Author: brookeshelf

I Saw the Number Five in . . . um, Pink

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Eleanor celebrated her 5th birthday a little over a week ago.  For the first time ever, we cast aside our family rule of limiting the number of invitations to the birthday child’s age.  (Ex: you turn seven, you have seven guests.)  Eleanor has been going to a dozen or more birthday parties all year long at school, so it seemed kind of rude not to reciprocate.  Personal inconvenience is no excuse for hurt feelings.

Anyway, this is why we had FOURTEEN children show up for the party.  Really, it wasn’t that bad.  If anything, it highlighted the differences in gender among the kids.  The girls waited quietly for their turn playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey or whatnot, and the boys scrambled off to play with toy trucks.

(Granted, we probably shouldn’t have been playing games in the same room as the toys.)

As per tradition, Eleanor and William helped me make a kind of candy lollipop we call “Tiger Tails” as gifts for the kids.  It’s marshmallows dipped in caramel, then dipped in pink confectionery coating, then drizzled with melted chocolate.  I found this lollipop tree at a thrift store, and it made for a really spiffy display.  (My cookbook calls this candy “Heaven on a Stick,” and as a coincidence, “Stairway to Heaven” was playing on the stereo as we put them in the tree.  Har.)  I’d take a big pink lollipop over a goody bag any day, wouldn’t you?

We also played a game called “Musical Islands.”  It’s similar to Musical Chairs, except that we use towels on the floor, and nobody is eliminated with the removal of towels.  At the end, all of the kids were giggling, trying to cram on top of one towel.  Hee.

Brian and I made these paper kites using this very clever guide I snipped out of a magazine years ago.  You make three folds in stiff paper, add a wooden skewer and two pieces of tape, and voila — instant kite!  We hid them all in a box and used it as the prize in a treasure hunt.

Eleanor requested a big chocolate cake this year.  The frosting is unusual — it has both milk and semisweet chocolate chips in addition to sour cream and confectioner’s sugar.  It tastes like a melted candy bar.

My parents and Brian’s mother were able to come up for the party, as well.  My mom couldn’t resist giving Eleanor this sweet little doll.

Eleanor once again declared this “the best birthday ever.”  Success!

The Top 100 Children’s Books Redux

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about how a-list blogger Betsy Bird was conducting a massive poll to determine the top 100 children’s novels of all time.

My husband, the statistics fanatic, noticed how books published in the last ten years were getting a disproportionate amount of attention.  So he created an algorithm that would weight the books’ poll scores according to age.

The older a book was, the more value its votes would have.

In addition to fiddling with the winners of the official poll, Brian went so far as to recalculate the scores of every book that anybody voted for. That’s dedication, baby.  Ergo, books like Swiss Family Robinson — even though it only got nine votes — ends up in the top 30 because it was published in 1812.

Below is the list of the top books — expanded to include 120.  If you want to see the explanation of the math, read the previous post.

It’s interesting that the #1 choice didn’t change.  Note, too, the big jump in scores between the top four books, and the following four.  It’s also fun to see which books had the biggest increases in scores (like Heidi or Call of the Wild) and which had the biggest drops (Inkheart, The Bad Beginning).  And some books from the official list disappeared altogether (such as The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane).  I was personally happy to see one of my kinda-obscure childhood favorites, What Katy Did, make the list this way.

Just interesting stuff, if you’re a fan of the math.  And as a certified children’s librarian, I can say with confidence that if you were to read all of these books, you’d get a very strong foundation in becoming a children’s literature expert.  (*sound of official Seal of Approval ramming down on computer monitor*)

