but we can send pineapples

and kitties

 

and fancy toothpicks.

 They're like tiny, paper aloha hugs.

 

So, in shuttling wildebeests to soccer camp lately, 

I have discovered a few good surprises 

in being the carpool soccer mom.

 Books on CD. 

Car-goofy kids.

And sketchbook time

 while all my soccer players 

do their runs and drills.

Big chunks of sketchbook time 

help when working out new ideas.

 It's funny that I can sketch happy around a crowd, 

but I can't write a drop.

My thoughts turn to stone and my stories sink.

 But then, that's kind of a theme for me with words anytime lately.

I know some writers who scribble serious magic 

in coffee shops and airplanes. 

What about you?

When do you do your deep story work?

Can you create masterpieces with everyone there?

Do you thrive with hum and buzz?

Or do you like a hush when you create?

 

Wherever you find yourself this week,
I wish you peaceful breezes, sweet surprises, and
aloha.

Books {and CD books} we're enjoying this week:

Captain Cat by Inga Moore

Dream Friends by You Byun

Ling and Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin

Ling and Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin

A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, ill. by Catia Chien

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin 

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko

The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof by Annie M. G. Schmidt 

 

 

Turtles, Caldecotts, and Blackberry Fools

I'd rather have a turtle, and I'd rather wear a mock turtle.

I'd rather cook with crockery than be a mockery. 

I'd rather party with Mock Caldecotts than with mock halibuts. 

And party we did!

- complete with book toothpicks and book inspired snacks:

sunflower seeds (If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson), 

honey and bread (Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall)

tiny sandwiches (The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone Roach), 

pretzel sticks and grape "stones" (Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld), 

dried mangoes (Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez).

Voters designed medals for the winning books.

Kids announced both the ALA winners, and our Mock Caldecott winners.
Our committee results:

Our Mock Caldecott Gold Medal :  Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond.

And then, honor awards for all eight of our runners up:

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich - by Julia Sarcone Roach
Mango, Abuela, and Me - by Meg Medina and Angela Dominguez
A Fine Dessert - by Emily Jenkins and Sophie Blackall
Thank You and Good Night - by Patrick McDonnell
If You Plant a Seed - by Kadir Nelson
The Whisper - by Pamela Zagarenski
In a Village by the Sea - Muon Van and April Chu

And then, the entire library voted on the People's Choice Award. 
The winner was Sonya's Chickens by Phoebe Wahl. 



In the book "A Fine Dessert," blackberry fool is made by four families, over four centuries, with different implements.
Our children's librarian Martha Ashenfelter had a brilliant idea.
Why not have our committee make the same dessert
using the same implements?

They loved it! 

Delicious!

They ate it up. Every speck. Every lick.  

What a sweet finish to a wonderful party.
Thank you, Martha.
Thank you, Mock Caldecott committee.
I hope we can talk and mock Caldecotts again soon.