celebrating roald dahl’s 100th birthday with a foodie alphabet and an orange raspberry victoria sponge

September 13, 2016August 9, 2017 ~ jama ~ 43 Comments

#53 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

HAPPY ROALD DAHL DAY!

It’s time to polish off a few tummyticklers, plushnuggets and globgobblers. Wash it all down with a big tall glass of frobscottle and you’re all set (no whizzpopping, please). 🙂

I was actually introduced to Roald Dahl’s writing by one of my high school students in Wimbledon. Danny M. (who made good chocolate chip cookies and scoped out a yummy bagel shop in Queensway) raved about a collection of Dahl’s adult short stories called Kiss Kiss. Though I do not have a taste for the macabre, I found the stories addictive and loved the surprise endings.

After I read as much of his adult fiction as I could find, I moved on to Dahl’s children’s books, impressed by the eyebrow-raising irreverence and sardonic wit, delighted by the clever, inventive wordplay and generous servings of lickswishy, delumptious treats. He was unlike any author I’d read in my childhood. There was nothing Pollyanna or namby pamby about any of his magical stories, and I liked his recurring themes of child empowerment, justice and retribution. He made it okay to be a nonconformist, appealing to the inner rebel in all of us.

Whenever I’m asked about my favorite food-related children’s books, the first that comes to mind is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Here was every child’s dream come true — a world where everything was sweet and edible. I want my own Oompa-Loompas, and even if Mr. Wonka wouldn’t approve, just once I’d like to drink from his river of hot melted chocolate.

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: David Elliott

April 25, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 16 Comments

David Elliott is the NY Times bestselling author of many books for children, including the picture books, AND HERE’S TO YOU!, FINN THROWS A FIT, THIS ORQ(HE CAVE BOY) and the poetry series ON THE FARM, IN THE WILD, IN THE SEA, and ON THE WING. He is also the author of the middle grade novels, THE TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF ROSCOE WIZZLE, the EVANGELINE MUDD books, and JEREMY CABBAGE. David lives in NH with his wife and their Dandie Dinmont mix, Queequeg.

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: My wife and I are dedicated francophiles: French toast, French fries, and of course, my beloved French Press. Oooo-la-la!

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: This Orq. (he say “Ugh!”), illustrated by Lori Nichols (Boyds Mills Press, 2015); Nobody’s Perfect, illustrated by Sam Zuppardi (Candlewick, 2015); On the Wing, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander (Candlewick, 2014). Forthcoming: The Two Tims, illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo (Candlewick, May 2016); This Orq (he #1), illustrated by Lori Nichols (Boyds Mills Press, September 2016); In the Past, illustrated by Matthew Trueman (Candlewick, Spring 2017); and Bull (a YA novel-in-verse that is a retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur) published by HMH, April 2017.

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Well, I’ll always have a fondness for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs because my son, now 29, loved that book. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, of course. And who doesn’t shiver when she is offered a piece of Turkish Delight?

☕ Visit David Elliott’s Official Website.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Enjoy a poem from David’s forthcoming poetry book, In the Past.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Rest in Peace,
Old Meat-eater.
No list would
be complete
without you.
Tyrant! King!
You thought
(if you could think)
you’d live forever.
The great T. Rex
would never die!

But even kings
are vanquished
when stars fall
from the sky.

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Enjoy this video featuring several poems from On the Wing:

☕☕☕☕ STILL THIRSTY: Here’s the trailer for This Orq. (he say “Ugh!”):

☕☕☕☕☕ ONE LAST SIP: Trailer for Nobody’s Perfect:

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Tamera Will Wissinger

April 21, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 11 Comments

Tamera Wissinger is an author who writes stories and poetry for children. She grew up in Iowa and currently lives on a sleepy river bay in South Florida where she is consistently amazed by the unique wildlife. Sharing poetry and stories with children is one of the great joys of her life. (photo by Peter Wissinger)

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Coffee with a splash of whole milk is my current favorite hot beverage. I drink it with breakfast and my morning reading.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: There Was an Old Lady Who Gobbled a Skink, illustrated by Ana Bermejo (Sky Pony Press, February 2016), Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse, illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013). Forthcoming: Gone Camping: A Novel in Verse, illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, early 2017).

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOK: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. Although Pippi lives alone and struggles with manners, she recognizes the importance of cooking and sharing good food. Oh I would love to sit down to pancakes or a picnic with Pippi, Annika, and Tommy!

