Children's Book Review: Sunny's Adventures 57

I love to find children's books with a baking tie-in. It gives me such joy to expose children to the wonderful warmth and quiet passion that is following a recipe. In todays world, not as much time is spent watching the skilled rhythms of well versed hands whipping up tasty baked goods in the well used kitchens of our homes, at least not as much as in my childhood or those before me.

...Kid Mystery?

Sunny's Adventures
will intrigue
your budding Sleuths...

Sunny's Adventures delivers that warmth that only
whispers of childhood could bring forth. The words
upon the page awaken the innocent ramblings and
romping we all shared with our neighborhood
friends on bright sunny days. When our back-
yards were jungles. And time spent with
family baking was a special treat.

Book Specs:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 52 pages
• Publisher: Jabberwocky Books (June 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980245605
• ISBN-13: 978-0980245608
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Author : Leketha Marie Johnson
• Author website: http://www.sunnysadventures.com/
• Author's blog entry: New Book - Sunny's Adventures

Contents:

Sunny's Adventures has 5 chapters, or 5 mystery stories within the main story. Even though the reading level claims to be for 9-12 year olds, I was able to read this to my 5 yr old and it held her attention - with a bit of enthusiasm and voice play on my part.

The main character Sunny, is a young girl, determined to get to the bottom of every mystery that unfolds around her. From missing puppies, to turtles to diamond rings and dolls - she gets the clues and leads her friends to the scene of the crime. And once solved she finds herself a big helping of her grandmother's cake, a tribute to her grandmother's seeming tireless baking.

I especially liked the 3rd chapter "The Mystery of The Cooking Contest", where Sunny and her grandmother enter a pie contest, and the pie ends up missing!

My daughter loved the animals and the fact that this girl was solving mysteries by putting the clues together and baking too.

There are quizzes at the end of the 5 chapters to encourage critical thinking, and my 5 yr old was pretty excited to come up with the answers.

There are black and white illustrations throughout the book that are very whimsical and kid friendly. My daughter couldn't get enough viewing them and connecting them with the words being read in parts of the story.

Summary:

Sunny's Adventures is a wonderful children's mystery which celebrates the joys of baking with family and the value of friendships. Your children from ages 5yrs+ will delight in following Sunny on her journey to find clues and solve each mystery, all aided with whimsical illustrations, and chapter specific quizzes which will stimulate your child's critical thinking and problems solving abilities.

The view expressed here are mine & mone alone. I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Parent Reviewers on behalf of Leketha Marie Johnson. In addition, I received copy of Sunny's Adventured in exchange for my honest feedback.Please read more about Renaissance Culinaire's Disclosure Policy

Book Review : How to Survive the Real World 2

Once the familiar feelings and memories of your college life have started to fade away, replaced with more pressing matters, and the feeling of accomplishment has toned down a bit after graduation - you may find yourself in a panic about leaving your comfort zone and getting out into the world.

.....New Grad?

How To Survive The Real World
honest
advice will school
you...

How To Survive The Real World by Hundreds of Heads is a collaboration of tips, stories and quotes by grads who did survive, they give advice on what they learned out in the real world.

Book Specs:

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hundreds of Heads Books (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933512032
• ISBN-13: 978-1933512037
• 103 Tips on How to Win a Job and Impress Your New Boss
• 24 Ways to "Get Out and Get On With It"
• Info on Starting Down The Right Financial Path
• Advice on Office Dating
• Basic Survival Skill: Etiquette, Cooking and Buying a Car

I am always a little skeptical of guides like this. I never pick up those

"for dummies" books, Maybe it's a bit of a put off for me to purchase

a book that tries to teach you so condescendingly. But apparently these

books are helping some people - because thousands upon thousands

of "dummies" books have been sold.

How To Survive The Real World surprised me. When I picked it up and

started to read through the pages - I found it pretty enlightening and rather

humorous. It wasn't like reading from some boring manual penned by a

stuffy, elitist professional, such as allot of these types of books are, that are

geared towards grads.