Book year.
 score
 rank Adjusted score Adjusted Rank Change in rank
Charlotte’s Web 1952 751 1 67.320 1 0
Anne of Green Gables 1908 365 9 65.861 2 7
The Secret Garden 1911 371 8 63.826 3 5
Little Women 1868 136 25 46.354 4 21
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 1865 129 27 46.116 5 22
A Wrinkle in Time 1962 593 2 45.343 6 -4
Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe 1950 456 4 42.197 7 -3
Mixed Up Files of Mrs. BEF 1967 409 5 28.883 8 -3
A Little Princess 1905 124 28 23.468 9 19
Harrry Potter: Sorcerer’s Stone 1997 533 3 23.361 10 -7
The Hobbit 1938 207 12 23.182 11 1
The Phantom Tollbooth 1961 291 10 22.607 12 -2
The wonderful wizard of OZ 1900 107 40 21.926 13 27
The Giver 1993 373 7 17.422 14 -7
Holes 1998 392 6 16.910 15 -9
Little House in the Big Woods 1932 137 23 16.878 16 7
Winnie-the-Pooh 1926 121 30 16.399 17 13
The Westing game 1978 248 11 14.703 18 -7
Wind in the Willows 1908 77 53 13.894 19 34
Harriet the Spy 1964 177 16 13.110 20 -4
Bridge to Terabithia 1977 201 13 12.108 21 -8
Little House on the Prarie 1935 96 42 11.276 22 20
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1964 152 19 11.259 23 -4
Half Magic 1954 121 31 10.507 24 7
Treasure Island 1883 38 103 10.204 25 78
Swiss Family Robinson 1812 11 121 9.134 26 95+
James and the Giant Peach 1961 115 33 8.934 27 6
Tuck Everlasting 1975 143 20 8.892 28 -8
The Saturdays 1941 82 51 8.755 29 22
The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958 103 41 8.393 30 11
Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban 1999 197 14 8.364 31 -17
The Dark is Rising 1973 123 29 7.896 32 -3
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1971 119 32 7.886 33 -1
Matilda 1988 154 18 7.788 34 -16
Maniac Magee 1990 158 17 7.740 35 -18
Because of Winn-Dixie 2000 185 15 7.731 36 -21
Are you there God? It’s Me Margaret 1970 111 36 7.474 37 -1
Where the Red Fern Grows 1961 90 46 6.992 38 8
Five Children and It 1902 34 112 6.749 39 73
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 1976 109 37 6.671 40 -3
Ballet Shoes 1936 57 65 6.590 41 24
Island of the Blue Dolphins 1960 83 50 6.552 42 8
Ramona the Pest 1968 94 43 6.534 43 0
Hatchet 1989 129 26 6.421 44 -18
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing 1972 92 44 6.001 45 -1
Heidi 1880 21 121 5.914 46 75+
Betsy-Tacy 1940 54 70 5.858 47 23
The tale of Despereaux 2003 141 22 5.618 48 -26
Percy Jackson and the Olympians 2005 142 21 5.480 49 -28
Swallows and Amazons 1930 43 94 5.469 50 44
On the Banks of Plum Creek 1937 47 85 5.348 51 34
The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995 115 34 5.203 52 -18
Henry Huggins 1950 56 66 5.182 53 13
Johnny Tremain 1943 50 78 5.172 54 24
Caddie Woodlawn 1935 44 93 5.168 55 38
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2007 137 24 5.122 56 -32
My Father’s Dragon 1948 53 72 5.063 57 15
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase 1962 65 58 4.970 58 0
Gone-Away Lake 1957 59 63 4.885 59 4
The Secret of the Old Clock 1959 60 62 4.812 60 2
Call of the Wild 1903 24 121 4.689 61 60+
Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire 2000 112 35 4.680 62 -27
The Little White Horse 1946 47 84 4.635 63 21
The Borrowers 1953 52 74 4.588 64 10
All-of-a-Kind Family 1951 49 79 4.463 65 14
Understood Betsy 1916 28 121 4.449 66 55+
The Great Gilly Hopkins 1978 74 55 4.387 67 -12
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix 2003 109 38 4.343 68 -30
The Boxcar Children 1924 31 117 4.337 69 48
My Side of the Mountain 1959 53 73 4.251 70 3
The BFG 1982 75 54 4.173 71 -17
The Golden Compass 1995 92 45 4.163 72 -27
Pippi Longstocking 1950 42 95 3.887 73 22
When you Reach Me 2009 107 39 3.875 74 -35
Frindle 1996 84 49 3.741 75 -26
Bud, Not Buddy 1999 87 47 3.694 76 -29
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 1981 65 57 3.674 77 -20
The Book of Three 1964 47 82 3.481 78 4
Children of Green Knowe 1954 40 98 3.473 79 19
The Moffats 1941 31 120 3.310 80 40
The Penderwicks: A summer tale 2005 85 48 3.281 82 -34
The Magician’s Nephew 1955 38 102 3.248 83 19
Number the Stars 1989 65 56 3.235 84 -28
Tom’s Midnight Garden 1958 39 101 3.178 85 16
The High King 1968 45 88 3.128 86 2
Harry Potter: 1/2 bood prince 2005 81 52 3.126 87 -35
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle 1947 32 113 3.106 88 25
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle 1990 61 60 2.988 89 -29
The Invention of Hugo Cabret 2007 77 52 2.879 90 -38
What Katy Did 1872 9 121 2.879 91 30+
The Thirteen  Clocks 1950 31 119 2.869 92 27
Voyage of the Dawn Treader 1952 31 121 2.779 93 28+
A Cricket in Times Square 1960 35 108 2.763 94 14
The Egypt Game 1967 39 100 2.754 95 5+
Peter Pan 1911 16 121 2.753 96 25+
Ramona and her Father 1977 45 89 2.711 97 -8
Betsy, Tacy and Tib 1941 25 121 2.669 98 23+
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher 1991 55 67 2.652 99 -32
Sideways Stories from Wayside School 1978 44 91 2.609 100 -9
Stargirl 2000 61 61 2.54907 101 -40
Knight’s Castle 1956 30 121 2.523513 102 19+
Twenty-One Balloons 1947 26 121 2.523511 103 18+
A Long Way from Chicago 1998 58 64 2.502018 104 -40
The Long Winter 1940 23 121 2.49515 105 16+
Walk Two Moons 1994 54 68 2.482432 106 -38
Inkheart 2003 62 59 2.470175 107 -48
Farmer Boy 1933 20 121 2.425135 108 13+
Sarah, Plain and Tall 1985 44 90 2.333909 109 -19
The Witches 1983 42 96 2.299805 110 -14
The Indian in the Cupboard 1980 40 99 2.297299 111 -12
The Frog Princess 2002 56 66 2.266885 112 -46
Jennifer Hecate… 1967 32 116 2.259832 113 3
A Series of Unfortunate Events: #1 1999 53 71 2.250262 114 -43
House with a Clock in its Walls 1973 35 111 2.246791 115 -4
Homer Price 1942 21 121 2.206874 116 5+
Out of the Dust 1997 50 76 2.191481 117 -41
Danny Champion of the World 1975 35 110 2.176467 118 -8
Betsy and Tacy go Downtown 1943 21 121 2.172063 119 2+
Wizard of Earthsea 1968 31 118 2.154679 120 -2

