Author 59: Judy Finchler teams with artist Kevin O'Malley for schooltime

It's a pretty common occurrence for children to wonder about the private life of teachers-after all, when school is in session they often spend a great quantity of time with the teacher in the classroom, outside, in the library, computer lab and other areas of the school and on field trips. Do teachers live at school? Read about one teacher, Miss Malarkey, in two adventures: Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10 and Miss Malarkey's Field Trip. How do teachers cope on field trips? Most of it boils down to experience-Ms. Finchler is a retired elementary school teacher and librarian from Parsippany, New Jersey. Mr.O'Malley has a website at www.booksbyomalley.com. There are currently seven Miss Malarkey books in print. Find them on Amazon or at your local library!

Author 58: Lois Ehlert utilizes collages and shapes

With simple shapes and collages and everyday items, Lois Ehlert creates simple works that convey a world of meaning in one picture. Growing Vegetable Soup takes the reader on a journey from seed to finished soup. Snowballs uses some simple round circles and everyday items to create unique specimens in the world of snowman creation. I appreciate how Ms. Ehlert lists the items used on the snowmen at the end of the book. There's everything from a button to a Peruvian sock to a toy wheel. Read more about Ms.Ehlert at http://www.harcourtbooks.com/leafman/ataglance.asp
And you can find out more about her books at your local library or through her page at Amazon.com : http://www.amazon.com/Lois-Ehlert/e/B000APJQ7I/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1283732916&sr=8-2-ent

Tilapia cooked three different ways

We had a large bag of frozen tilapia sitting in the freezer for months and I just couldn't decide what to do with it. Finally I decided to cook all of it at once but try out some simple recipes at the same time. The first picture with the white sauce and green onion bits is MaMa's Supper Club Tilapia Parmesan. Find the recipe at: http://www.food.com/recipe/mamas-supper-club-tilapia-parmesan-53914 We found the recipe to be a decadent one with enough rich creamy sauce for the fish to "swim" in as it was baking. We definitely enjoyed it but would want it sparingly because of the preparation time and indulgent ingredients.


Next up is the traditional fried fish. (All the recipes came from www.food.com which replaced the old recipezaar site.) Here's the link for this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/crispy-tilapia-47391 The addition of cornmeal, baking soda and baking powder gave this fried fish an extra good crunch factor. This one was the best cold when we had leftovers the next day.

And the third recipe was the simplest with fish, garlic and olive oil along with seasonings of your choice. One merely starts cooking the fish in a little olive oil, adds the garlic slices and continues cooking until fish flakes easily. By far the easiest of the three recipes, it was also the one that we devoured completely so I have no idea how the leftovers would taste. Simple yet flavorful, the garlic and olive oil lend a tantalizing blend of mild flavors to the tilapia. This is the recipe I will make again when short on time and craving a healthy and delicious main dish. The garlic tilapia recipe can be found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/tilapia-al-ajillo-garlic-tilapia-57919

Author 57: Just Look 'n Learn (a new language!)

Mulling over thoughts about learning a new language?
Wanting something that will help explain foreign words with pictures?

Then you might want to try the "Just Look 'n Learn" series from your local library or bookstore. Our local library has the Just Look 'n Learn Picture Dictionary in the following languages:
English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Check out a new language today!

Food Co-op August 2010

Farmer's Market Share for $13.50 contained:

• 1 cantaloupe
• 1 eggplant
• 2 heads of garlic
• 2 green peppers
• 3 zucchini squash
• 2 yellow squash
• 3 cucumbers
• 6 ears of corn

Orders for September are due by Friday, September 10th. For more info visit www.foodco-op.net. The Farmer's Market Share is all local and grown to organic standards. (We didn't get the produce share this time but they received: pears, plums, nectarines, corn, green onions, beans, spinach, potatoes and mushrooms.)

Author 56: Non-Fiction Rules with Gail Gibbons!

If you're looking for great non-fiction children's picture books, then Gail Gibbons has some of the best in the business! Read more about Gail and her books at: http://www.gailgibbons.com/
With over a hundred books Gail covers topics ranging from Groundhog Day to Knights to Pirates to Weather Forecasting. We enjoyed Caves and Caverns, Tornadoes, Bats, Grizzly Bears and Horses.
-From Grizzly Bears: In Spring they eat 25-35 pounds of food a day but in Fall they eat 100 pounds a day to put on weight for the winter.
-From Horses: A horse's height is measured in "hands" and one hand equals four inches.
-From Bats: Some bats help to pollinate plants such as avocados, figs and bananas.
-From Caves and Caverns: Different examples of caves include sea caves, lava caves, ice caves and limestone caves.
-From Tornadoes: Tornadoes usually occur in the afternoon.