Author #121: Deborah Noyes shares a tale of Chinese silk

 Even if the exact history of the travels of silkworms is not known, this book gives a reasonable hypothesis of the possibility of the silkworm traveling to Khotan with the Princess.  Deborah Noyes wrote Red Butterfly and Sophie Blackall did the illustrations with Chinese ink and watercolor.

The fourth batch of authors (up to 120!)

First batch of authors 

Second batch of authors

Third batch of authors


Fourth batch of authors:

• Alexander, Sue
• Anderson, Julie
• Auch, Mary Jane
• Barrett, Judi and Ron 
• Barretta, Gene
• Bazaldua, Barbara 
• Bergen, Lara 
• Bolden, Tonya
• Cocca-Leffler, Maryann
• Demi
• Donaldson, Julia
• Fleischman, Paul
• Frankel, Erin
• Gilbert, Laura 
• Jordan, Apple 
• Kurtti, Jeff
• Lepp, Bil
• Napoli, Donna Jo
• Nivola, Claire 
• Peet, Bill 
• Peterson, Scott 
• Posner-Sanchez, Andrea 
• Richards, Kitty 
• Schubert, Leda
• Sehlinger, Bob 
• Stewart, Melissa
• Telchin, Eric
• Tobin, Jim
• Weinberg, Jennifer
• Winter, Jeanette

Author #120: The Multiplication of One Grain of Rice with Demi

And this is why you never agree to do one minute of homework at the beginning of the school year, with the homework doubling each class period.  One Grain of Rice by Demi  is an clear way to teach about the power of exponents. Rick Regan explains it far better than I ever could in his post on the exploring binary website: http://www.exploringbinary.com/1073741823-grains-of-rice/

Sunday Randomness #316: Old phones and it's a table not a desk

I found this old ad for phones-note the sale ended on January 14, 1984.  So these were the new styles and models when I was in school.  Just thought it was something fun to reminisce about with all the changes.  

 

 It's a table not a desk! For this second section of the post I really should have posted this last year when Mica was at this particular apartment up at school.  These pictures were taken at the end of the semester but the incident happened at the beginning of the Spring semester 2013.  Her roommate had a "desk"  (table imitating a desk) like the one on the top and Mica's side had no desk.   I asked about a desk with drawers, saying that in my experience a desk had drawers.  The complex manager said they might have some old desks with drawers out back and the facilities people found Mica one of the last ones.  

Yes, it's beat up but Mica much preferred her old beat up desk with drawers than the new desk without drawers (table imitating a desk).  Maybe this complex has gone back to traditional desks-either that or they haven't updated their promotional photos to reflect that tables have replaced the desks.  I maintain that a desk should have at least one drawer (if not multiple drawers) otherwise I think it's a table not a desk.  

And we leave you with more semantics with this "Monkey" video from Bob and Larry:

Author #119: Do symbols mean anything? Jim Tobin changes an inappropriate word

I laughed aloud while reading this distinctly distinguished picture book: The Very Inappropriate Word by Jim Tobin and illustrated by Dave Coverly.  I look forward to looking up more books by both author and illustrator.  This is one of those books I would seriously consider buying for our personal library.

Micheal collects words.  One day he hears an inappropriate word and what happens next is all too common and hilarious in that awkward kind of way.   What Michael's teacher does in response to the word being said in her classroom promotes how we can bring out the best in others, letting the inappropriate fall by the wayside.  This is also a top-notch book to show the advantages of a wide vocabulary.   The illustrations are done to exemplify the words written, emphasizing the meaning.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Oven Roasted Vegetables P.39 VV5th RS cookbook

1 med. zucchini
1 med. summer squash
1 med. red bell pepper
1 med. yellow bell pepper
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1 red onion
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Cut all the vegetables into bite-size pieces.  Place them in a  large roasting pan.  Toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix to coat.  Spread in a single layer in the pan.  Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.  (May take longer depending on how soft you like your vegetables.)

Cook's note:  We did not have the red onion which I think would have been a great addition but we did double up on the squash and we only used a few shakes of salt so you could definitely do salt and pepper to taste.  This was a really good easy recipe and we just mixed everything in a bowl and then roasted the veggies on a rimmed cookie sheet.

Author #118: Round the world with Cinderella and Paul Fleischman

 

Paul Fleischman brings the Cinderella story to new heights in Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal with illustrations by Julie Paschkis.  This delightful version features snippets of the Cinderella story from different countries including China, Indonesia, Ireland and Zimbabwe plus many others.  Along with the main illustrations there are intricate backgrounds such as the one featured on the front cover and hidden in the backgrounds are the names of the countries for the snippet and main picture on a particular page.  Some pages are broken into bands with multiple countries featured such as a page with parts of the story from Russia, Iran and India.  It's a whimsical telling of a popular fairy tale with great illustrations.

Author #117: Melissa Stewart substantiates the symbiosis in forests with cocoa trees

Intricately paced from chocolate to cocoa pods to leaves and roots, No Monkeys, No Chocolate traces the path to an abundant harvest of cocoa beans as we meet the many different characters who each play a integral part in helping a cocoa tree to be the most productive it can be.  By contrast, on typical cocoa farms, the conditions result in "fewer than five percent of all cocoa flowers (producing) pods" as opposed to the more natural cocoa tree forest approach as presented in the book where the cocoa trees give a much higher yield of cocoa beans.

Matt Ford wrote an article for CNN titled:  "Chocolate's bitter sweet relationship with the rainforest" that discusses the plight of rainforest grown cocoa beans vs those grown on cleared land as mono-cultures.  Help support some local producers of bean to bar or brew chocolate:

• http://www.criobru.com/
• http://www.amanochocolate.com/
• http://www.mezzochocolate.com/ 
• http://www.eatchocolateconspiracy.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/SolsticeChocolate
• http://millcreekcacao.com/
• and Ruth Kendrick's gourmet chocolate site: http://chocolot.com/