All Set

Happy Easter Eve to all!

Book Talk: Elementary Non-fiction

One of the things I have learned since becoming our school's completely amateur librarian is that it is very difficult to classify books according to age. It is also not a great idea to do that when it comes to encouraging reading. Particularly in the elementary years, there tends to be a big range of reading levels, as different kids learn at a different pace. Reading levels depend much more on interest and ability than age.

When I labeled the books at school, I made sure not to use the word "beginner" anywhere. If that's the level of students who have been reading for three years, I don't want to discourage them from reading the books that will be appropriate for them to read just because they see that word "beginner" and feel ashamed that they're still reading at that level.

However. 

We're all adults here. I think I can safely use generic terms like "elementary" and you'll all know I mean kids in the range of about the 6-11 years of age. And you'll also know that you may have or know kids who are much younger than that who can enjoy these books, as well as kids who are much older who are in the same position. 

That said, 6 years old to 11 years old often sees a huge jump in reading ability, so even this list will span a pretty big range of reading levels.

Okay! Disclaimers over! On with the list.

Encyclopedia Prehistorica by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart--These are just cool. There are actually three in this series: Dinosaurs, Sharks and Other Sea Monsters, and Mega-Beasts. They are the most complicated and impressive pop-up books I've ever seen. It really is paper art. They have a ton of information in them, too, and dinosaurs are a perenially popular subject with kids. Every child loves these books. The only downside is that the pop-ups are a bit fragile if you have younger kids. 

Fragile maybe, but look how awesome.

The Way Things Work by David Macaulay--A giant book that explains exactly what the title says: the way things work. "Things" in this case being machines, from the most simple (levers) to more complicated (televisions). We have the original 1988 edition. There are a couple of newer editions that cover things like computers, too.

The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer--The subtitle of this series is "History for the Classical Child." I'm not entirely sure what a "classical child" is, but I do know this is an impressive set of world history books for young children. There are four volumes, covering the beginning of humans to the end of the twentieth century. Each volume is written at a successively higher reading level, so the first volume is supposed to be for grades 1-4, and the last one is meant for grades 4-8. However, both my older boys read them when they were in second and fourth grades and had no trouble with all four volumes. And there is a LOT of history in them. They are sort of vaguely Christian, I think, and are often used by homeschoolers for that reason, but I didn't notice it to be particularly pronounced. There are activity books for each volume, too, which are actually pretty cool.

The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Audio Field Guide by Donald Kroodsma--The MiL, who used to work at Cornell University and is a birder, bought Cubby this book. It was put together by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This is more for beginning birders, so maybe older kids can actually read all the very detailed accompanying text, but what has made it very, very popular with all of my children is that there are recordings of all the different bird songs. Each page has corresponding numbers with an accompanying explanation of each call, so you go to that number, press play, and you can listen to the bird's call(s) while looking at an illustration of the bird. It's really neat. We have the edition for Eastern and Central North America. But I discovered when I looked this up just now that there is an edition for Western North America, and you'd better believe I ordered it immediately.

The only book you will ever see me recommend that requires batteries.

A History of US by Joy Hakim--This 10-volume set of U.S. history is an investment, I will not lie. This set was used by the MiL's sister at the private elementary school she founded and ran for over twenty years. The MiL sent the whole set to Cubby a few years ago, and now that I've seen how much the boys love it and how much they have learned from it, I would absolutely shell out the $100 myself for it if we didn't already have it. It's written for older elementary grades or middle school. Both of my older boys have of course been more drawn to the volumes covering various wars, but they have voluntarily read every volume multiple times. If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is. History doesn't seem to be taught at the elementary level much in public schools. A., who was a history major in college, finds this a shocking omission. However, between the above-mentioned The Story of the World and A History of US, I'm confident that my older boys now know a lot more history than I do.

DK Eyewitness Books--Many titles, all published by Dorling Kindersley, a British publishing company. If you have a kid who is interested in a particular subject--weapons, kittens, castles, China--get him or her the DK Eyewitness book (look for the U.S. editions if you're in the U.S.) for that subject. They are packed with information, and they feature actual photographs, not lame illustrations. Some of the more modern DK books for kids seem to have succumbed to the plague of dumbing-down that has stricken children's publishing of late, but the Eyewitness series is pretty reliably high-quality.