Jonah Day

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Today is laundry day, but this morning our dryer broke down. 

FOILED!  I’ve been FOILED by FAULTY TECHNOLOGY!  NOOOOOOO!

When I went to pick up William from preschool, I was informed that he was sick, with a fever.  We headed to the doctor, and yup: ear infection.  The neat thing, I guess, is that he was acually able to articulate his needs: “Left ear hurts, Mom.”

The great thing is that we live two doors down from some of the kindest people on earth.  I’ve spent much of the afternoon hauling baskets of wet laundry over to take a spin in their dryer.  And even if this particular family hadn’t been able to help, I know that I could have also taken the clothes across the street, or to the houses kitty-corner from ours.  It’s a great place to live, even if my family is regarded as being “odd” because I eschew vinyl lettering, don’t take trips to Hawaii for spring break, and have only three children.

But I digress.

A good chunk of the morning was spent crouched behind the broken dryer on the possibly the world’s filthiest linoleum (hey, how do YOU clean back there?) accompanied by naught but a rachet set and The Fix-It Yourself Manual, only to discover that our dryer is so old that it can’t be fixed by me.  The book recommended removing the back panel to test the machine’s various electric components.  However, the back panel on my dryer can’t be removed because there IS NO BACK PANEL — the sides and rear of the machine are all one continuous strip of metal.  (Alas, I didn’t realize this until after I had ratcheted off half of the bolts.)  Repairing it would require a dismantling of the entire machine, and considering that the problem is most likely a burnt-out heating element, it might not even be worth it.

This dryer is from the Nixon administration, after all.  No, it’s not avocado-colored (like my oven).  It’s goldenrod.

Add to this mix a few classic Jeffrey moments (he climbed down a window well and spent time throwing rocks at the window; he wandered off to a friend’s house without telling me, got caught trying to climb inside the broken dryer, etc.) and you can probably understand why my head is begging for mercy right now.

When Brian came home, he tried to comfort me: “Hey, at least it’s not a Job Day.” 

Har de har har.

The Best 100 Children’s Books of . . . THE FUTURE (dun dun dun!)

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For the past month, I have been following the Best 100 Children’s Books poll over at A Fuse #8 Production.  It’s gotten quite the following, and even my husband, Brian, got in the game.

So much in the game, in fact, that he began to do an experiment with it.  Brian is a pathologist and geneticist.  He’s someone who enjoys doing math for fun.  Seeing a list of ranked books with accompanying poll data just made his brain whirr, and he spent many eager hours with an Excel file before presenting the following findings.  (And even though I am known as a rampant Anne of Green Gables fan, I should say that I had no interference in any of this.) 