How To Survive The Real World is like sitting down to chat with your
best friends - the ones you can pour your heart out to and that won't make you feel completely idiotic. The friends who you secretly admire for their guts and grittiness because they always seem to have no fear when it comes to tackling difficult situations , and who have the crazy stories to prove it. And it's these same friends who you always have the happiest and enthralling times with.


How would you like to have 774 friends like this? This book combines real, sometimes brash, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, advice from the grads who set out before you and I, to conquer their destinies - but surprise, their grand visions didn't always match their real life situation.

This book is full of really useful tips and advice for just about any situation the college grad might find themselves in. Here are just a few examples - a guide to stocking your first kitchen, resume dos & don't(s), email etiquette - this is great material to have at your disposal. I would highly recommend How To Survive The Real World.

Product Review: See Me Read Kit - Complete 6

Have you wished there was an educational product out there - one you could add your child's pic to, that would help him/her get better at reading ? See Me Read  is a product aimed at helping early readers succeed. After seeing her success from working with her own son - Lori Albert Luke , worked with childhood literacy expert Lynette Frentte to create the See Me Read^TM kit, a program that features personalized whole-word learning tools.

See Me Read Kit
Completely customizable...

The Product Specs:

I received the complete kit. The kit includes:

1. Laminated Reader Cards (24 words)
2. Reading Books Level 1 and Level 2
3. Labels (24 words)
4. Writing Pad
5. Parent Guide on encouraging reading and
   tips for success

When you go to the See Me Read site , you
have 3 options, or kits, to choose from.
The largest kit is the complete kit.
You have the option to "Buy now,create
later" or "create now".

When you create your personalized kit,

You will be asked to choose 24 words out

of 39 words - the words are people,

objects, animals or places(such as dad,

or bathroom) . You will then be instructed

to take pictures of your child or upload

pictures you already have, that match

the what each word

describes (such as a picture of Ella stand-

ing in"Ella's room " or "Ella's cat"). These

are the words your child will be learning

to spell and read.

If you have selected the full kit you will also

need to fill out a questionnaire because the

Reading Book Level 2 has more advanced

sentences that need to be personalized to

fit your child's kit.

This process will take anywhere from

45 minutes to an hour. So prepare to have

some time freed up if you will be ordering

this complete kit.

The selected kit will then be shipped out and you

should receive it via USPS in 2 weeks.

Product Pros:

1. Flash cards are large and heavily laminated, and are put on a jump ring - this is great because I know with my kids they loose anything cards related, having these cards on a ring ends having to pull them from every which corner and crevice in our house months after the fact.
2. The Labels, Flash Cards, Reading Books 1 & 2 are all written in large print , and are not to busy or distracting, making for kids friendly reading.
3. This kit integrates learning to read into your child's environment so everything your child is reading about is familiar and welcoming - there is no instance for your child to feel overwhelmed by being in a strange environment, so the learning is natural and at your child's own pace - SO much so that your child will wake up wanting to learn more.
4. By using your own child's name and pictures on these tools, this encourages your kids to embrace themselves in a new light - one that will boost self esteem and confidence
5. The kit is designed with pre-school and kindergarten curriculum in mind
6. This kit is easy to use, and your child will practically teach him/herself.
7. The included notebook has exercises to stimulate your child's creativity and fine motor skills by encouraging your child not only to read the object but to also draw the objects she/he has been learning to spell out.

Product Cons:

1. The parent guide mentions putting the labels on the object they are describing (such as a dresser), at your child's eye level to encourage them to read wherever they are and learn through association. But I can't help but wish the labels were laminated like the flash cards.

Hint: If you purchase the kit I would recommend you take the labels into Kinko's to get them laminated - especially if you will be using with younger siblings later on.

Conclusion:

The See Me Read Kit Complete is an excellent tool to help get your little one on the right track to reading regularly. I would definitely recommend it.

Book Reviews: Let's Get Ready Series 8

I am excited to review 2 wonderful children's books that are geared at readying your little ones for Kindergarten and First Grade. My daughter will be entering kindergarten this Fall, and these books couldn't have come at a better time.