☕ Visit Tamera Will Wissinger’s Official Website. You can also find her on Twitter: @TameraWissinger, and at her FB Author Page.

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Hear an excerpt from Gone Fishing in this trailer:

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Foodie poem by Tamera!

Hot Dogging

I ate a foot-long dog today for lunch –
the perfect size.
I added mustard, onion, relish,
side of curly fries.

I gobbled down my hot dog feast
enjoying every bit,
but when I tried to stand and leave
that hot dog had a fit.

Twelve hot dog inches knotted up and
caused my gut to quake.
It whimpered, growled and then it roared
to one big bellyache.

I’m feeling bitter and betrayed –
that dog had been polite.
At lunch it never barked or begged,
so why’d it have to bite?

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Margarita Engle

April 14, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 15 Comments

Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of the Newbery Honor verse novel, The Surrender Tree, Pura Belpré Award-winning verse memoir, Enchanted Air, and Charlotte Zolotow Award winning picture book, Drum Dream Girl. Other honors include multiple Pura Belpré Medals, Américas Awards, PEN USA Award, Jane Addams Award, Claudia Lewis Poetry Award, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor, and International Reading Association Award.

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: Café con leche (coffee with milk), made with a mixture of Cuban espresso (Café La Llave brand) and Italian roast (Starbucks brand). I love REALLY strong coffee, but I only drink it in the morning, so it doesn’t keep me awake at night. Maybe that’s why I do most of my writing early, before my brain runs out of caffeine.

* Cultural Note: many Latino children are introduced to café con leche at the age of two, so why aren’t there any children’s books about coffee? If I thought I could get it published, I would write one! My Abuelita (grandma) used to scold me for not serving my son coffee when he was little. She said, “¡Es un hombrecito, necesita su café!” (He’s a little man, he needs his coffee!)

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir (Atheneum, 2015); Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (HMH, 2015); The Sky Painter: Louis Fuertes, Bird Artist, illustrated by Aliona Bereghici (Two Lions, 2015); Orangutanka: A Story in Poems, illustrated by Renee Kurilla (Henry Holt, 2015). Forthcoming: Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words (Atheneum, August 2016) — a verse novel about the nonviolent freedom struggle of indentured Chinese laborers; and Morning Star Horse/El Caballo Lucero (HBE Publishers, Autumn 2016) — a middle grade historical fantasy about Cuban children at San Diego’s Raja Yoga Academy.

☕ FAVE FOODIE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Three Golden Oranges by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Reg Cartwright (Atheneum, 2012); Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet Wong, illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Harcourt, 2012); Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Hayelin Choi (Readers to Eaters, 2014).

☕ Visit Margarita Engle’s Official Website

☕☕ JUST ONE MORE SIP: Short poems related to the [above] photograph of myself drinking café con leche beside my father’s painting of my mother picking pomegranates. She was wearing sandals, but he left them out, and I have chosen to speculate about the reason.

Coffee Tanka

each hot sip
of café con leche
carries me
traveling back to childhood
watching as grownups savor time

Pomegranate Tanka

my father
paints her harvesting pomegranates—
barefoot
the reality of shoes
too modern for this lush garden

☕☕☕ CAN’T GET ENOUGH: Enjoy this book trailer for The Sky Painter!

☕☕☕☕ STILL THIRSTY: Speaking of Margarita’s parents, she explains the romantic story of how they met in the first of this series of videos:

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hotTEAs of Children’s Poetry: Alan Katz

April 7, 2016September 25, 2017 ~ jama ~ 6 Comments

Alan Katz is the author of more than 35 books for kids, including nine Silly Dilly Songbooks (Take Me Out of the Bathtub), poetry collections (OOPS!), picture books, and more. He is also a six-time Emmy nominee (and loser) for his work on various animated series and The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

☕ CUPPA OF CHOICE: My favorite hot beverage is coffee (regular or decaf, no real preference) with milk (1%, 2%, whole, whatever). No sweetener! And…fun fact…I have never, never, truly never had a cup of tea. Simply can’t stand the smell! Really. Really, really.

☕ HOT OFF THE PRESSES: The Day the Mustache Took Over, illustrated by Kris Easler (Bloomsbury, 2015) — My first middle grade book, all about the exploits of my real-life twins Nathan and David! Forthcoming: The Day the Mustache Came Back (Bloomsbury, July 2016), and That Stinks!: A Punny Show-and-Tell, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin (Simon & Schuster, July 2016).