It’s like someone took our two professions and slammed them together in a classic chocolate-and-peanut-butter way (“You got kidlit on my statistics!  You got statistics on my kidlit!”).

Says Brian:

I have noticed that fuse #8’s list of the best 100 children’s books of all time is heavily skewed towards newer books.  For example, so far there are 17 books written in the last decade, but only 11 written in the 70s, and 5 written in the 40s.  This is not an absolute trend, but it is clear enough that it is pretty obvious. There could be several reasons for this. One is that there are just more good books written now than in the past. Another is that we tend to rank more highly newer books or books that were relatively new when we were children, so newer books are really overrated compared to where they will be 60-70 years from now.

I thought it would be interested to adjust the scores (and rankings) under the assumption there have been about the same number of good books each decade, and that the total scores of those books should be about the same for each decade.  I plotted a rolling average of all the books that were on the best 100 list that were published in the same decade.  An exponential curve fitted the plot surprisingly well (R = 0.63) and I could generate an adjusted score using the formula:

adjusted score = 100 x (actual score/(353 x e^(0.0146 x (year-1900))))

This yields the following rank list, which I think may underrate some more recent books a little, but will be closer to what the list would look like if the poll is repeated 10 or 20 years from now.  The book the went up most in the rankings were “Swallows and Amazons” and “Caddie Woodlawn” moving up 54 and 49 rankings, respectively.  The books that went down the most were “When You Reach Me” and “Inkheart” (down 19 and 17 respectively).  “Bridge to Terabithia” and “The View From Saturday” did not change in rankings.  The formula may change slightly with the addition of the final 8 books to the regression curve, but it will probably not change dramatically.

Book year score rank adjusted score adjusted rank
Anne of Green Gables 1908 365 9 92.00 1
Little Women 1868 136 25 61.47 2
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 1865 129 27 60.92 3
The Phantom Tollbooth 1961 291 10 33.83 4
The Hobbit 1938 207 12 33.67 5
A Little Princess 1905 124 28 32.65 6
The wonderful wizard of OZ 1900 107 40 30.31 7
Little House in the Big Woods 1932 137 23 24.32 8
Winnie-the-Pooh 1926 121 30 23.45 9
The Westing game 1978 248 11 22.50 10
Harriet the Spy 1964 177 16 19.70 11
Wind in the Willows 1908 77 53 19.41 12
Bridge to Terabithia 1977 201 13 18.50 13
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 1964 152 19 16.91 14
Little House on the Prarie 1935 96 42 16.31 15
Half Magic 1954 121 31 15.58 16
Tuck Everlasting 1975 143 20 13.55 17
James and the Giant Peach 1961 115 33 13.37 18
Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban 1999 197 14 13.15 19
The Saturdays 1941 82 51 12.77 20
The Witch of Blackbird Pond 1958 103 41 12.51 21
Because of Winn-Dixie 2000 185 15 12.17 22
Matilda 1988 154 18 12.07 23
Maniac Magee 1990 158 17 12.03 24
The Dark is Rising 1973 123 29 12.00 25
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH 1971 119 32 11.96 26
Are you there God? It’s Me Margaret 1970 111 36 11.32 27
Where the Red Fern Grows 1961 90 46 10.46 28
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 1976 109 37 10.18 29
Hatchet 1989 129 26 9.97 30
Ramona the Pest 1968 94 43 9.87 31
Island of the Blue Dolphins 1960 83 50 9.79 32
Ballet Shoes 1936 57 65 9.55 33
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing 1972 92 44 9.11 34
The tale of Despereaux 2003 141 22 8.88 35
Percy Jackson and the Olympians 2005 142 21 8.68 36
Betsy-Tacy 1940 54 70 8.53 37
The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1995 115 34 8.14 38
Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows 2007 137 24 8.14 39
Swallows and Amazons 1930 43 94 7.86 40
On the Banks of Plum Creek 1937 47 85 7.76 41
Henry Huggins 1950 56 66 7.65 42
Johnny Tremain 1943 50 78 7.56 43
Caddie Woodlawn 1935 44 93 7.48 44
My Father’s Dragon 1948 53 72 7.45 45
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase 1962 65 58 7.45 46
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire 2000 112 35 7.37 47
Gone-Away Lake 1957 59 63 7.27 48
The Secret of the Old Clock 1959 60 62 7.18 49
Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix 2003 109 38 6.86 50
The Little White Horse 1946 47 84 6.80 51
The Borrowers 1953 52 74 6.79 52
The Great Gilly Hopkins 1978 74 55 6.71 53
All-of-a-Kind Family 1951 49 79 6.59 54
The Golden Compass 1995 92 45 6.51 55
The BFG 1982 75 54 6.42 56
My Side of the Mountain 1959 53 73 6.34 57
When you Reach Me 2009 107 39 6.17 58
Frindle 1996 84 49 5.86 59
Bud, Not Buddy 1999 87 47 5.81 60
Pippi Longstocking 1950 42 95 5.73 61
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 1981 65 57 5.64 62
The Book of Three 1964 47 82 5.23 63
The Penderwicks: A summer tale 2005 85 48 5.20 64
Children of Green Knowe 1954 40 98 5.15 65
Number the Stars 1989 65 56 5.02 66
The High King 1968 45 88 4.72 67
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle 1990 61 60 4.64 68
The Invention of Hugo Cabret 2007 77 52 4.57 69
The Egypt Game 1967 39 100 4.15 70
Ramona and her Father 1977 45 89 4.14 71
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher 1991 55 67 4.13 72
Stargirl 2000 61 61 4.01 73
Sideways Stories from Wayside School 1978 44 91 3.99 74
A Long Way from Chicago 1998 58 64 3.93 75
Inkheart 2003 62 59 3.90 76
Walk Two Moons 1994 54 68 3.88 77
Sarah, Plain and Tall 1985 44 90 3.60 78
The Witches 1983 42 96 3.54 79
Series of Unfortunate Events 1 1999 53 71 3.54 80
The Indian in the Cupboard 1980 40 99 3.52 81
Out of the Dust 1997 50 76 3.44 82
Love that Dog 2001 51 75 3.31 83
The Thief 1997 47 83 3.23 84
The Mysterious Benedict Society 2007 54 69 3.21 85
The City of Ember 2003 50 77 3.15 86
The View from Saturday 1996 45 87 3.14 87
Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets 1999 47 86 3.14 88
Ella Enchanted 1997 44 92 3.02 89
The Graveyard Book 2008 48 80 2.81 90
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2009 47 81 2.71 91
Miraculous Journey of Ed Tulane 2006 41 97 2.47 92

