Thursday, March 28, 2013

Authors #102, 103, 104, and 105 More Disney esp. 791.437!

 The Art of Disney Tangled by Jeff Kurtti

The Unofficial Guide: The Color Companion to Walt Disney World  by Bob Sehlinger

 And what would books be now days without DK books? The 791.437's, bringing us facts and infotainment in sound-bite book form!  Disney Tangled The Essential Guide by Barbara Bazaldua and  Disney Pixar Up The Insider's Guide by Laura Gilbert

And below there's the DK book on Disney Pixar Brave The Essential Guide by Barbara Bazaldua


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Authors #100 and 101 Disney JP

 Picture books are a Disney staple.  Clockwise from top left: Oz The Great and Powerful: The Witches of Oz by Scott Peterson, Oz The Great and Powerful: Movie Storybook by Scott Peterson, Phineas and Ferb Destination: Amazon! by (can you guess who?) (yep!) Scott Peterson, The Beauty of Nature by Andrea Posner-Sanchez
If Disney picture books are a staple then Disney princess picture books are practically a food group! 

All That Glitters is by Lara Bergen (who also writes about Disney fairies see authors-96-97-98-and-99-disney-jv-je-jf ) and Forever After has multiple authors.  (You can decide whether to consume in abundance or moderation; this consumption rate may depend upon the number of young girls or young-at-heart girls in the household.)

Another interesting tidbit: Disney has started printing books on recycled paper such as The Beauty of Nature and using certified sourcing for the text paper under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for Forever After.     

Can you name all the princesses pictured?  If you can, you've experienced the influence of Disney.  Which can be a good and a bad thing depending on what such influence inspires or discourages you to do.  Remember that much of the conversation (casual and usually one-time occurrence)/dialogue (formal and on-going) and debate/agreement can be considered moot if you're going just for popcorn entertainment. 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Sunday Randomness #105: Mac & Cheese Pizza

 Above: Pizza box
To the right: uncooked frozen pizza
Bottom: cooked  macaroni and cheese pizza
 Now available in your grocer's freezer section for about $3!  Two perennial kid favorite dishes: macaroni and cheese and pizza.  It was pretty good-in fact the kids even ate all the leftovers but the general consensus was to only have this pizza occasionally and that the two dishes are still better on their own and not combined.

Disclaimer: We bought the pizza at a local grocery store and were not compensated in any way for our review.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Authors # 96, 97, 98, and 99 Disney JV, JE, JF

Continuing with the Disney theme: there are many, many, many Disney tie-ins.  Books are a great part of a larger merchandising endeavor.  The Step 1 book of Just Like Me from Pooh's Heffalump Movie is by Apple Jordan and is a JV-very easy juvenile reader with few words and maybe one sentence for every two pages.  The Step 2 book of Christmas Toys from Toy Story is by Jennifer Liberts Weinberg and is a JE-easy juvenile reader with about one to two easy sentences per page.  

These next two books are JF-juvenile fiction chapter books.  They may or may not have a few illustrations in with the chapters.  Cinderella: The Lost Tiara is by Kitty Richards.  A Masterpiece for Bess is by Lara Bergen.  There numerous Disney fairy and princess books to meet the wishes of readers of a variety of different reading levels.

Monday, March 11, 2013

February Bountiful Baskets 2013

 For fifteen dollars we received 2 yellow carrots, 3 purple carrots, 2 small eggplants, 3 grapefruit, 7 bananas, 6 Fuji apples, 8 oranges, 1 pineapple, 1 bag small golden potatoes plus two small loose golden potatoes, a bunch of broccoli, a red leaf lettuce, and a bunch of leeks.  (one of the purple carrots was an extra for volunteering)

We also bought a tropical pack for $10.50 with 3 Mexican limes, 1 Mexican pineapple, 2 USA lemons, a bunch of USA mint, a chunk of ginger from Thailand, 2 Peruvian mangos, 1 USA coconut, 2 USA kiwi, and 2 vanilla beans from Madagascar.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Author #95: Bill Peet drew for Disney


Chuckles abound in this entertaining autobiography by and about Bill Peet which also snagged awards as an ALA Notable Book and a Caldecott Honor Book.  The picture on the back is of: (L-R) Bill Peet, Walt Pfeiffer, and Walt Disney.  Mr. Peet worked for Disney for many years.  He worked on numerous Disney films and played a large role in the making of One Hundred and One Dalmatians.  He also wrote many books beloved by children and adults-including Eli, Ella and The Wump World.  His whimsical illustrations and character expressions have endeared him to fans around the world.  For more about his books and the films he helped make, visit: http://www.billpeet.net/    

Monday, March 04, 2013

Dowdle 300 piece puzzle Festival of Trees

The title pretty much sums up the puzzle.  Made through Dowdle Folk Art, this three hundred piece puzzle didn't take us too long to put together even though we were thrown off just a bit by the long rectangular shape rather than the more squarish rectangle of some other puzzles we've completed.  The puzzle had many different trees and costumes, making it a fun little one to finish as we put together different sections representing the Festival of Trees. Thanks to my friend for giving us the puzzle for Christmas one year!