Author #174: Candace Payne makes us laugh with joy

Chewbacca Mom has a book out, Laugh it up!, and she talks a lot about joy in her book.  I'm listening to the audio version which she narrates and I'm really enjoying it.  5 discs of happiness with some real-life experiences and different ways to look at the positive and negatives in our lives. And, if you haven't seen the Chewbacca face mask video:

Sunday Randomness #203: Deeds of inconsistencies

* Refrigerated popular juice combo drink with carrot, orange, lemon, and beet.  Mica: "The fruit juices did not make up for the pure horror of the beet juice."

*Hedgehog added to the grocery list around Christmas time:
 -cough syrup
-Santa costume for Jack
-Elf costume for Jack
-plain apple juice
-olive oil

(Here's a throwback to Pirate Jack) 

*"I don't need more negativity in my life." (Mica after I reminded her she had books due the next day.)

*Daisy was lamenting back in 9th grade that she didn't have friends in her lunchtime period.  Hedgehog advised: "You should grab some 7th graders.  They would worship you and be your little padawans."

*Jack was sitting opposite to Hedgehog on the large 4' x 6' area rug in the room.  She slowly started moving the carpet.  He looked confused because the floor was moving but he stayed on the carpet.  I started quietly giggling at his continued confused expressions as she moved the carpet this way and that with him balancing on top.  

Then she started singing "I can show you the world" from Aladdin and I burst out laughing.  Jack startled, jumped off, and immediately turned around, attacking the carpet edge. Hedgehog kept moving the carpet and he kept attacking it. Hedgehog commented he had found the biggest toy yet in the house.  Good call, Hedgehog, good call on the song choice of "A Whole New World" for Jack's magic carpet ride. 

*Mica brought home seafood leftovers one day and I asked her to remember to eat her mussels.  She replied, "No, I prefer to keep them intact, thank you"  referring to her muscles instead of mussels.

* Words of internet knowledge from the young: Daisy informed me that the no more tears claim on a popular baby shampoo referred not to no more crying tears in your eyes but rather to tears in your hair like split ends.  It prevented split end tears not crying tears. We did get it sorted out thanks to J&J.   https://www.johnsonsprofessional.com/johnsons-baby/no-more-tears

It was easier finding source material proving that the Monkees did the song I'm a Believer in 1966 and that Smash Mouth did the cover in 2001.  She kept insisting Smash Mouth did the song first and the Monkees must have gotten it from them.  When I pointed out I heard the song when I was young, she was confused but stuck with her group.    I tried to get her to tell me when Smash Mouth came out with the song and she just replied it was from the movie "Shrek", which came out ages ago.

I was laughing so hard it was difficult to find the video to show her the version of the song that I grew up hearing.   

Thanks to PNGMart for the Shrek graphic.and to to youtube for the Monkees video and to Johnson and Johnson for the shampoo info.

Author #173: Coppens cake and geology

Geology Is A Piece Of Cake by Katie Coppens.  Cleverly tying together geology with cake, Ms.Coppens, a middle-school English and science teacher, takes the reader on a journey linking science with science from geologic structures and processes to how they relate to different aspects of cake such as how eating a piece of cake is related to how animals cause weathering.  She uses cake to help explain Mohs scale of hardness.  The book is primarily about geology with some cake references included.  She's got a good balance-just enough cake references to whet the appetite and keep you going through the book without feeling like you're overwhelmed in sweetness.  Her approach also makes geology easier to understand and encourages the reader to learn more about science in general.

Author #172: Furman, cookies, Santa, the world = a great grouping for a book!

M.E. Furman writes about Christmas traditions around the world and the different treats left for Santa in the book, A World of Cookies For Santa: Follow Santa's Tasty Trip Around The World.  Susan Gal illustrated the book with charcoal on paper and digital collage.  The book includes nine cookie recipes at the back.  Taste of Home magazine has a list of 35 cookie recipes that they think should be in every recipe file-find the link at https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/the-best-cookie-recipes/view-all/

Author #171: Expanded knowledge about Elephants thanks to Katherine Roy

Excellent, Extraordinary, Eloquent, Educational!  These are just a few of the words to describe How To Be An Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild by Katherine Roy.  One of the most outstanding animal books for children that I've recently read, I was surprised at how many facts I did not know about these wonderful mammals.  Trunks strong enough to uproot trees and sensitive enough to pluck a single blade of grass.  And the social bonding and learning!?!  We can and should learn from our world both near and far and this book is a great start for a beginning learner who wants to know more about elephants.