Out of all the "get ready" books I have seen so far, the Let's Get Ready Series from Cedar Valley Publishing are the most engaging for kids and made from materials that are kid friendly.

Both books are paperback, with thicker than average paperback pages - that are laminated! What a great feature, this allows you to let your children, or even their younger siblings handle the book without worrying too much about the book getting torn.

These books aren't just work at home books - they teach the curriculum that is found in your child's kindergarten and firstgrade classrooms.

Plus 10% of the profits are donated to literacy programs.

Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! (Let's Get Ready Series)
is written by Linda Desimowich and Stacey Kannenberg . Illustrated by Joyce Babel-worth.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Cedar Valley Publishing (March 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933476001
ISBN-13: 978-193347600

Mrs. Good , the books fictional teacher guides you and your little reader through the skills needed to prepare your child for her kindergarten class: telling time, recognizing money, making a calendar, colors and shapes, body parts, counting to 100, learning 5 senses, rhyming words, opposites, seasons and much more.

From reading, to recognizing money, to learning which hand is left or right , the fictional classmates in the book show your child learning IS fun. My daughter was begging me to teach her with this book.

The illustrations are very lively and fun. With great colors to keep little ones interest on each page you share.

This book not only will give you the tools and confidence to teach your child in an engaging, age appropriate way - But will also give you tips on how to ready your child for school days, and coach her on classroom issues such as bullying.





Lets Get Ready For First Grade!(Let's Get Ready Series)
Written by Dori Schmitz and Illustrated by Tracey Jackson.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 44 pages
Publisher: Cedar Valley Publishing (March 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933476109
ISBN-13: 978-1933476100

Mrs. Best, the books fictional teacher, and fictional classmates, will help you teach your child important academic milestones to learn for first grade : Writing full name & number, recognizing upper and lower case letters that out out of sequence, adding & subtraction, numbers 1-30, counting to 100, recognizing patterns, skip counting by 5s, 10s to 100, know money and value, reading basic sentences, under standing weather and so much more.

The illustrations are still fun and inviting, but are much more detailed in this book, sure to interest more motivated first graders.

Lets Get Ready For First Grade! really details first grade classwork. You will feel right at home teaching and following along with the book.There are also tips for fostering self esteem and proper ways to handle sensitive issues.

Overall Let's Get Ready Series are great books that will having you wondering why you didn't find them sooner. Your children will enjoy having the time spent with you and learning the cool skills in these books. I highly recommend them!

Guest Post With Kate Jacobs : On Food Memories From Childhood 4

I got a chance to ask Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club; And her most recent foodie geared novel Comfort Food , a very personal question.

RC: How do you feel food memories from childhood shape us into adults?

Image © Kate Jacobs.

KJ: We all have wonderful memories of meals shared with families, sitting around the table with the Thanksgiving turkey and summer barbecues eating corn on the cob.

I love birthday cake,

just like the main character Gus in my new novel Comfort Food, and I remember my sister decorating a cake that looked like a pizza with all the toppings for my fifth grade sleepover party. That was the birthday I got a puppy, Pepsi, who was my first Springer Spaniel and one of my dearest friends ever.

It’s all connected for me: the cake, the friends, the puppy. That was one of the best days of my life!

And I love to recall having fresh fruit pie at my grandmother’s house

Made with cherries that my brothers and sisters had just picked off the trees in her yard. Amazing. Those are the meals you wish you could fly back in a time machine and savor again and again, and also enjoy the company of family who aren’t here anymore.


But sometimes food isn’t just about family. Sometimes it’s about culture and identity.

I remember how, growing up in Canada, I always thought of S’mores as being particularly American, and as such I was fascinated by them. Now, I was never a Girl Guide (that’s Canadian for a Girl Scout) and so I didn’t go camping and so on. Instead, I saw Archie & Betty talking about them in the comics: It was just this American cultural go-to that seemed so different to me. Well, this was something I had to get in on, you know?