National Geographic Kids readers--And speaking of dumbing down . . . What has happened with the National Geographic magazine in the last ten or so years is really disappointing. It used to be a high-quality, well-written, and interesting magazine about nature and the world, and now it is . . . not that. But I will say that their numerous leveled books for beginning readers are still worthwhile. They go from Level 1 (preschool) to Level 3 (about second grade) and cover a ton of different natural history topics. Great for kids who want their own book to read when they're just learning. 

What would you add to this list of elementary non-fiction?

Friday Food: Carp (Yes, They're Edible)

Friday 

Short version: Leftover shepherd's pie, scrambled eggs, leftover mashed potatoes with cheese

Long version: I was extremely tired after our long day of fishing, and we got home too late to do anything with the two carp we caught. So it was leftovers for the kids (who are not yet old enough that they have to forgo meat on Fridays during Lent), and scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes for the adults

Saturday

Short version: Fried carp, macaroni with pesto, raw green beans

Long version: A. took care of preparing the fish from the day before. It's always harder than you'd think to cut the head off of big fish.

When you start with a cleaver and a hammer, you know it's serious.

He followed a Polish recipe he found online that called for "dry marinating" it with onion. He used both 

onion and green garlic. 

Slightly more photogenic. If you ignore that fish head there. (Saved at the explicit request of Poppy, who wanted to eat the eyeball. Gross.)

Then it was dredged in egg and flour (he used masa) and fried. I think there was some lemon juice in there somewhere, too.

Carp actually taste good, but they have a LOT of tiny bones. The kids were very careful eating it, but they did find it a bit tedious.

The school cook had given me a ton of leftover macaroni and cheese on Wednesday. Well, not a literal ton, but at least three pounds. Unfortunately, it tasted kind of . . . odd. Almost like she had added green chile to it, which is entirely possible.

None of the kids liked it with the cheese sauce, so I rinsed that off as best I could and then heated up the plain macaroni with pesto and Parmesan. Unfortunately, enough of the cheese sauce remained inside the macaroni that two of four kids could still taste it and didn't like it. The other two ate it, though.

Sunday

Short version: Carp chowder*, fresh garlic rolls, Lindt truffles

Long version: A. used the rest of the carp, plus the onions and green garlic from the marinade to a make a chowder. There was also milk, butter, and potatoes, and it actually turned out really good. Better than the fried fish, I thought.

I was baking bread, so I pulled off a piece of dough for each child and made mini-garlic breads that ended up being pretty crusty rolls. Perfect with soup.

Calvin had some idea for a dessert that involved melting chocolate chips and then freezing it in ice cube trays. I wasn't sure what he was going for exactly, but I figured he wouldn't object to Lindt truffles. I had bought them for Easter baskets, and then my mother sent a whole bunch of chocolate for the baskets, so I figured we could have the truffles a bit early.

There were no complaints.

Monday

Short version: Extra shepherd's pie, bread and butter

Long version: I had an entire 13"x 9" pan of shepherd's pie left from when I made it on Thursday. I heated that up in the oven after work, and was very glad I didn't have to cook anything else.

The children finished up with the bread and butter.

Pause for a photo!

Sheep and shadows at sunrise.

Tuesday

Short version: Creamy green chile stew, bread and butter, cocoa

Long version: I needed to make more green chile sauce, so I did that, and then I used some of it to make the stew.

The bread and butter and cocoa were the consolation prizes for the stew. No one is ever very excited to see stew on the table. I'm seriously considering forgoing stew meat altogether next time we have a whole cow butchered and just getting it all as ground beef.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers as tacos, Dad's chile

Long version: I had cooked a chuck roast on Sunday just to have the meat on hand, and that's what I used for the tacos. I diced the beef, then heated it up with a bit of the leftover stew liquid. All the meat, potatoes, and carrots had been eaten from the stew, so it was really just a sauce left. 

The chile was A.'s pigs' foot chile. This was the last frozen container of it. 

And then I think the children had some slices of bread after dinner, and maybe some bowls of yogurt with maple syrup. I don't know. I was lying down so I could summon the energy to make crispy rice treats for the next day's spring party in the elementary school.

Thursday

Short version: Sausage-y meatloaf, biscuits, cucumber slices, pureed calabaza (freezer)

Long version: It had been awhile since I had added some pork sausage to the meatloaf mixture, but it does make it better. Particularly because the fat in the sausage balances out the leanness of our ground beef.

I actually made a slurry of the meatloaf additions (bread crumbs, eggs, barbecue sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder) Wednesday night and stored that in a jar in the refrigerator so that in the morning all I had to do was mix it with the thawed meat and form the loaves.