Infernal Devices

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This week my aforementioned Olde Fashioned Colde Virus morphed into Ye Devil’s Sinusitis and then progressed merrily on into Thine Ear Infectione o’Doom. 

Not much work was done on the book this week — my writing time was 100% staring at the screen while miserably pressing a cold compress onto my face and counting the hours until my next dose of antibiotics. Oh, wait — at least 30% of that time was spent making mincemeat out of many, many boxes of Kleenex.  All of Friday was devoted to harassing a doctor into giving me stronger medicine (she did.  As she put it, “it looks like you have a giant blister on your eardrum”).  Owwwwww.

The best thing to do, I figured, was to spend time reading about people who were infinitely more miserable than I was, and so out of my mass of wallowing self-pity I turned to Dante’s Inferno.  It’s simply impossible to feel bad about constant ringing ear pain when reading about being buried alive with 1,000 Arch-Heretics in a flaming red-hot coffin.

I’ll admit that my desire to Inferno-ize myself was also owing to running into one of my old literature profs. at the grocery store (he remembered my name, which is stunning) and feeling residual guilt at not having read Inferno as thoroughly as I was supposed to for class.  Also, I heard about the new video game based on the poem, and found it both intriguingly bizarre and unintentionally hilarious.

In the game, Dante Alighieri is a scythe-wielding ex-Crusader who engages in hand-to-hand combat with Marc Antony and Cleopatra at the end of Level 3.  (Hear that? It’s the sound of hundreds of Dantean scholars all spitting out their rose hip tea at the same time.) 

Oh oh oh — and Beatrice is also in hell, because Satan wants to make her his bride.  Thus effectively giving one of the greatest epic poems in world literature essentially the same plot as Super Mario Bros.

May I add that Super Karamazov Bros. would also make for an awesome video game?  Especially if it took the steampunk route . . .

Anyway, I’ve much more to write regarding Inferno, but I’ll save it for further posts (if I can scrounge up the time).  I’m really enjoying this read, it’s much more enjoyable than when I read it as a harried undergraduate.  I’m in Canto XVI right now — Seventh Circle, Third Ring, Second Zone, if you’re interested.  Thank goodness for the map in the back of the book.

