New here? Then you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The FunPlaydates.com blog is doing a series of articles on starting a children’s book club. So far they’ve published:

• Tips for Starting a Kid’s Bookclub
• Running a Book Club

Tips for Choosing Your Books is coming soon. I’m looking forward to that post because my adult book club has a lengthy process for choosing books, and some months we regret our choices.

I like the idea of having a Monthly Minder - the person (kid, not adult) who gets the discussion going. And unlike adult book clubs, the Monthly Minder is not the Snack Minder. The person responsible for the snacks is a different child. Probably a good idea not to pile all the responsibility on one person.

Do you or child belong to a book club? Let us know by commenting below!

Dawn and Dusk by Alice Mead and Camel Rider by Prue Mason both deal with Middle Eastern war and political/social strife as seen through the eyes of children.

Camel Rider

Published by Charlesbridge, Camel Rider tells the story of spoiled, Australian expat Adam. When war breaks out, Adam’s parents are gone. He goes with neighbors to escape the country. He soon leaves the caravan in order to go back to his compound to save his dog, which was left behind. Soon lost and out of water, Adam meets Walid, an abused boy and camel jockey who has run away from his cruel masters. Neither speaks each other’s language, but they manage to help each other survive and become friends.

Camel Rider doesn’t get mired down in war or politics. Instead, it becomes a classic boy’s adventure tale complete with ships (well, camels and automobiles) and pirates (I mean, Walid’s former masters who kidnap Adam for ransom.) The language differences and misconceptions about each other’s culture provide some laughs, too. And of course there’s the happy ending - boys, dog and parents are reunited and there’s even a visit from the Prime Minister of Abudai. Recommended for ages 9-12.

(Download the discussion guide PDF. Or read a chapter from the book.)

Continue Reading »

How to Steal a Dog a YA (young adult) novel by Barbara O’Connor is about a young girl, Georgina Hayes, whose family has been living in their car after they were evicted from their apartment. With her mother working two jobs, Georgina tries to figure out how to get some money while looking after her younger brother. She spots a missing-dog poster and schemes a way to “borrow” a dog and get sone reward money of her own. For ages 9 to 12.

Even though How to Steal a Dog deals with the heavy subject of homelessness, it has the feel of an adventure. Georgia has to use her wits, bravery and intelligence to get out of embarrassing and scary situations.

I found How to Steal a Dog very entertaining and unlike many YA novels, there weren’t any taboo subjects like religion, abuse, sex or drugs. Instead, it was a heartwarming story that tells kids to follow their conscience and do what they think (and have been tought) is right.

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the book has won a 2007 Parents Choice Recommended Award. The Barbara O’Connor website includes a discussion guide PDF.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

During the pet food recalls I posted a recipe for dog biscuits. Kids get a real kick out of making treats for their four-legged friends. You could also donate a batch to your local food shelter (call first to make sure they’ll take homemade treats).

Gourmet Sleuth has a great selection of dog biscuit recipes. So does Two Dog Press. Dogaware.com has recipes for all kinds of doggie treats including Liver Brownies. Ewwww! I certainly won’t be tempted to lick the bowl when making that recipe.

Check out Amazon for fund dog biscuit cookie cutters, too!

(Click here for more YA novel reviews.)

In your area it may be too early for winter coats, hats, scarves and mittens. (It’s gotten cool enough here for sweatshirts in the morning.) With the start of school, we need to remind our kids not to lose their stuff, and A Mountain of Mittens by Lynn Plourde and illustrated by Mitch Vane is a great way to do this.

Honestly, if Nathan loses his gloves every week this year, I’m going to leave him in the lost and found box. Understandably, it was Lucie who really loved A Mountain of Mittens, especially the picture of Molly’s parents who look a lot like my husband and me. Here’s a story description:

Every morning Molly’s parents remind her to come home after school with her mittens, and every day Molly forgets. Nothing works — not Velcro, not crochet chains, not even duct tape! But, Molly is not alone. All the kids at school forget, and soon there is a mountain of mittens in lost-and-found that has grown out of control.

The Charlesbridge website has a great activity for collecting lost mittens, hats, coats and scarves to help kids in need. Your school or scouts probably already has an annual coat drive. A great way to announce and promote the drive would be a short storytime reading A Mountain of Mittens. The cost of admission would be a gently used warm winter clothing item.

Afterwards, take a picture of all the items you collected, and send it to trademarketing@charlesbridge.com. They may post it on their website!

Continue Reading »

Ziba Came on a Boat by Liz Lofthouse and illustrated by Robert Ingpen is a story of a young girl who escapes from war-torn Afghanistan on a refugee boat. As they travel, thoughts of home “washed over Ziba like the surge of the sea washing over the deck.” She remembers playing in the cold mountain air with her cousins, her mother weaving a rug, and her father telling stories.

As the boat tosses and turns, Ziba thinks about the fighting in her village and how she and her mother left running through the night. Falling asleep, she dreams about the smiling faces that will welcome them to a land without fear and with freedom.

The book is based on stories the author heard from Afghan refugees she works with in Perth, Washington. Kane/Miller Publishing recommends Ziba Came on a Boat for ages 5 to 9.

During Ziba’s journey, she looks back at she and her aunts preparing a meal, flatbread cooked in a tandur. But you can make flatbread, called noni, in a conventional oven, too.

Noni Afghani (Afghan Bread)

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cup warm water
2. 1 package (1/4 oz, 7 grams) dry yeast
3. 1 tablespoon sugar
4. 4 cups flour
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/4 cup corn oil
7. 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water
8. 1 tablespoon black cumin seed

Directions:

These small oval breads are baked in a Tandoor, the stove of the region. The Afghan oven is above ground and is made of rounded bricks, which are heated. Noni are shaped and put on the hot bricks for fast baking.

1. Mix 1/2 cup of warm water, yeast, and sugar together and let it proof for 10 min. When froth appears, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of flour on top. Let it continue to proof for 5 min more. The froth will rise quickly.
2. Put flour in a large mixing bowl & sprinkle salt over it. Make a well in middle of flour. Add oil and yeast mixture. Stir this in and add small amounts of water until you have produced a soft, moist dough that can be handled.
3. Knead well for 5 minutes. Then put dough ball back in bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise for 1-1/2 hours. Punch down dough.
4. Divide dough into 8 equal parts and roll each part into a ball. Roll each ball into a oval shape 6 to 7 inches long and1/2 inch thick. Draw tines of a fork in 3 lines along length of each noni for a decorative design.
5. Paint each noni w/egg mixture and sprinkle with1/2 teaspoon black cumin seeds. (Caraway seeds may be substituted if black cumin seed is unobtainable.)
6. Put noni on an ungreased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are brown.