I gave my son a copy of Chris Monroe's "Monkey with a Tool Belt" for his 5th birthday in November. He enjoyed it so much, I picked up her second book, "Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem" for him for Hanukkah.
My son loves the book's main character, Chico Bon Bon, and shares stories about him -- from the books and ones he makes up on his own -- with his own stuffed monkey, Loggy. He will sit for many minutes, examining all the tools on Chico's tool belt or tracing the path the organ grinder took when he kidnapped Chico or when Chico escaped to a bus stop.
He's puzzled by how someone as smart as Chico Bon Bon could be lured into a trap by a plastic banana split or why the organ grinder uses a vacuum cleaner when he makes dinner. And he loves to imitate sounds like, "Arooga, boom boom, clang, clang."
I love how, in each book, Chico comes up with a detailed 12-step plan to solve the problem at hand, and that includes using many tools and some math.
I highly recommend both books, especially for 5-year-old boys and their moms and dads.
And a couple more memorable books from recent library visits: Stone Soup as retold by Jon Muth and The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (Chris Van Allsburg). As with any of Van Allsburg's books, the story is entrancing and the illustrations superb.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Mashed potatoes and 3-D movies
My 5-year-old son experiences a number of firsts, which we duly celebrate, mark on calendars, write about in Web postings, and retell of to relatives and friends.
But as I near the half-century mark, I'm surprised by the number of firsts I still experience. Just this past week, I added seeing my first movie in 3-D and making mashed potatoes to my list of life experiences.
So how have I managed to never have made mashed potatoes in all my 48 years? I was pondering this with my exercise buddy the other day. I believe I know why.
When I watched my mother make mashed potatoes as a little girl, it was always at that critical time when she was trying to get all of the food ready and onto the table -- as well as get everyone to the table -- before the food cooled.
My questions of how much milk or butter to put in the potatoes would be answered by a frustrated-sounding, "You just know." And she never seemed satisfied -- "too lumpy" or "too runny" or "not enough salt," she would say -- as she critiqued the finished product. I and the rest of my family gobbled them up, oblivious.
But I grew up believing making mashed potatoes was one of the hardest things to do. When I hosted Thanksgiving dinners and guests asked what they could bring or do, I always offered for someone else to make the mashed potatoes. I satisfied my own mashed potato cravings with baked potatoes smothered in butter.
Last month, as I was mashing potatoes for knishes, I realized how close I was to making real mashed potatoes. It didn't seem that difficult. So I made some this week. The verdict: slightly lumpy and not enough salt.
But as I near the half-century mark, I'm surprised by the number of firsts I still experience. Just this past week, I added seeing my first movie in 3-D and making mashed potatoes to my list of life experiences.
So how have I managed to never have made mashed potatoes in all my 48 years? I was pondering this with my exercise buddy the other day. I believe I know why.
When I watched my mother make mashed potatoes as a little girl, it was always at that critical time when she was trying to get all of the food ready and onto the table -- as well as get everyone to the table -- before the food cooled.
My questions of how much milk or butter to put in the potatoes would be answered by a frustrated-sounding, "You just know." And she never seemed satisfied -- "too lumpy" or "too runny" or "not enough salt," she would say -- as she critiqued the finished product. I and the rest of my family gobbled them up, oblivious.
But I grew up believing making mashed potatoes was one of the hardest things to do. When I hosted Thanksgiving dinners and guests asked what they could bring or do, I always offered for someone else to make the mashed potatoes. I satisfied my own mashed potato cravings with baked potatoes smothered in butter.
Last month, as I was mashing potatoes for knishes, I realized how close I was to making real mashed potatoes. It didn't seem that difficult. So I made some this week. The verdict: slightly lumpy and not enough salt.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Simple winter pleasures
Sipping hot chocolate and Irish cream on your exercise buddy's warm couch after a half-hearted, half-hour icy walk on the Lakewalk.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Editor please
My husband received this fortune in his fortune cookie today:
"Be patient! The Great Wall didn't got build in one day."
We've been pondering the deeper meaning here, but so far can only conclude it's either an editing error or translation error.
"Be patient! The Great Wall didn't got build in one day."
We've been pondering the deeper meaning here, but so far can only conclude it's either an editing error or translation error.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
"Pride and Prejudice" revisited
Do you ever wonder what happened to Mr. Darcy and Eliza Bennet after they married? At the library, I discovered the book "Pemberley, or Pride and Prejudice Continued."
Author Emma Tennant does a fair job representing Jane Austen's beloved characters in a scenario that brings the entire Bennet, Darcy, Bingley and de Bourgh families together for the first Christmas since the weddings.
It's full of family rivalries, jealousies, misunderstandings, and of course, Mr. Darcy's propensity toward pride and the new Mrs. Darcy's propensity toward prejudice.
If you're a diehard Austen fan, you may not want to bother. But if you have a desire to continue the saga and are willing to grant the author some leniency, I recommend the book.
Of course, I have "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters", both recent gifts to me, awaiting.
Author Emma Tennant does a fair job representing Jane Austen's beloved characters in a scenario that brings the entire Bennet, Darcy, Bingley and de Bourgh families together for the first Christmas since the weddings.
It's full of family rivalries, jealousies, misunderstandings, and of course, Mr. Darcy's propensity toward pride and the new Mrs. Darcy's propensity toward prejudice.
If you're a diehard Austen fan, you may not want to bother. But if you have a desire to continue the saga and are willing to grant the author some leniency, I recommend the book.
Of course, I have "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters", both recent gifts to me, awaiting.
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