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It must be the start of school, because I’ve never seen so many cool book and reading related activities going on. Here’s a roundup:

• The 40th anniversary of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders: You can join the online book discussion this month at the Barnes & Noble kid lit book club site.
• September 8 is International Literacy Day: International Literacy Day is a timely reminder to the world about the importance of literacy for individuals, families, communities and whole societies. The official celebration includes the awarding of the 2007 UNESCO literacy prizes to laureates from China, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United States of America. RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and Colgate’s Healthy Habits/Healthy Bed: The two organizations have joined forces to get wash, brush and read at bedtime. The website features tips for parents and activities for kids including starring in your own bedtime story. You can customize and create an adventure story online, then print it out for your child to keep. If you have kids who don’t like to brush their teeth, you may want to create a Healthy Habits Nightly Log.
• September 20 is Jumpstart’s Read for the Record: Jumpstart is asking Americans to support early education opportunities by reading The Story of Ferdinand together on September 20, 2007. They’re trying to break the record for the largest shared reading experience ever, which was set by 150,000 people on August 24, 2006 during the inaugural year of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.

Now what’s on the menu for lunch?

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Do you have a salt marsh near you? I grew up near one in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We had a field trip there in sixth grade, and I can still remember all the things I learned about including how to safely eat a prickly pear cactus. (Yes, there are wild cacti in on the Jersey Shore. Who knew?)

Sandy Hook is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and according to their fall newsletter, they’re having a salt marsh walk on November 3, 2007 at 2 p.m. If you live in the New York City/Jersey Shore area, you should check it out. Don’t forget to bundle up! I remember going fishing with my dad out on the ocean side of Sandy Hook in the winter, and boy was it windy and cold.

If you want to learn more about salt marshes, check out A Day in the Salt Marsh by Kevin Kurtz and illustrated by Consie Powell from Sylvan Dell Publishing. Rhyming verse introduces you and your child to marsh animals and plants. I really enjoyed how each page showed the hourly changes in the marsh as the tide comes and goes.

As with all Sylvan Dell books, a “For Creative Minds” section is at the end of the book. You can play a salt marsh plants and animals matching game or learn more about tides and tidal animals. (To view a PDF of the “For Creative Minds” section, click here. You can also download a PDF of a Teaching Activity Guide.)

A salt marsh is a great place to collect shells. So with that in mind, how about pairing the book with some edible stuffed shells courtesy of FamilyFun.com?

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Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat is her story of surviving the Six-Day War and growing up during the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

War as told through the eyes of a child is very powerful. You are amazed that while they are terrified, they find something good in all the suffering - animal friends, playing with siblings, stealing pastries, and going to a U.N. run school.

In a time when Islam has such a bad name, it’s wonderful that a book like Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood comes out to show people that kids are alike all over the world, no matter their religion or what language they speak. They want to feel safe, have their parents’ love…and not eat lentils.

(Click here for more YA novel reviews.)

In the book, Ibtisam mentions a dish her mother used to make with semolina flour, yogurt, sugar, slivered almonds, and sweet syrup. She called it basbooseh but I after doing an Internet search, the more common spelling seems to be basboosa. It’s also common in Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia.

The easiest recipe I found comes from Lubna at Allrecipes.com. She says she got it from her sister-in-law. Pay attention to the reviews as everyone had variations and tips on how they cooked up the recipe. Be forewarned though - it’s sweet!

Basboosa
Prep Time: 20 Minutes - Cook Time: 30 Minutes - Ready In: 50 Minutes
Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups semolina flour (semolina is the same as Cream of Wheat - don’t use the instant kind, however)
2. 1/2 cup white sugar
3. 1 cup plain yogurt
4. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
5. 3 tablespoons flaked coconut
6. 1 tablespoon baking powder
7. 6 whole almonds, split in half

Syrup:

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. 1 3/4 cups white sugar
3. 2 tablespoons rose water (you can substitute orange water as well - if you don’t have either, just make the sugar syrup and maybe add a little almond, orange or lemon extract)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the semolina flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, yogurt, oil, coconut, and baking powder. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the water, 1 3/4 cups sugar, and rosewater. Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the semolina batter into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan. Slice into squares or diamonds, and place on almond half onto each piece.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown. Switch the oven setting to broil, and broil until the top is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, and pour the syrup over the squares. Serve warm.

Picture courtesy of Tunisianswife, an Allrecipes.com reviewer.

Other Basboosa Recipes

• From Recipezaar.com
• Egyptian basboosa recipe
• Middle Eastern basboosa recipe from RecipeCottage.com
• Basboosa recipe from Lifespan of Chennette