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Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for joining us for the Carnival of Children’s Literature between bites of turkey and pie. (I’m guessing you’ve escaped the crowd, noise, heat, and football game watching by sneaking away to look at blogs. Can’t blame you. We all need a little quiet time during the busy holidays.)

This month’s theme was “What are you thankful for in children’s literature?”

Here’s who stopped by and participated:

1. Jennifer presents The Carnival of Children’s Literature posted at So love is hard And love is tough.
2. DeputyHeadmistress presents Coloured Plate from How and Where We Live posted at The Common Room.
3. J presents Thinking About… » posted at Thinking About….
4. Michele presents Carnival of Children’s Literature 9 - Giving Thanks posted at Scholar’s Blog.
5. Cynthia Leitich Smith presents cynsations: Editor Interview: Yolanda LeRoy of Charlesbridge posted at cynsations.
6. Erin presents Revisiting Alice posted at Miss Erin.
7. Pam Coughlan presents Round-About Thankfulness posted at MotherReader.
8. Mitali Perkins presents Trick or What? Santa Who? posted at Mitali’s Fire Escape.
9. Jen Robinson presents What I’m Thankful for in Children’s Literature posted at Jen Robinson’s Book Page.
10. Gregory K. presents A little library business posted at GottaBook.
11. Jone presents What I am Thankful in Children?s Literature posted at Check It Out.
12. grace presents a wrung sponge: Year of the Dog posted at cloudscome.
13. Susan Thomsen presents Reading with a Second Grader 11.14.06 posted at Chicken Spaghetti.
14. Little Willow presents slayground: The Baby-Sitters Club: What the BSC Means to Me posted at Bildungsroman.
15. Liz B presents Jingle Dancer posted at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy.
16. Elena LaVictoire presents A review of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder posted at My Domestic Church.
17. Lisa presents Thankful for Children’s Literature posted at Passionately Curious.
18. Nancy presents Thankful for the Language posted at Journey Woman.
19. Marika presents Roald Dahl - Wicked Bedtime Reading posted at Mellow Creme Pets.
20. Paul Acampora presents Friends in the library posted at Paul Acampora’s LiveJournal.
21. Wendy Betts presents Value Added Children’s Books, Part II posted at Blog from the Windowsill.

I’m so impressed with how many people participated. Thank you all so very much!!!

Technorati tags: giving thanks, children’s literature, blog carnivals

O.K., so you’re busy at work prepping for the Thanksgiving meal. You need to clean the house, too, which is quite a challenge because the kids have been home all week on Thanksgiving break. So what do you do? Get ‘em out of the house. After all, that’s what grandparents and aunts and uncles are for.

Here’s some ideas on what to get them to do:

• Go see Happy Feet - it’s fantastic! Since my husband is gone until Thanksgiving day (he’s hunting in Wisconsin) I took the kids to go see it. This is beginning to be a yearly tradition since he always leaves around the time a great children’s movie gets released (last year it was Narnia).
• If it’s good weather, go for a hike. If it’s not, go to the local Y or rec center and go swimming. If you have relatives staying at a nearby hotel - and they have access to a pool - send your family over there for a couple of hours.
• Order in, get take out, or eat out. Honestly, you’re doing enough cooking as it is!
• Visit your local library. Stock up on FREE videos and Thanksgiving books. Find some you can read aloud and share as a family.
• Send the family over to your local mass retailer and stock up on board games like Monopoly, UNO, Scrabble, and Life. Lots of great sales out there.
• If you don’t have family visiting, but still need kids out of the way or occupied, hire a preteen babysitter, like the son or daughter of a friend or a kid in the neighborhood. Their mom is trying to get them out of the way, too, and they’ll be needing Christmas cash. Since you’ll be home cooking or cleaning, you can keep an eye on things, too.

Assuming that you’re the one who does all the cooking, have your spouse take the kids and relatives out for dinner. You get to stay home! Light some candles, put on some relaxing music, take a hot bath, and have a glass of wine or herbal tea. Relax and gather your strength. Get to bed early, too. You have a busy day tomorrow - good luck!

Technorati tags: family fun, activities, games, movies

You’ve probably already done your grocery shopping and you’re preparing some Thanksgiving dishes ahead of time. But what are you going to do to keep the kids occupied and out of the kitchen? Why not try some of these craft ideas:

• FamilyFun.com has a huge section on Thanksgiving decoration crafts. Keep the kids busy making Hatband Napkin Rings or Pilgrim Place Cards.
• Kaboose has all kinds of Thanksgiving crafts. The one I really liked was Bouquet of Thanks. You have the kids make leaf cards. As guests arrive, ask them to write what they are thankful for inside. Just before dinner, have everyone choose a card from the bouquet and take turns reading them out loud.
• Sherri Osborn at About.com has many ideas for Thanksgiving crafts as well. If you’re traveling, you’ll appreciate her ideas for simple travel games and activities. Her Thanksgiving Dinner Place Setting Craft includes printables that the kids can cut out and decorate.

