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Feb
7
Polar Bear Books
Filed Under children's books
My birthday party was snowed out yesterday. So rather than focus on yet another snowed out birthday (it happens a lot to those of us born in the winter months), here are some books on polar bears to get into the snowy spirit.
Hush Little Polar Bear by Jeff Mack (2008). I’m in love with this book. A lullaby by a little girl to her stuffed polar bear, set to the rhyme “Hush Little Baby.” But the pictures are just gorgeous. They actually are inspiring me (along with Red Sings From the Treetops) to incorporate some of these wonderful childrens’ book illustrations into my sewing projects.
Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Stephen Savage (2004). A really sweet, quiet story about a polar bear cub who wakes up in the night and goes exploring. The simple text is dreamy, and the illustrations are minimal but gorgeous. I’ve read this aloud to pre-k children, and they loved it.
My Little Polar Bear by Claudia Rueda (2009). A nice companion book to read with Polar Bear Night, this story features a polar bear cub leaving home for the first time and worrying about making it in the big world as a polar bear. But its mother is right there watching and protecting. Soothing colors and illustrations, and a nice story of parents and children.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle (1991). This was the 2nd collaboration between Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, and it came 24 years after the hugely popular Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? This book focuses on some interesting animals and the sounds they make. It’s not just about arctic animals, but it’s hard to do a list about polar bears without this classic making its way onto the list.
Cold Paws, Warm Heart by Madeleine Floyd (2005). This is a really sweet story about a lonely polar bear trying to make friends. He’s really a very nice bear, but every animal he approaches is terrified because, well…he’s a bear. Until a little girl sees him for who he really is.
Polar Star by Sally Grindley, illustrated by John Butler (1998). Polar Star must protect her cubs and teach them how to survive as polar bears. Fun polar bear facts and some very direct treatment of possibly scary situations (killing a seal for food) make this an interesting choice for slightly older picture book readers.
Bad Bears and a Bunny by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater (2005). One in a series of completely goofy books about 2 polar bears (Irving and Muktuk) who have wild adventures while living at a zoo in Bayonne. There is no zoo in Bayonne, but if there was I’m pretty sure it would have a couple of characters like these two. They tease a bunny and then scare themselves silly doing it. Laugh out loud good.
Feb
5
I own 65 pairs of shoes.
I’m not really sure why I have this many shoes. I never wear most of them. All those pointy-toed gems are relics from my brief stint on Wall St. while I was in grad school. They’re not especially practical for work in an elementary school, and they’ve been largely retired to a hanging shoe caddy that I never see behind the closet door. I have a few pairs of heels, but as someone who has sprained the same ankle 6 times over the years (once from literally just walking across a floor), heels and I don’t mix so well. I have a ridiculous number of ballet flats: 20 pairs. Ten of those are from Target for around $12, and I’ve really considered hot-gluing the broken soles back together just to keep them in the collection. And some of them I’ve never, ever worn. I also have 6 pairs of Keds, but I only actually live in 2 of those pairs.
And then there are the shoes that don’t even fit. Before Adam and I were married, back in our swinging days of disposable income and no mortgage, I lived for Zappos. I would fall in love with shoes and buy them, even if they were only still available in 1 size that wasn’t my own. See those fabulous orange pointy-toed loafers on the floor? Those have never fit me, but I refused to return them. Or those pointy kitten heels with the leopard print detail on the toe? They are the narrowest shoes in history.
But I am extremely sentimental about shoes. I always have been. My college application essay was all about a pair of work boots I’d had since 8th grade (hey, it was the grunge 90s), and how I wanted to be wearing those shoes for my first day of college. So I know it takes me years and years to get rid of them. Those black patterned Keds slip-ons with owls on them (on the floor) helped us find the graphic designer who made our wedding stationery. The pointy black slingbacks are the shoes I bought to wear the 1st time I met Adam’s parents. There are black heels I bought while studying abroad in Florence, brown hiking shoes that went on safari with me, and the first pair of heels I ever bought when I got my first real job out of college. Those mustard-yellow loafers? One of the acquisitions from my annual back-to-school shoe shopping spree with my mom.
Since 2010 is a year of paring down and relaxing, I know the time has come to part with some of these shoes. Rationally, I know that. I literally have no more room for shoes. Some of them are disintegrating before my eyes. But I love them all, with or without holes, whether or not they fit, regardless of the last time I wore them. So where do I start?
Feb
5
I want this chair.
No idea where I would put it, but I want it. I was looking on the West Elm site for ideas on what to put one of my last Christmas gift cards towards. And I saw this.
Just this week I used the Williams-Sonoma gift card from that same treasure trove of goodies my mom gave me.
I bought these hard-to-find Message-in-a-Cookie cutters. They’re sold out online, and eBay already has some going for nearly $50. But I walked into my local store and found them for the normal price of $19.99. No problems. So I also got some plain white cupcake papers (a staple), and some gorgeous sanding sugar, candy pearls, and little hearts for decorating.
So I still have my Sephora gift card and that West Elm card. And one for a restaurant. But I think the others have all been spent on delightful goodies by now.