I did this because I was substituting for a teacher and so would not be home to cook during the day. Also Calvin's friend was coming after school and staying for dinner. He's a very polite boy, and I'm sure he would eat anything I gave him without comment, but I do like to make some effort when we have a guest.

The biscuits were just the baking powder biscuit recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I memorized about twenty years ago and that is apparently indelibly engraved on my brain. Except I use more butter. Because they're better that way.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

* This reminded both A. and me of the time the MiL gathered up a bunch of heads and carcasses from a mess of fish A. caught in the lake to make a fish soup. Coincidentally, today is the MiL's birthday. Happy birthday, MiL! You would have liked this chowder.

T.T.: And One for the Car

Any roadtrip in our family involves water, and lots of it. Given the distance to anything from our house, a roadtrip is pretty much anytime we get in the car. We don't drive places where we can buy water whenever we might need it, so every person riding in the car has his or her own water bottle. Partially this is to forestall the inevitable whining about having to share (horrors!), but mostly it's because that way, there is more total water in the car.

However, most water bottles only hold about 20 ounces of water. That's usually okay for a few hours in the car, but sometimes it's not. Particularly in the summer, when it's hotter and drier and everyone is thirstier. 

Given the distances we drive and the unpopulated areas we're driving through, water is absolutely essential. It's not even just a matter of comfort. If our vehicle broke down somewhere and we were stranded for a day or so, having water is really more a matter of survival.

In addition to the humans in the car, there is also the car itself to consider. If a car is overheating, you need water for the radiator to get anywhere so it can be fixed. This goes for our own vehicle, of course, but also for the many people we have stopped to help who are stranded because their own vehicles are overheating.

Having extra water on hand has allowed us to help quite a few people over the years.

This is why we never leave our property without at least a gallon of extra water. For longer trips, we have two or three. This allows us to re-fill the smaller water bottles if necessary, and to have some in case of emergencies.

You can start with buying a gallon jug of water that you then refill. Having a screw-top is important, so you don't end up with water spilled all over. We usually use a washed-out maple syrup jug.

The emergency jug, ready and waiting in the van.

In addition to drinking and car salvage, this jug of water has been used to rinse sticky hands, slosh vomit off the floor of the van (kids are fun!), rescue Cubby when he got in the car after a very hot football practice and couldn't wait ten more minutes to get more water . . . you get the idea.

It's just a good idea to have a lot of water in the car. If you always have a jug in your trunk or wherever, and are diligent about re-filling it as it's used (or if it's been sitting for a long time, just to keep it fresh), I predict you'll find uses for it you never even considered.

Also, if you're planning a roadtrip anywhere in the west, it's not even just a good idea to have extra water, it's a necessity. You need it, no question.

Water=peace of mind. And who doesn't need more of that?

Snapshots: Fishing and Spring

We went fishing on Friday. It was a day-long adventure to a lake a little over an hour away with the goal of catching a northern pike.

No one caught a pike, but everyone had fun.

It was a classic glaringly bright New Mexico day.

We know reports of giant pike in this lake are true because A. found this pike skull immediately after exiting the van. (Yes, pike can get really, really big.)

No pike caught, but they did land a couple of pretty big carp. (The child in the green shirt is Cubby's friend, who came with us because his dream in life is to catch a pike. Alas, a dream that has yet to be fulfilled.)

After getting up early and spending hours helping five children with fishing poles, A. was ready for a siesta.

This girl got a bit bored of the fishing by hour three or so, but she did enjoy doing a dance recital on this giant stump.

Meanwhile, back at the (non-) ranch . . .

Tiny daffodils!

Tiny tulip!

The garlic mini-farm.

New bovine occupants in our neighbor's pasture across the road from our house. I think they're young steers, although they might be young bulls. I didn't look that closely. I know they're males, though.

The dogs and I went the opposite direction on the road yesterday morning. Whichever way we go, there's always a whole lotta sky.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Book Talk: Picture Books

Picture books are taking over the world. There are SO MANY picture books for young children. And more all the time, as it seems almost everyone believes they can write picture books.

They can write them. But that doesn't mean they will be good picture books. 

So what makes a good picture book? Good illustrations, obviously. Although that doesn't necessarily mean realistic paintings or whatever. I mean, look at the popularity of, say, Eric Carle's artwork.

Equally important is the language. It has to flow correctly. Good books for young children are easy to read aloud. They have a cadence. Sometimes that means rhyming, but not always. It often does mean repetition, of words or whole sentences.