In a Stupid Stupor of Thought

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I’ve been keeping a mental list of all the delightful little tidbits that I’d like to write about, but unfortuantely they have all been pushed aside to make way for Ye Olde Fashioned Dreaded Colde Viruse. 

(“Now with extra vowels!”)

Most of my time has been spent making excellent use of Kleenex and water.  Nasal decongestants are placebos, right?  Because they never do anything for me.

The good news is that I was able to survive an outing yesterday to watch the “Mini Magic Flute” as part of the Utah Symphony’s Lollipops concert series.  My mother-in-law treated my whole family; it was wonderful.

The actors sang the most famous arias and choruses from the opera with translated English texts, and played the parts very, very broadly.  Mozart by way of Gilbert & Sullivan.  My favorite moment was simply seeing Eleanor’s eyes as we settled ourselves down in the concert hall.  Her eyes nearly popped off her little head as she gasped at the high-celinged chandeliers and goldleaf balconies. 

Aftewards, there was a “petting zoo” in the lobby where volunteers allowed children to touch and play instruments (violins, trumpets, clairinets, everything.)  Great program.  Heaps of antibacterial spray was sacrificed to the cause of art.

The only other thing that’s happening in my life is the continued plugging away at my book.  Draft #2 is coming along; the book recently passed its one year anniversary.  I’m scheduled to participate in a conference for writers and illustrators come June, so I have to have a chapter ready for submission by then.  I’m rather nervous about it and want to spend as much time breathing in and out of a paper bag as I do writing. 

As it is, 90% of my writing time is spent with me tugging on my hair and staring at the computer screen, and 10% actually typing out words to read. 

So the progress is slow.  Pass my that paper bag.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because there really isn’t anything else to do in mid-March.  The kids are very into it; they were thrilled to slip on green shirts this morning and tune in to the “Celtic Traditional” station on Pandora.

This is the inevitable result.  Enjoy:

Caramel Bottom French Toast

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For the past week, we’ve had a wave of unseasonable warmth that I refer to as “Fool’s Spring” — it looks like spring, but it isn’t.  Just when you’re about to feel confident in packing away that moldering pile of snowpants and mismatched mittens — BOOM!  Winter strikes back!

Yes, we got about 4 inches of snow on Friday.  Sure, it’s melting away, but what better excuse to make Caramel Bottom French Toast?

This recipe is adapted from Martha W. Murphy’s excellent Bed & Breakfast Cookbook (out of print, but cheap used copies are easily found online).  The recipe is listed as “Skier’s Toast,” but I find that name to be unsatisfyingly bland for this divine concoction — thick-sliced bread sunk into a layer of golden caramel, then doused in egg batter before baking.  The result is crunchy-chewy, with the excess egg cooking into a sweet custard alongside the caramel.

The kids, for the first time ever, asked for seconds. Oh, and I’d like to give credit to my friend Becca for coming up with the new name for this treat.

Caramel Bottom French Toast

Note: this recipe needs to be refrigerated for several hours before baking, so plan ahead.  It’s convenient to prepare it just before bed, then bake it off in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs. corn syrup (you can also substitute Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 loaf French bread or a baguette, thickly sliced
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, butter and brown sugar; simmer until thick and bubbling.  Pour into the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking pan. 

Place the bread slices in the caramel, wedging them in tight.  You may have some bread left over.

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt.  Whisk well, then pour evenly over the bread.  Cover and refrigerate a couple of hours or overnight.

Let the toast sit at room temperature while the oven preheats to 350.  Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.  Serve while warm!

Dancin’ Man

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This winter, teachers from the Tanner creative dance program came to Jeffrey’s school to teach his class some moves.  He absolutely adored it; the teachers always brought along a pianist or percussionist, so the kids could move to live music, and they created dances based on words and language. 

Two weeks ago they put on a performance for parents, and I was able to film a bit of it.  Jeffrey, unfortunately, was just as interested in chewing on the ties of his sweatpants as he was in dancing.  My friend, Heather, was also there an said she didn’t notice the pants-chewing at all, but admitted that if she were Jeffrey’s mom, it would take all her willpower not to leap into the performance and yank the thing out of his mouth.  Amen.

That said, this is the most adorable gangly dance I’ve seen in a while:

If you’re wondering why there is a kid in the background with a red mohawk, it was also Silly Hair Day at the school.  Earlier that same day, I had volunteered in Jeff’s classroom, and the boys who hadn’t dyed their hair were all obsessed with running their heads under the water fountain so they could “spike” themselves.  Geez, boys.

Favorite Reads of 2009: Fiction

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Yeah, I know.  Finally.

