I’m watching the live streaming at whitehouse.gov of the signing of this important bill. Hurray for all those working to reform school lunches and make them healthier. I’m so glad that Michelle Obama has taken on childhood obesity as a major issue for her work as first lady. As many of you know, I’ve been concerned about this issue for years. Continue reading “Signing of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010”
Celery Root, Sorry!
Celery root, also called celeriac, is one of the vegetables I did not include in my upcoming (June, 2011) book, Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant. It wasn’t an intentional oversight. It just didn’t fit the rhythm/rhyme. This, well, homely veggie isn’t on the top of my shopping list but perhaps I should give it more of a try. A family member made it for Thanksgiving dinner in a lovely salad and it was delicious. So, here are some celery root photos for you to enjoy. Yes it’s knobbly! See also celery root along with other root stars such as parsnips and beets at the Hovenkamp’s Produce stand in the South Bend Farmer’s Market.
Celery root, or celeriac is a variety of celery grown for root size, not the stems we normal see as “celery” in the stores. (Regular celery did make it into the chant, by the way.)
What it is
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-celery-root.html
How to prepare celery root
A good salad recipe for it:
http://gregcarver.com/blog/2009/the-ugly-vegetable-celery-root/
A soup recipe for it:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/celery-root-and-potato-puree-recipe/index.html
June 14, 2011 book release:
Hooray for Hoppers!
While cleaning out my files, I found a magazine clipping about grasshoppers,, “Hooray for Hoppers,” by Diane Swanson, Ranger Rick magazine. I love Ranger Rick. It’s such an inspiring resource, a perfect monthly gift for the curious kid. The article says “An average grasshopper can jump a distance 20 times its length. Humans can jump only about five times their length…”
I can imagine educators coming up with some great activities related to these facts. Those activities might go along with my new book, released in February, IF YOU’RE HOPPY, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic, published by Greenwillow.
Global Education Conference
Author Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and I are speaking Tuesday, November 16th at 4 pm Eastern Time at the Global Education Conference. It’s all free and online on the Elluminate platform. You click on the session you want to attend and there’s a click through to quickly download the free software to your computer. You can participate, ask questions, chat, and so on. The bandwidth needed is minimal. A microphone is needed if you want to verbally ask a question but you can type them, instead. The Elluminate software works for both IBM and Mac. Look for Dorothy’s name on our session. The topic is CONNECTION. We will be talking about connecting kids to nature and writing along with brief coverage of some intricate ecological connections that will fascinate your students.
The conference runs Nov 15-19th. 397 sessions from 62 countries!
Check it out! Just select your time zone to see what’s happening.
Sessions are recorded for viewing later, too.
October Rodent
Forget the big animals in Yosemite National Park, CA. This was our favorite seen and photographed there. It has fascinating behavior, somewhat like a fox squirrel, but also a little bit like a prairie dog, too. It does not live in large groups, as prairie dogs do. It does burrow in the ground. It is the California Ground Squirrel.
Education Student University Presentation
Education student Jamie Steigerwalt recently wrote to me about what she presented in class as part of an author/book study. With her permission, I’m reprinting it here.
I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how my presentation went last night. Everything went well and my class was very excited to hear about you. I must admit, it was so easy to talk about you and your books. I chose to do my activities on Hush Little Puppy, Stars Beneath Your Bed, and Splish, Splash, Animal Baths. I did a phonics activity with Hush Little Puppy and focused on rhyming. Continue reading “Education Student University Presentation”
Children’s Book Author/Illustrator Links
More author sites for you to investigate:
Amy Timberlake http://www.amytimberlake.com
April Halprin Wayland http://www.TeachingAuthors.com
Alison James http://www.JAlisonJames.com
April Pulley Sayre http://www.aprilsayre.com
Ashley Formento http://www.alisonashleyformento.com
Alvina Ling http://bloomabilities.blogspot.com
Anne Broyles http://www.annebroyles.com
Anne Ylvisaker http://www.anneylvisaker.com
Barbara Garrison www.barbaragarrison.com
Betsy James http://www.betsyjames.com
Bill Crider http://www.billcrider.com
Christine Taylor Butler http://www.ChristineTaylorButler.com
Carmen Bernier Grand www.carmenberniergrand.com
Diane Greenseid http://www.dianegreenseid.com
Debby Dahl Edwardson http://www.debbydahledwardson.com
Elizabeth Winthrop http://elizabethwinthrop.com
Elizabeth Raum www.elizabethraum.net
Elizabeth O. Dulemba http://dulemba.com
Erin Eitter Kono http://www.eekono.com
Hope Vestergaard http://www.hopevestergaard.com
Joy Allen http://joyallensblog.blogspot.com
Jennifer J. Stewart http://www.jenniferjstewart.com
Janie Bynum http://www.janiebynum.com
Jane Naliboff www.janenaliboff.com
Katie Davis http://www.katiedavisblog.com
Kim Norman http://www.kimnormanbooks.com
Karen Romano Young www.karenromanoyoung.com
Lee Wardlaw http://www.leewardlaw.com
Lisa Harkrader www.ldharkrader.com
Laya Steinberg http://www.layasteinberg.com
Louise Hawes http://www.louisehawes.com
Marsha Skrypuch http://www.calla.com
Mary dePalma http://www.marynewelldepalma.com
Nancy Bo Flood www.nancyboflood.com
Philomena O’Neill www.philomenaoneill.com
Peni Griffin http://penigriffin.blogspot.com
Phillis Gershator http://www.phillisgershator.com
Rebecca Thornburgh http://www.rebeccathornburgh.com
Ruth McNally Barshaw http://www.ruthexpress.com
Sarah Dillard http://www.sarahdillard.blogspot.com
Sarah Darer Littman http://sarahdarerlittman.com
Sharon Vargo http://sharonvargo.blogspot.com
Sheila Bailey http://home.teleport.com/~northpaw
Tanya Lee Stone http://www.tanyastone.com
Val Hobbs www.valeriehobbswritingforlife.blogspot.com
Wendy Lichtman http://www.wendylichtman.com
Conference Talks and Signings
Meet me at the International Reading Association (IRA) National Conference in Chicago!
Monday April 26th, 2-3 p.m. Signing at Henry Holt booth
Tuesday April 27th, 9-10 a.m. Signing at Charlesbridge booth
Thank you to Isabel Baker at the Book Vine, who hosted me at DVAEYC, the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, where I spoke last week. (Philadelphia was awesome!) Isabel specializes in children’s books perfect for the youngest students and the educators who work with them. Her business is in Illinois but she ships far and wide.
April Animal Is Not a Fox
This is not a Fox Squirrel. It is another kind. Some people call it the piney squirrel. It is actually the Red Squirrel. We have seen photos of these squirrels elsewhere and those populations of Red Squirrels look much more red all over. This one is adding material to its nest in Spring. Usually we see them add material in Fall. Perhaps the baby squirrels are making a mess so this adult had to take out some material from the nest and replace it?