I recall trying to make some in the microwave on July 4: I was always a very pro-American Canadian. (And now I’m American and Canadian, so it’s really worked out for me.) But, anyway, back to my little experiment, which even involved a trip biking to the corner store to use some allowance money to invest in some very American Hershey chocolate. I took some graham crackers from the cupboard, put on several squares of chocolate, little mini marshmallows because that’s what we had at home, and topped it off with another graham cracker. I wrapped up the whole thing tightly in waxed paper and cooked the hell out of it the microwave. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. Definitely gooey, definitely sweet. Though a S’more lacks a certain something something when it doesn’t have the roasting from the open fire.

I must say my early culinary tastes were quite influenced by comic books

I read a lot of and all types of comic books as a kid. I also saw a Dennis the Menace that had an activity page that included a tip on pickling carrots. The whole gist was that if you put carrots in a jar of pickles and let them soak overnight, the carrots would taste pickled. Well, duh: That’s what my 34-year-old self says. My 8-year-old self was utterly entranced as though Julia Child herself had made the suggestion. I would get very upset if my mother did not save the juice when we finished a jar of pickles. After all, I needed that for my Dennis-the-Menace carrots! Making those pickles felt like a sign of independence and worldliness: I had my own special “thing.”

Food is so much more than just calories and nutrition.
It’s also captures a moment, an emotion, with taste and aroma. And feel. Think of the sensation of a melting Popsicle running down your fingers on a hot summer day and try not to smile. Food can be good times, you know? And that’s what I wanted to capture in Comfort Food. This feeling of laughter and celebration and happiness.










Related Posts From Renaissance Culinaire:

• Hot Pepper Gingerbread Muffins with Orange-Maple Butter
• Blurb on Big Small Plates : Recipe for Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa
• Recipe: Italian Turdilli
• The things that shape us - Grade school incidents
• Bread or Dead
• Tommorow is my birthday...At 4:10 A.M Feb. 8 th

Review: Sweet Melissa Baking Book 2

On first glance, this book is a slightly smaller than the average
glossy cookbook, you know the kind - almost ready to feature as
a coffee table book, rather than a cookbook that goes on your shelf.
That kind of cookbook has really become a standard trend.

Unlike allot of other cookbooks, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book gets right to the point. There is no lengthy forward, just a few pages mentioning Melissa
Murphy's schooling and where she has gotten her restruant experience.
She explains her love of baking and why she bakes certain items at her bake shop - Sweet Melissa Patissarie in New York, which has been going strong for 10 yrs .

Reading the forward is enough to make you love this cookbook even more. The forward really sets the tone, and you began to see Melissa's thoughtfulness shine through in each and every recipe she features in this book. The recipes are all easy to follow and have detailed instructions from the procedure, through baking of the final product.

When it comes to cookbooks the trend is to have a glossy full size picture on every other page. This sometimes can deter the purpose of a cookbook - to showcase the recipe it's self. The Sweet Melissa Baking Book is mainly recipes, with a short insert of assorted glossy pictures, but the pictures in noway detract from the main purpose of this cookbook.

As for skill level, I would say that this book is great for all skill levels --- just pack a love of baking and an attention to details, so your recipes will come out just as yummy as they sound in this book.

As you start to delve into the contents, you will notice throughout the book Melissa offers her commentary with personal antidotes on how she feels about the baked goods, she features in each chapter. Also throughout the book there are special notations with instructions to "do it like the pros".


Highlights of this cookbook by Chapter:

01 The first section offers a fine selection of Quick breads, muffins, scones and other breakfast fare.

"...I've realized that it may seem odd to some of you to to eat dessert for breakfast...so I disguised it. But who are we kidding? You love sticky buns first thing in the morning just as much as I do!" - Melissa Murphy on Dessert for Breakfast.

My favorite recipes from this section include: Hot Pepper Muffins with Orange Maple Butter ; Guinness Gingerbread; and Raised Waffles with warm brown sugar bananas.