After about a zillion kick-in-the-pants reminders from my friends, I’ve gotten around to creating my list of favorite fiction for young readers from 2009.  Take note: this is not a list of the “best” fiction, or the most critically acclaimed, or the most award-winning.  There are plenty of lists around the board where one can find such things already.  My list is of personal favorites, and personal favorites only.  What books do I wish I owned, or wish I had written?  That’s what these are. 

Yes, that means lots of glaring omissions, most notably When You Reach Me.  I’ve got no beef with When You Reach Me, but I feel as if it’s gotten all the accolades it needs, and adding it to this list seems kind of like gilding the lily at this point.  (As if I had any guild to start with.)

I also have to say that if you are a parent, please please please review these books before handing them to your child.  Everybody has different tastes and standards where kids’ reading is concerned. 

Now, Here We Go!

Best Picture Book Writing of the Year: The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman, illus. David Robers.  OKAY, OKAY.  I know this is supposed to be  a list of novels, but I had this on my list of Best Picture Books and completely forgot to type it in!  But if you’ve missed this suave lil’ gem of a picture book, pick it up right away.  This classroom caper is a glorious mishmash of Ocean’s Eleven and Miss Nelson is Missing! with some of the tightest storytelling you can fit in 52 pages.  A soon-to-be-classic.  (All ages)

Favorite Read-Aloud: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.  I’ve been touting Lin’s novels as superior fare for the elementary school set for ages, and it looks like the Newbery Committee finally got on my side this year.  This beautiful, old-fashioned adventure tale takes its setting and inspiration from Chinese folktales, and Lin’s story of a spunky girl out to seek her fortunes with the help of magic goldfish, talking dragons, and tiger-fighting twins is somehting that belongs on every child’s bookshelf.  (All Ages)

For Those Who Like Their Plots Thick, and the Worldbuildng Thicker: The Lost Conspiracy by Francis Hardinge — Sentient volcanoes!  Exotic killer beetles!  Assassins that dye their skin blue with the ashes of their victims!  This has been touted as the fantasy novel of the year, and I’m not inclined to disagree.  Taking cues from Maori and Pacific Islander cultures, Hardinge has crafted one of the most satisfyingly complex fantasy cultures I’ve ever encountered.  As a bonus, the story is thick with intrigue, has a clever heroine who evolves from a beleaguered underdog to spirited leader, and one of the creepiest bad guys this side of Simon Legree.  (Ages 12)

Romance Done Right: Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor.  In these three fantastical tales (two short stories and one novella), Taylor explores budding romance and everything a first kiss can mean: not just love, but betrayal, temptation, and salvation.  The stories borrow motifs from traditional folklore — babies cursed at birth, children kidnapped by fairies, young ladies perishing from poisoned fruit — and uses it to stunning effect, drawing out the elemental, enriching darkness of fairy tales and giving them new life.   Her prose reads like a colorful exotic costume discovered in an attic trunk; it’s just lovely.  As a bonus, the first story draws on Christina Rossetti’s beloved poem “Goblin Market” for inspiration.  Gotta love that.  (Age 12+)

Historical Fiction That Won’t Kill You: Crossing Stones by Helen Frost.  It can be difficult to sell a historical novel to a kid when it’s 300+ pages long.  TA-TA-TA-TWAAAA!  Helen Frost to the rescue!  Her succinct story of two families who grow and change during World War I and the suffragette movement is told in a series of poems narrated by the different characters.  Clever readers will notice that the form and shape of the poems reflects the personalities of the characters.  Regardless, it’s easy to get swept away by Frosts’ clear, succinct imagery, knowing period references, and characterizations so keen that you fall in love with them with just a few lines.  (Age 12+)

 

The Book I Wish I Had Read When I Was Twelve: The Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell.  There are many, many books that tell the story of the Good Book-Loving Girl and the Mean Best Friend Who Rejects Her After Getting on the Cheerleading Squad.  O’Roark Dowell takes this premise and transforms it: hey, cheerleaders are people too, and just because your best friend has developed different interests from you, it doesn’t mean you can’t still work at being friends.  The tone of the writing is so spot-on middle school and clever that I wish I had a highlighter pen to score all the quotable lines.  Oh, and did I mention that the protagonist wears black boots and listens to Joni Mitchell?  SCORE!  (Age 9-13)