And last, if it's a story book, it has to be a good, engaging story. You'd think this would be a given, but I have read many picture books for young children with completely random, plotless stories. Yes, even stories for very young children should have a plot. They should also have good characters, conflict, resolutions . . . you know. All the elements an adult expects in a good story, but told in a way that is accessible to children.

With all that in mind, here are some picture books every one of my children has loved, and that I have not minded reading over and over again (an equally important consideration for books meant for non-readers).

Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter--I don't love all of Beatrix Potter's stories, but this one is the best, in my opinion. (Also in my opinion, what they did with that modern movie version featuring smart-talking rabbits was an insult to the book.)

Zorro and Quwi: Tales of a Trickster Guinea Pig by Rebecca Hickox--This book was written by the MiL's friend, who sent us a copy when Calvin was a baby. All my kids have loved this book about a clever guinea pig outwitting the fox who wants to eat it. It's set in Peru, with very colorful illustrations. She also wrote Per and the Dala Horse, which is almost as popular with my kids and has some of the most beautiful illustrations I've ever seen in a children's book.

An illustration from Per and the Dala Horse. So pretty.

Wee Gillis by Munroe Leaf--This book has black-and-white illustrations, which sometimes throws kids who are used to color everything. But they are very detailed illustrations, and it's just a good story. There are some funny illustrations and funny moments. 

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey--Another black-and-white illustrated book that seems to enthrall all children despite its age. What's not to like about eight cute ducklings with rhyming names and policemen who look out for them?

Pooh's Snowy Day by Lauren Cecil--The original A.A. Milne characters in a new picture book that uses the classic illustrations. This is, for lack of a better word, an extremely wholesome book. It's very gently funny, and it has a good message about working together without hitting kids over the head with it.

Russell the Sheep by Robb Scotton--This relatively modern board book about a sheep who tries different ways to fall asleep is the one I always buy for the preschool Christmas book exchange. It's reliably liked by all different children. 

Tom and the Magic Rainbow by Jean Gilder--As far as I can tell, all of this author's books are now out of print, which is a shame. They are available used, though. The artwork in them is wonderful, with lots of detail, and the stories are well-told. We also have Tom Badger Goes Skating, but I think The Magic Rainbow is slightly preferred by my children.

I believe the word "charming" is appropriate here.

Once Upon a Northern Night by Jean E. Pendziwol--A lovely book with text that is more on the side of poetry than prose, but not in a pretentious way. 

Hardscrabble Harvest by Dahlov Ipcar--We have a few books by this author, and I think this one has been my kids' favorite. Each page has a short rhyme with good accompanying illustrations. The text is so memorable that just last week when I saw the chickens in the backyard garden, I quoted from this book, "Chickens in the garden, scratching up the row . . ."  And Cubby, who has probably not read this book in at least five years, finished it with, "Run, farmer, run. Chase them with a hoe."

Cars and Trucks and Things that Go by Richard Scarry--It's pretty hard to go wrong with any Richard Scarry book, but this one has been my children's favorite. So much to look at on every page. It's a very long book, which is something of a problem if you want to quickly read a book to a child because you have other things to do. In that case, you must specify only two pages, or you will be there FOREVER. Still, though, kids do love it, and they can look at the illustrations on their own for quite some time.

The Eclectic Abecedarium by Edward Gorey--A very small book with rhyming couplets for each letter of the alphabet. Children love the small size of the book, the rhyming, and the randomness. For example, the rhyme for "J" is "Don't try to cram the dog with jam."

Myths and Legends of Dragons by Gilles Ragache--This is kind of a picture book, but has a lot more words than most picture books. I have no idea how A. found this book several years ago. It's definitely out of print, and there seem to be very few copies available, but every one of my children has loved this book. It has stories of dragons from around the world, including well-known western legends like St. George and the dragon, as well as eastern legends from China and elsewhere. The illustrations are sometimes kind of bloody, which my children appreciate of course, and the writing is really exceptional for a children's book. It has good vocabulary and a relatively high level of sentence structure, without being confusing.

Animalia by Graeme Base--Alphabet books for kids are a dime a dozen, but this one is extraordinary. The illustrated page for each letter has dozens of things on that page that start with that letter. You can spend several minutes on each page just trying to figure out what everything is. Also, the text for each letter is as alliterative as possible--"Beautiful blue butterflies basking by a babbling brook"--and you know how much I love alliteration. The MiL brought this to us from Blackrock when she was visiting this last time, and I was so pleased to see it. So were the children.

