veni, vidi, vici, or, va va voom, va va vegans: part one

July 6, 2010December 28, 2017 ~ jama

Cornelius welcomes Benjamin Bear to the den. Thanks so much, Geri!!

She came, she saw, she conquered!!

And she wore bearfoot slippers, of course.

Last week, we had the distinct pleasure of playing with hosting Tanita S. Davis (winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award for Mare’s War), her husband David (world’s best baker), and her lovely mom, Geraldine (champion hugger and all-around beautiful person) at our humble home in the woods.

You may remember my excitement and wee trepidation regarding the “Coming of the Vegans.” To prepare for this momentous event, the alphabet soup kitchen helpers thoroughly brushed their fur, hosed down cleaned, polished, and prettified the house from top to bottom, stocked up on edible goodies, and chanted “lemons lemons lemons” from morning till night.

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soup of the day: ling & ting: not exactly the same! by grace lin

July 1, 2010November 30, 2017 ~ jama ~ 2 Comments

photo credit: Alexandre Ferron.

Polka dot polka dot. Hip hip hooray!!

Guess who’s got a brand new book officially out today?

Two clues:

She’s one of my all-time favorite children’s author/illustrators.
She likes to bake cupcakes.

Yes, Newbery Honor winner Grace Lin has done it again! Her new early reader, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! (Little, Brown, 2010), packs a double wallop because it’s all about twins. If it’s possible to love a book twice as much as I should, I’m guilty times two.

How could I possibly resist these adorable imps? Everyone tells Ling and Ting they are exactly the same, but in six interconnected vignettes, they show us just how different they are — in personality and abilities.

In the first story, the girls get a haircut. Ling sits still and gets a nice clip, but Ting’s a bit of a wriggle worm, sneezing when hair falls on her nose. “Oh no!” She ends up sporting a cutting edge (giggle) set of bangs for the rest of the book. An ingenious way to set the stage, making us want to read more of their amusing antics.

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just for fun: if the shoe fits . . .

June 29, 2010 ~ jama

Here’s some sole food not available at the "Golden Arches," but you can purchase these whimsical fantasy shoe sculptures on Etsy at SoleSensations:

"Cherry Pie Mule" (check out the cool fork heel)!

"Spaghetti Stiletto" (perfect for an evening out with Michael Corleone).

"Brisket Flip Flop" (just the thing for a light summer lunch).

Happy Writing! Let’s get pumpin’!

"If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?" ~ Gloria Stenheim

katherine paterson tea

June 28, 2010 ~ jama

Cutie Patooties: Sara Lewis Holmes, Liz Scanlon, and Laura Purdie Salas.

Lucky for me, writer friend Maha Addasi invited me along to a special tea party given in honor of Katherine Paterson, our National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The gathering of Vermont College of Fine Arts students, alumni, teachers and friends (a mix of editors, librarians, agents, authors, artists) was held at the gorgeous period home of Tami Lewis Brown in Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.

photo of Maha from my 2008 interview with her.

Blame the heat, or the standing room only crowd, or being awestruck and starstruck all at once, but I forgot to take Maha’s picture! You may remember my interviewing her back in 2008, when her first picture book, The White Nights of Ramadan, was published. You may also recall that she was just starting her MFA work at VC back then in addition to raising her four children. Happy to say, very proud to report, that Maha is graduating next month! AND, her second picture book, Time to Pray, is coming out in September! Can you say the word, "Superwoman"? GO, MAHA!

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le petit déjeuner bizarre

June 24, 2010 ~ jama

photo: carroll.mary.

Bon Matin!

For breakfast today: a cup of tea, a croissant, and a music video to open your eyes.

In my current pursuit of all things French, I came across musician and composer, Émilie Simon. Are you familiar with her work?

"Désert" was featured on her self-titled debut album (2003), which received the Victoire de la Musique (French Grammy) for Best Electronic Pop Album.

Originally from Montpellier, France, she’s conservatory trained in ancient music, and has made her mark both as an electronic pop musician and mainstream soundtrack composer ("March of the Penguins," French version).

The "Désert" video is haunting, strange, a fascinating example of art rock and visual poetry. Some find her soft, babyish voice remniscent of early Kate Bush and Claudine Longet. She must have a thing for plants; her third album, Végétal (2006) includes not only lyrics about vegetation, but actual sounds of plants.

Why am I intrigued? I’ve dreamed about plants growing out of my arms (have you?). The really disturbing thing is that none of these plants were edible. ☺

So, what did you think?

*English translation of "Désert" lyrics:

Where is the sea
I don’t know why I was just looking for the sea
But the only thing I found was a desert
A desert around me

What can I see
You close my eyes when I just need to go and see
If you want me to be blind I will stay here
With this desert around me

The world I can see
Is a nowhere land
Without you I’m a nowhere girl
In the desert
In the desert
With you

Where is the sea
I don’t why I was just looking for the sea
But the only thing I found was a desert
A desert around me

Where is the sea
I am alone
I am dreaming of the sea
That you are not here next to me

The world I can see
Is a nowhere land
Without you I’m a nowhere girl
In the desert
In the desert
With you

I’ve just finished my croissant. Now, I’m craving some green soup with flowers:

photo: JBluBird.