Remember, keep it easy and inexpensive. Don’t expect masterpieces. Get the relatives involved. (What else are they doing but sitting around drinking all your booze?) Most of all have fun, be creative, and keep those darn kids away from that hot stove top!

Technorati tags: giving thanks, Thanksgiving, crafts, crafts

Oh my gawd, it’s the Monday before Thanksgiving and I still haven’t decided what I’m going to make! I’m in a bit of a panic, which is pretty lame considering that all I’m making is dessert. But there are so many pumpkin dessert choices out there, I don’t know which one to pick. (Maybe I should stop buying ALL the November cooking magazines - too much pressure)

But then I remember our dinner two years ago. We were over at the Waugh’s, where we’ll be this year as well. Everyone was so full from the appetizers, drinks, and dinner that people barely touched the three desserts I made.

So this year I’m not going to stress about it. Instead, I’ll do a couple of low key desserts. First, for the kids I’m going to make the Egg Free Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chips from AllRecipes.com. A friend made this at a recent playdate for Lucie, and they were delicious. Watch out though, because the recipe makes 8-10 dozen cookies - you may want to cut it in half.

Egg Free Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Makes 8-10 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups white sugar
2. 1 cup shortening (I’m going to use a no trans-fatts type of shortening from the health food store
3. 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5. 4 cups all-purpose flour
6. 2 teaspoons baking soda
7. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8. 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cream the sugar, shortening, pumpkin and vanilla together. Mix until light and well combined.
3. Mix the flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Let cookies cool on a rack.

(Photo courtesy of Crystal W. at AllRecipes.com.)

Then for the pie, I will make either the traditonal pumpkin pie recipe from the Libby’s label or Kahlua Pumpkin Pie. I made the Kahlua version a couple of years ago and really liked it.

But if I was really inspired, I’d try making these desserts:

• Coffee Molasses Shoofly Pie at Epicurious.com
• Harvest Pie from Cooking Light
• Pumpkin-orange mascarpone pie from Sunset magazine
• Super Simple Pumpkin Tiramisu from Bon Appetit

Technorati tags: giving thanks, pumpkin, pie, recipes

It’s lovely when readers suggest books and recipes. It’s practically like the posts write themselves (well almost). Beth at Bethinclaus wrote to tell me about the pumpkin empanadas recipe in The Empanadas That Abuela Made by Diane Gonzales Bertrand. Not only that, but she typed up the recipe and the story as well:

These are the happy faces
who eat empanadas
and drink the milk
poured by Abuela
who feeds the family
who comes with the cousins
who chase the dog
that follows Abuelo
who hugs the grandchildren
who push the rolling pin
that rolls out the dough
that folds over the pumpkin
for the empanadas that Abuela made.

So please visit Beth at her blog, Bethinclaus, say hi, and tell her that A Readable Feast sent you. Better yet, try this delicious recipe below.

Abuela’s Empanada Recipe

Filling:

1. 4 cups of cooked pumpkin
2. 1 1/2 cups sugar
3. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
4. 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5. 1/4 stick of margarine
6. 1/4 teaspoon ginger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and simmer carefully until thick consistency (about 30 minutes to one hour) and set aside to cool.

Dough:

1. 4 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. 1 cup butter-flavored shortening
4. 1 to 1 1/4 cups aniseed tea, or water

Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With fingers, add and blend in shortening.
2. Pour water or tea slowly into flour mixture, kneading the dough.
3. Knead until it is well blended and smooth. (The dough should be greasy but not sticky. If sticky, dust with flour and knead again.)
4. Shape dough into a ball. Cover the bowl and set aside for thirty minutes.
5. Then divide into two-dozen smaller balls. Set aside for another ten minutes to make dough easier to handle.
6. Roll out each ball into a thin circle on a cutting board. Spoon filling down the middle of the circle. Fold in half like a turnover. Seal the edges and press down on them with a fork. Use the fork to prick 3-4 times across the empanada’s center. For better browning, brush the top and edges of the empanadas with milk.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the center and the edges are golden brown. Place on cooling rack.

Empanadas are delicious when they’re warm from the oven. They also freeze well and can be baked ahead of time for a family gathering.

Picture is courtesy of Pasqualinonet.com.ar via The Gourmet Sleuth, who also has terrific recipes for Pumpkin Flan and Sweet Pumpkin Tamales. Who knew you could use pumpkin in so many Mexican dishes?

Technorati tags: giving thanks, pumpkin, children’s books, recipes