Feb
3
Laura Numeroff with Kindergarten
Filed Under children's books, crafts, teaching
This post is insanely overdue. I did a Laura Numeroff unit with kindergarten in November and December. We started with Dogs Don’t Wear Sneakers at the end of our October “imagination” unit. Then starting in November we read all of her If You… books, starting with the classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. We talked about what “circular stories” are, stories that end the same way they began.
Then in December, just like we did last year for this unit, we wrote our own If You… stories. We brainstormed our favorite animals until we could agree on one as a class. Then we thought of things to give them or places to take them. It’s a very democratic process, but with a lot of steering by me (kindergartners can be very easily distracted).
We were the authors of the story as a class, and then we became illustrators once the stories were written. Each student got a scene from our class story to draw. Some of them are right on the money, some of them are just 5-year-olds having fun. But I love this unit, I have so much fun with it. But I didn’t get the projects hung in our library gallery until the 1st week of January, and then I was out sick forever and didn’t get photos taken right away. So that’s that. Below are the stories we wrote in each class.
If you Give a Monkey a Haircut
If you give a monkey a haircut, he’s going to try and hide.
You will give him a chocolate robot to make him come out.
He will eat the robot.
Eating the robot will remind him of his favorite toy.
He will ask you to take him to the toy store to get his toy a friend.
At the store, he will see a giant stuffed banana.
The banana will make him hungry.
He will ask you to take him to the grocery store to buy bananas.
Eating the banana will make him want chocolate.
The chocolate will remind him of the chocolate robot.
Chances are he will ask you for a chocolate robot.
And if you give him a chocolate robot,
He will let you take him to get a haircut.
If You Give a Goat a Pizza
If you give a goat a pizza,
She’s going to ask for a plate.
When you give her the plate, she will ask for a spoon and a fork.
She will have a hard time cutting with the spoon.
She will get cheese and pepperoni EVERYWHERE.
She will go to the kitchen to get a sponge to clean up.
On her way to the kitchen she will see the pool.
She will want to go in.
She will ask for a bathing suit and towel.
She will climb the ladder to go down into the pool.
She will want you to play Marco Polo with her.
This will make her want to invite her friends lion, duck, squirrel, and dog over for a pool party.
And chances are,
If she throws a pool party.
If You Give a Dolphin a Sandwich
If you give a dolphin a sandwich,
He will ask you to cut it into triangles.
Seeing the triangles will remind him of Santa’s hat
He will ask you to take him to the mall to see Santa.
Santa will give him a lollipop.
The lollipop will make him thirsty.
He will ask to go to the water fountain.
The water will remind him of home.
He will ask you to take him to the aquarium.
At the aquarium he will see a shark’s fin.
The fin will remind him of triangles.
And chances are if he thinks about triangles,
He’s going to ask you for a sandwich.
If You Take an Elephant to the Mall
If you take an elephant to the mall,
He’s going to ask you for some shoes.
You’ll take him to the dancing shoes store,
And he will get tap shoes.
On the checkout line he will start dancing with the checkout girl.
Dancing will remind him of his days in the circus.
He will want to go back to visit his friends.
Going back to the circus will make him miss his mom.
So he will want you to take him to Africa!
You’re going to need a suitcase.
You will pack picture frames, a camera, and clothes.
Packing will make him want to say goodbye to his new friend the checkout girl.
And chances are, if he wants to say goodbye
You’ll have to take him back to the mall.
Feb
2
Vietnamese Noodle Soup
Filed Under food
I can’t believe it, but this is the first recipe I’m posting in 2010.
I made a noodle soup inspired by pho last summer, and I wasn’t wild about it. Adam loved it, but I thought the fish sauce flavor was a little too strong. The January/February 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine has another recipe for it that’s also extremely low calorie. If you follow the recipe exactly, it’s 334 calories for a huge, yummy bowl. I used a pound of beef sirloin instead of 3/4 of a pound, plus just a tiny amount of oil when the sirloin stuck to the saucepan (maybe half a teaspoon). I also added a little bit of salt to the soup because with the low sodium broth it was really bland. Not a lot, just a pinch or so. It’s definitely more of a spiced soup than a salty soup. So I’m calling mine 400 calories a bowl. I made it last night and thought it was great. Really fantastic for a dinner, and it’s perfect for everyone in the Reeve house getting over colds/flu.
I forgot to buy ginger, and I couldn’t find star anise pods. So I actually used a healthy amount of Five Spice Powder in place of both, and it was awesome. There’s still fish sauce in this recipe, but it isn’t nearly as overpowering to me.
I’m posting the original version of the recipe.
Vietnamese Noodle Soup (from Food Network Magazine)
Serves: 4 good-sized bowls
8 ounces rice noodles
12 ounces lean beef sirloin, fat trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, halved **I actually sliced my onion before cooking it, the original recipe says cook it first and then slice it.
1 4″ piece of ginger, unpeeled, halved
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
5 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
4 scallions
2 jalapeno peppers, preferably red and green **I could only find green, red is just for color.
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2-4 tablespoons fish sauce (I went with 2)
1 cup fresh bean sprouts