Author 17: Susan Meddaugh w/ a talking dog!

Martha the dog eats alphabet soup and the letters go up to her brain instead of down into her stomach. She learns to talk and talk-even on the phone.

Granny Flo decides to take out 13 letters from Granny Elsie's Alphabet soup and Martha is no longer able to talk! She sets out to set Granny Flo straight thanks to the help of an employee at Granny's Soup Company.

Martha teaches Skits that you can still be special even if you're not a talking dog.


Susan Meddaugh's son came up with the idea during a lunch of alphabet soup. He wondered if the family dog, Martha (the inspiration for the books), would talk if they fed her some of the soup. The book version of Martha has gone on to star in her own show on PBS. For more information about the show, visit PBS.org. Susan Meddaugh is the author of about a dozen or so books and there's an interview at: http://www.patriciamnewman.com/meddaugh.html

Jesus Christ-Savior and Redeemer of the World

This post is to cover multiple authors along with the true meaning of Christmas and the two most important books we can read. At this time of year we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ-the Son of God who came to save us all.
Christ made it possible for all of us to be resurrected and provided us with the plan of salvation by which we can return to live with Him and Our Father in Heaven.
Jesus Christ by Carl Heinrich Bloch (detail from Christ with Boy)



Next I would submit that the two most important books we can read in a lifetime are The Book of Mormon and the Bible (but I would suggest reading more books in addition to these two such as The Pearl of Great Price, The Doctrine and Covenants and other great works both secular and religious). One can read the story of Jesus Christ in many books with some variations but for the holiday season I especially like the following four chapters:
Luke Ch. 1 and 2
Third Nephi Ch. 1 and 11

May everyone have a Merry Christmas and feel peace and joy in their hearts through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Love from our family to yours.

The Return of the Authors (for Christmas!)

(Come back next week for some sources that give us the true meaning of Christmas!)

Click on on this sentence for more on Marc Brown.
Christmas songs, snow, and Santa snacks.See more on Jan Brett by clicking on this sentence.
Make, Bake and Take some cookies to a friend or neighbor!

The Sandra Boynton post is just a click away! and....................


Click on this sentence to read about how candy canes are made by Spangler!

Click, clickety, click to see more on Caralyn Buehner.
To see some fantastic ice sculptures with pictures taken from start to finish, visit icealaska. Be sure and click on the "ice art photos by year" link on the left.

Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie

Pie shell with pecans. (Pie shell made from Lion House recipe.)

Eggs, sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients whisked together and about to be poured onto the pecans.
Pour.
More pouring (this looks so much better on the Pioneer Woman's site.)

The pecans magically rise to the top within seconds.

The finished pie. We actually made two of these pies and the first one turned out a golden brown just like the one on Ree Drummond's site but the second one (in the picture above) got a little over toasty. It still tasted pretty good, but the first pie was better. Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for another great recipe!

Authors 14,15, & 16: Christmas Secular Classics

The book below was written by Alan Benjamin. But the original idea for Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in verse by Robert L. May, a copywriter with the Montgomery Ward Company in 1939 (the store decided to develop and promote their own Christmas coloring booklet rather than buy the booklets from someone else as they had done in previous years). The song version was written by May's friend and brother-in-law, Johnny Marks and recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. Then came the television movie narrated by Burl Ives in 1964 and the classic lives on today.

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" is also called "A Visit From St.Nicholas" and was written in 1822 by Clement Clark Moore. A family friend sent the poem to the New York Sentinel where it was first published December 23, 1823. Moore did not claim ownership until it was included in a book of his poetry published in 1844. The poem is now considered a worldwide tradition.

What's your favorite version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? How the Grinch Stole Christmas was written by Dr.Seuss (Theodor Geisel) in 1957. The animated tv special narrated by Boris Karloff came out in 1966 with the live action film starring Jim Carrey in 2000. The book was written in part as a political commentary on the commercialization of Christmas and those that profit thereby. For more information visit www.seussville.com and www.catinthehat.org

Author/Illustrator 13: A Berenstain Christmas

Jan and Stan Berenstain have so many books out on so many subjects over so many years.......
So....to narrow it down a bit, I've picked a few of their Christmas books.

Just to give you a rough idea, their website lists over 80 First Time Storybooks alone (those are the thin paperback ones like The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV and The Berenstain Bears and the Truth and the one above on the right of The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear). They have dozens more including hardcover books and classic beginning readers.

Jan and Stan met in an art class in 1941. While Stan served in the Army during WWII, Jan served as a civilian doing engineering drawing and working as a riveter in an aircraft factory. They later married and had two sons. Their first book was published in 1962 and they continued to write many, many more books dealing with the challenges of family life. Stan passed away in 2005 at the age of 82 but Jan and their son Mike continue to write stories featuring Mama, Papa, Brother and Sister Bear. For more information about the Berenstain Bears, visit the official website at www.berenstainbears.com.