01a Prefaced with a story of her childhood involving her older brothers tricking her into eating creme donuts that had the least amount of creme, and her disappointment in the lack there of . She devoted this section to creme filled sweet buns - spawned from her love of donuts, but lack of equipment in her bake shop to fry them, she ingeniously created a great formula to bake in the oven.

" I Love the resulting compromise - sweet tender brioche style buns filled with pastry cream then dipped in honey caramel...Mm-mm-mm-yummy!" - Melissa Murphy on Bee Stings.

She outlines the formula for both the sweet buns and the pastry creme.

02 Devoted to yummy after school treats cookies and brownies - such as Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Black Bottom Brownies, and Pistachio Linzer Thumbprints.

"..The highlight of my day I remember was ...just baked batch of my favorite cookies. "- Melissa Murphy on After School Snack

03 Features a Step by step guide to assemble, crumb coat and frost a layer cake. Filled with tantalizing layer cakes , complete with lovely frostings and the fillings to accompany them.

"..one thing is for sure: You have to start with a great cake. This is essential, and to me, the best part." - Melissa Murphy on Special Layer Cakes

These recipes can all be used for wedding cakes, without any special formulation, just double or triple the recipes for more layers.

04 This section has many crust recipes. Your mouth will water when you read the titles of these recipes for various pies, tarts and and a master recipe for preserves. Examples are: Pear Cranberry Pie with Ginger Snap Crust, Strawberry-Ruby Grapefruit preserves.

05 Luscious recipes for puddings, Specialty Pies, Cheesecakes and more. Just read some of the titles : Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake with Cornmeal Crumble Crust, Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze, Pumkin Bread Pudding with Caramel-Rum Glaze.

"My mom made dessert to end our meal, but she always made it on Sundays...you could smell it at the end of the driveway...she knew how to get her children to the..table" - Melissa Murphy on Sunday Suppers Grand Finale

06 The Last section deals with gifting of homemade candies, brittles and truffles.

" ..recipes in this chapter are even more special for gift giving because these are things people rarely make themselves. Honey Cream Caramels, Butterscotch Pralines, Peanut butter Truffles, Chocolate Peppermint Meringues---You can't buy these presents." - Melissa Murphy on Favorite Gifts

I think that The Sweet Melissa Baking Book is a purchase well spent. It will become a favorite addition to any cookbook or baking library.



Related Posts:

• Hot Pepper Muffins with Orange Maple Butter
• Contest : Cookbook For 5 Lucky Random Winners

Review : Morimoto - The New Art of Japanese Cooking 4

For me this is an orgasmic book of unmeasured proportions. I have loved Iron Chef. I have loved Japanese cooking and finally the two have merged and come full circle. On viewing the book it's self - wow. A nice presentation. A heavy slightly over sized cookbook. 

Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking.

Morimoto

The editing of this book is very well done. Nice graceful modern designs. Page after page of glossy step by step images and techniques, and notations on traditional Asian ingredients and how that translates to using and accessing them (or a finding suitable substitutions) in the US . If I ever wanted to publish a cookbook, it would be in this style.

This book showcases why Chef Morimoto^w is at the axis of a foodie empire, in this creative and intuitive take on Japanese cuisine. When I read this cookbook, I felt like the foodie version of Being John Malkovich , as this book allows you to peer inside the thoughts and actions of this culinary genius.

In relation to skill level, I would recommend this book to people who have at least an intermediate knowledge of culinary techniques. The beginning home cook might not know how to utilize or apply the techniques Chef Morimoto has outlined in this book.

It would be wise to do some further research on Japanese Culinary techniques also, as this book can only highlight certain facets of the cuisine itself and not act as a reference manual or course book on Japanese Cuisine as a whole.

If you have ever had an inkling of adoration for Asian style cuisine, or are awestruck at the complexities of the full spectrum of Professional Japanese Culinary , as I am, you would enjoy this book.