There are other picture books one or the other of my kids has really loved, but this list represents books that all four of my children have asked me to read over and over again. 

What would you add to this list of picture books?

P.S. I didn't add links for these because, if you decide to buy any of these, I want you to find them at whatever place you prefer to buy books. If you are lucky enough to have an actual bookstore near you where you can buy one of these, please do that. For me. Because man, do I miss bookstores.

Friday Food: Ground Beef for Guests

Friday 

Short version: Baked cod, pasta, various leftover vegetables, strawberries

Long version: Lent isn't much of a penance for seafood-loving Cubby, since it's pretty much the only time I plan to cook fish. This was the two pounds of cod I bought from Misfits Market when I tried one of their cold boxes awhile ago. I had been saving it for Lent. I just squeezed half an old lemon on it, covered it top and bottom with butter, and baked it at 400 degrees until it was done. 

It was very good. And two pounds was just enough for everyone.

The pasta was egg noodles with the pizza sauce from last week, along with an extra packet of the cheese powder from the too-salty Annie's macaroni and cheese, plus some milk, and I also snuck in a few spoonfuls of pureed calabaza, since I had it out anyway. Popular with the children despite my sly addition.

There were leftover broccoli, cabbage, and calabaza, and I apportioned that all out based on who will eat what. I had all three. Yum.

Strawberries because they came in the Misfits Market box on Wednesday and strawberries only ever last a few days. It was time they were finished, so I sent them outside with the children when they went out to play some game after dinner. No strawberry juice all over my table that way.

Saturday

Short version: Bull meat, fresh bread and butter, roasted green beans and carrots, cucumber and tomatoes

Long version: I still have bull meat in the freezer, and probably a dozen quart jars of canned bull. I really need to use it. So I dumped out two jars, broke it up with my hands into smaller pieces, and spread it in two cast iron skillets. Then I poured about 1/3 cup of melted tallow on it (because it has no fat of its own), sprinkled it with paprika, garlic powder, and salt, mixed it all up, and roasted it with the green beans and carrots until it was a little crispy.

Tasty, but still a bit chewy. Which pretty much sums up the bull meat.

Sunday

Short version: Beef stir-fry, rice, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls

Long version: I had actually taken a bag of stir-fry vegetables out of the freezer before I thought about it and realized I had enough fresh vegetables to make stir-fry with those. And, more importantly, I had the time.

So I used an onion, a red bell pepper, green beans, carrots, and some frozen beet greens from last year's garden. Along with the beef, of course.

It was really good. And so pretty.

I like colorful food.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers, macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks with curry dip

Long version: More bull, rice, leftover pasta, and then I made the macaroni and cheese to drop more food into the bottomless pit of the track-running boy.

I used two boxes of the Annie's macaroni and cheese, but only one of the cheese powder packets. How does anyone eat that stuff if it's made according to the directions? It tastes like a soft orange salt lick. It was fine with half the amount of the cheese stuff, though.

Tuesday

Short version: Barbecue meatballs, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, green peas

Long version: Cubby had a friend over, and meatballs are a reliably popular food with most kids. Barbecue meatballs are just, uh, meatballs baked in barbecue sauce. I actually like these better than meatballs in marinara. My kids like them, too, and they're even better with coleslaw.

Look! A sheep!

Baa.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Bull meat, meatballs, and some leftover pork roast from the school cafeteria. That last was a bit dry and bland, which I fixed by frying it in a bunch of butter with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and a very little bit of barbecue sauce. Much better.

Also, there was leftover rice, macaroni and cheese, and peas. Ta da! A balanced meal made entirely of leftovers. Perfect for a workday.

Thursday

Short version: Shepherd's pie, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Cubby had a different friend over who eats as much as he does, if not more, so I figured I'd better make a large quantity of something. I decided on shepherd's pie, and my choice was validated by the universe when I was presented with like five pounds of leftover mashed potatoes on Wednesday by the school cook. I could have felt bad about taking them, except I actually peeled all 40 potatoes for her, so I guess you could say I earned it.

A bunch of the older kids were out for an FFA event, so she had a lot of leftovers. And that giant quantity of mashed potatoes was exactly the quantity I needed for the two shepherd's pies I made with four pounds of ground beef. The one in the 15"x10" Pyrex was almost finished, but I was left with the entire 13"x9" Pyrex untouched. 

Yay leftovers.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?