Author #134: Springtime anytime books by April Pulley Sayre

Author April Pulley Sayre has written over several dozen books to date.  Read more about her other books at: http://www.aprilsayre.com/category/my-books/

Just to touch quickly on a couple of books pictured below: Let's Go Nuts!  features beautiful photographs of all kinds of seeds that we eat from coconuts to lentils and Stars Beneath Your Bed tells the the story behind where dust is found, its possible composition, and how it affects the way we see sunsets and sunrises.  There's a short two page informative section in the back that tells a lot more about dust.  

Author #133: Retro graphics in a hilarious book by Bob Staake

A laugh out loud take on pet ownership!  Perfect for book lovers of all ages!  He's done a commercial for Intel!  See it here: http://www.bobstaake.com/intel/ !  More info at: http://www.bobstaake.com/ !

Sunday Randomness #123: Trying some exotic new fruit

Wrinkly exotic fruit. Oval purple passion fruit on the left, oblong star shaped starfruit on the right.And this is how they appear when you cut them up.  The starfruit have hard seeds in the middle like an apple that we did not eat. We thought it had a slight pear taste and was crunchy like an apple.  The passion fruit has a unique taste all its own-slightly like perfume with a tangy bite.  You eat the seeds and that yellow pulp around the seeds and the juice is delicious.  The seeds are crunchy and great as a topping.  Surprisingly, passion fruit seeds are high in dietary fiber and they also have a fairly med-high phosphorus content.  And yes, this is what a ripe passion fruit should look like-wrinkled outer skin with the pulp and seeds coming away from the bitter rind on the inside.

Author #132: Shona Innes and the playground of friendship

Ahhhh....the ups and downs of friendship are covered in this cute little book called Friendship is Like a Seesaw by Shona Innes and illustrated by Irisz Agoces.  Read about more of their Big Hug Books at: http://www.shonainnes.com/bighug/   Ms. Innes uses insights gained through her experiences as a clinical and forensic psychologist to share thoughts and ideas about a range of subjects that can be emotionally challenging for kids, teens and adults.

Author #131: ADHD and Asperger Syndrome with dogs and cats by Kathy Hoopmann

Develop more understanding with Kathy Hoopmann and her books: All Dogs Have ADHD  and All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome.  Ms. Hoopmann was born and lived for many years in Australia but has also lived in Dubai.  For more about Kathy and her other books, please visit her website at: http://www.kathyhoopmann.com/index.html

I want to share her blurb from her website on her presentation on Asperger Syndrome in the classroom:

" It is estimated that 1 in every 80 children have Asperger Syndrome. Every teacher will have a child with Asperger’s in their classroom at some stage, whether the child is diagnosed, or not. My talk does not focus on what is Asperger Syndrome, (although, of course, I do explain it) but rather I present an insight to the mind of the child with Asperger’s, to show how they think and why they do the things they do. For many teachers, this is eye opening and will change the way they deal with children with Asperger's to the benefit of all concerned. "

These two picture books cover many similarities between the behavior of familiar animals with some behaviors of those who may fall on the ADHD and/or Asperger Syndrome spectrum.   Examples include that the mind of an ADHD child may work better when their body is moving-sitting still is not their thing and an asperger child may just say what is on their mind without thinking about what they are saying-they are honest but sometimes too honest.  We really appreciated the insight given by her books and they have helped us to have greater patience and understanding with all those with whom we interact.

Author #130: Jennifer Adams reimagines Poe's Raven poem

What happened when The Raven from Edgar Allan Poe's narrative poem was a little fledgling?  Get a little glimpse through Jennifer Adams book, Edgar Gets Ready For Bed. The book has some wonderfully simplistic illustrations by Ron Stucki.  Read more about Jennifer Adams and her take on literary classics for children at: http://jennifer-adams.com/?page_id=45
She also has a number of board books that make the classics accessible to the very young and young at heart ranging from Jane Eyre to Frankenstein to Jabberwocky plus many more!