Highlights of this book include:

• An in depth look at how the Japanese chef works his knife magic to create beautiful Sashimi ^w and Sushi ^w works of art out of various ingredients - parts of fish, Octopus , and Various Vegetables .
• Recipes that are full of depth and charisma.
• Master recipes of various sauces and marinades.
• Text about the origins and importance of ingredients utilized in Japanese cuisine.
• Beautiful photography displaying the frame by frame procedures for each culinary technique, and the eloquent plate presentation for each recipe.
• A glossary of Japanese terms , as well as a source guide for obtaining specialty ingredients.

Overall this book is a wonderful culinary journey that enables the reader to cultivate a better understanding of chef Morimoto, Japanese cuisine and the culinary revelations that Morimoto has contributed to todays culinary field. I loved this book!

Book Review | INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES 1

...The evil men do lives after them
(feminist revision of history) and the good is oft
Interred with their bones
(contrived feminist amnesia) --- William Shakespeare...

Personally, I am especially drawn to old books,
the ones found in archaic corners, exiled for
decades in stuffy dark corners, sheathed in a
cloak of cobwebs and dust bunnies. Those are
the most fun! Almost like a treasure discovery,
if you open an old book or two, you may find
lost love letters or pictures of bygone eras,
hidden in their pages .

This book makes a smooth transition, at once
you feel at home nestled in it's pages. This will
be one of many reviews I will be posting on
this blog, and one of many sponsored by
Mother Talk.


Onto the review of:
Jennifer Lee Carrell's second published
book Interred with their bones.

I picked up my copy of this book. The cover felt smooth.
A very substantial book. Wrapped securely in
its jacket, I was reminded of Shakespeare 's cloak.

On the first page of this work, you realize it is written in first
person, in 2004, through the eyes of Kathrine Stanely, an
American woman who lands a stage production at the newly
erected replica of The Globe theater ^w, in London, directing
Hamlet ^w no less.

Kathrine the main character, is deeply moved by
Shakespeare's ^w writings and is well versed in the
curses and hidden codes that dwell within the
Shakespearian lore ^w. The Globe is hallowed
ground for her. Unbeknown to Kathrine, she
will be visited before the production by her once
celebrated, now estranged mentor - Harvard
Shakespearean Professor Rosalind Howard. The
Professor , a.k.a Roz, brings with her a mysterious
gold boxed gift for Kathrine. Although Kathrine is
at once indignant towards this surprise visit, her
curiosity gets the best of her and she accepts the
strange gift.

That same night, her beloved Globe theater is engulfed
in flames, to her horror she has become a shocked
spectator. Once the flames have been extinguished ,
she finds Roz, dead , mirroring the same manner of
death as Hamlet's own father, in the play Hamlet.
Kathrine is beside herself, as images of Roz's death
and the fire conjure up eerie reminders of Shakespeare's unrelenting ghost.

Kathrine opens the gold box, the last connection to her old friend , and finds a Victorian mourning brooch ^info, with flowers reminiscent of Ophelia ^w, a character also of Hamlet fame.

Alarm bells sound in her head, and spur her on a harrowing trek across the Atlantic and beyond, to decipher the clues and find the truth. Unfortunately a killer lays chase, murdering those who volunteer to testify what secrets they hold, a hurried effort to silence all those who could help uncover an archaic deceitful plot, which would certainly change history.

"In the history of the English-speaking peoples, he has no equal. Tongue-in-cheek propaganda about seriously-meant, split-level propaganda implies a depth of understanding that was supposedly not available to the uneducated masses. But he still entertained them in his own lifetime, even if it was just in a little wood & thatch theater. By the time we began to understand what he understood, he was long-dead." --- quoted from an unnamed Bard Lover

Interred with their bones promises to intrigue even the least schooled in Shakespearean lit. A thoughtful creation that glorifies all that is Bard ^w, this book will entertain. Much as Will's own word smithing, the playful yet dangerous dance with his ghost in this book proves enlightening.

For an interesting author account and the story behind the book visit here.

Find more about the author at her website : http://www.jenniferleecarrell.com/