Most Terrifying Book of the Year: The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd.  It’s Bridget Jones’ Diary – meets – An Inconvenient Truth, as a middle-class London teen recounts the trials and tribulations of Britain’s efforts to cut back national carbon emissions by 60%.  When a series of floods threatens to destroy civilization and make such rationing pointless, it’s almost enough to make you cower under the bed with a box of compact flourescent lightbulbs, but Lloyd seasons her story with enough glorious humor to make the book as touching as it is terrifying.  The scene where Dad trades in mum’s Saab for a horse, cart, and pig is worth the price of admission alone.  My only complaint: 2015?!?  C’mon, don’t we have a little more time before the end of the world?  (Age 14+)

For the Aspiring World Traveler: Hannah’s Winter by Kierin Meehan.  When Hannah, an Australian girl, is sent to spend the winter as an exchange student in Japan, she is thrilled by the prospect of adventure, but soon finds that her hosts’ house is haunted by an ancient samauri, and requires her to solve an ancient mystery to be rid of it.  What makes this story more fun than spooky is its overwhelming love of the oddities of foreign travel: the Bean Throwing Festival!  A suit of armor that emits colored smoke!  Donuts filled with green tea ice cream!  Someone send me a dozen of those, pronto.  (Age 10+)

For When You Feel the Need to Wield Some Axes: Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud.  There’s nothing like the classic combination of Vikings and snark to keep a reader happy.  Stroud uses both to masterful effect here, giving us the tale of black-sheep-of-the-royal-family Halli and his adventures between a dozen or more warring clans . . . which he has mostly “accidentally” angered himself.  A funny, exciting tale about family, destiny, and whether or not you should believe stories about man-eating trolls in the mountains.  (Age 12+)

Best Summer Story: The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor.  What’s a kid to do when he’s alone for the summer in the deep forest of the Deep South with nobody but his strict grandmother and deadbeat uncle for company?  When a rickety RV with a six-kid family gets stuck in the mud nearby, Popeye sees it as his best chance for excitement. When a series of small boats keep mysteriously appearing in the creek nearby, he and his new friends find a perfect adventure.  In the hands of any other writer, this book’s setting (rural impoverished South) would be the makings for high drama, but O’Connor keeps it refreshingly light and honest.  And funny.  Did I mention the funny?  (Ages 7-9)

Doing it Old School!  Fire by Kristin Cashore.  A prequel to last year’s hit fantasy novel, Graceling, this tale continues Cashore’s penchant for strong characters, a very old-fashioned fantasy setting, and the trials and tribulations of a girl so beautiful that men literally throw themselves on their swords for her.  The fact that she can also control minds makes for a very interesting shades-of-grey morality story.  I’d also like to give points to Cashore for Fire’s father, Cansrel, who with his silver-blue hair, party-boy ways, and habit of collecting exotic animals, makes him the glammest fantasy character I’ve ever run across.  (P.S. I’ve no idea what “doing it old school” really means.)  (Age 15+)

A Swedish Import So Lovely it Puts IKEA to Shame: A Faraway Island by Annika Thor.  I’ve described this book before as “Anne of Green Gables – meets – Number the Stars,” and I stand by that.  This book — the first in a bestselling, beloved series from Sweden — is the story of sisters, two Jewish girls from Vienna who are evacuated by their parents on the eve of World War II to live with foster parents on a tiny island off the coast of Sweden.  Times are tough, especially for older sister Stephie, who finds it difficult to make friends, worries for her left-behind parents, and whose foster parents are dead ringers for Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.  But eventually, she comes to find home.  Thor teases out lovely details — the traditions and festivals of the islanders are especially sweet — and is wise enough to make her characters uncomfortably complex: the villagers are kind but also bigoted; Stephie has a well-meaning schoolmate who gives her a picture of Hitler as means of lessening her homesickness (whoops).  I can only hope that American publishers continue to bring the remaining books in this series to our shores.

Best Reissue: The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories by Joan Aiken.  From the author of the beloved Wolves of Willoughby Chase comes a set of charmingly loopy fantasy stories, published in various volumes and periodicals and finally collected here.  On her honeymoon, Mrs. Armitage makes a wish that she will “never be bored with happily ever after,” and in the ensuing magical adventures, she never is: the family finds out that the kindergarten teacher is really a witch, what to do when the house has been comissioned by fussy wizards, a Christmas party in which all the children are turned into fish, how to deal with a ghostly governess, and much more.  Aiken’s style never takes itself very seriously (this is a family who, when a unicorn turns up in the garden on Tuesday morning, responds by blustering “but this usually only happens on Monday”), and the stories usually end with all problems resolved and the characters sitting down to tea.  It makes for a glorious read aloud, too.