November 2008 Archives

BOOK NAME: The Playful Chef Cookbook

  The Playful Chef Cookbook is a book full of recipes on topics like deserts and meals, all the way through international holidays and pet treats. It was hard to decide what I was going to make first but I decided to make smoothies.

    So we went to the grocery store and got the right supplies to make my drink: frozen strawberries, bananas, yogurt and orange juice.  After we put all of the ingredients together we started the mixing. I was very anxious to try my smoothie. Let's just say that I will never EVER become a smoothie maker at a store. I did not like the drink. It tasted way too sweet. But the best part was that I got the chance to try it and make it.

    I strongly advise that all you chefs or future Food Channel stars get this book. In the beginning it shows you all of the basics about cooking and what each of the tools are. It talks about what you're going to need for each recipe that it will show you throughout the whole book. I would love it if you guys could try one of these recipes and when you do, you can type up a summary for everybody to see of what you made.

[DogEared Note: (AD) Want to know where to find this cookbook or see other products from Playful Life? Click here.]

We're making a list... checking it twice...
Ah, don't you LOVE homework-free holidays? More time for reading!
Tell us, what books are on your wish list this season. What are you most excited to read? Which ones would make the perfect gift?

BOOK NAME: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
AUTHOR: Robert C. O'Brien

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is about a mouse named Mrs. Frisby who lives on a farm. Every year Mrs. Frisby has to move or else the plow will kill her family. She was married to Jonathan who died last summer.

Mrs. Frisby's son Timothy was sick and wasn't strong enough to move, so their friend, a crow named Jeremy, took her to the owl who told her to go to the rats where she met Brutus and Justin. The two rats knew Jonathan because once they lived by a farmer's market and everyday the rats would get food there. One time, they got captured and taken to NIMH - a laboratory with rats and mice, where they got shots which gave them super-long lifespan and super-smarts...they could even read and write!. One day the rats found a way to get out - through the air conditioning - and they took the mice with them. When the strong air conditioning blew, all the mice blew back, except for two, Jonathan and Mr. Ages.

The rats helped the Frisby family move, but Mrs. Frisby got captured by the farmer, and Justin helped her escape. They eventually did move the house and that's the end of part one.

The scientists from NIMH went to find the rats who lived under a rose bush. The scientists mowed down the rosebush and shot a poison gas into the rats' hole. Brutus fell and two brave rats went to help Brutus who breathed in the poison. Mrs. Frisby saw Mr. Ages helping Brutus and went to help. Finally Brutus got better and they all moved to Thorn Valley. Once Timothy was better they moved to their summer home where Mrs. Frisby told all of her kids the story of the Rats and NIMH.

I liked the book because with every twist you don't know what's going to happen. If you liked the other book I reviewed, Despereaux, then you'll definitely like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

BOOK NAME: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
AUTHOR: Jeff Kinney

If you want to read a funny book, check this book out of the library and start reading. It's about a wimpy kid who is going into middle school. His name is Greg Heffley. His older brother, whose name is Rodrick, is going into high school and Greg has all of Rodrick's old teachers. They think Greg is going to be just as much of a problem as his older brother.  

As you might guess, this book is Greg's diary and is arranged by date. It has neat writing, just like a kid's writing, and lots of cartoon drawings. It covers the school year and ends in the summer. Since Greg is just starting middle school, he is trying to fit in and be popular.  He and his friend Rowley try to hang with the cool kids and talk to them, but they just ignore him and walk away. One time, right after Christmas, Greg and Rowley are playing with a scooter and Rowley breaks his arm. The popular girls make a big deal over Rowley's broken arm and even though Greg was there he gets ignored like usual.

He also doesn't get much help from the teachers because they embarrass him because they think he's going be a troublemaker like his brother. But Greg is a good student and really good in class.

I think you should read this book because it has lot of funny parts that Greg and Rowley do together in their 6th grade year to fit in. It also shows that the best way to fit in to be yourself.

BOOK NAME: Double Identity
AUTHOR: Margaret Peterson-Haddix

    This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. It's a mystery that has lots of secrets. Bethany is the main character of the book. She is a normal 13 year old with a normal life until one night her parents drive her to another state to stay with an aunt and cousin she never knew she had. Her parents made sure she was OK, and left. She wouldn't see them again for several months. 

    Her dad calls every so often to check on Bethany and talk to her aunt. He seems to be running away from somebody, but Bethany doesn't know who. While she is staying with her aunt, some strange things happen. The people from the town act very weird as if they have seen a ghost. She gets a package containing lots of money and four different birth certificates. She also finds a bunch of home videos of her mom and dad and a little girl who looks exactly like her, but was born several years earlier. And then, her aunt and cousin tell her who she really is. 

    The reason that her parents have left her is that she must be protected at all costs. The people looking for her would surely find her if she had stayed with them. Once the secrets come out, she realizes there is no one in the world like her.
 
    There are lots of secrets and twists in this book.  It is really fun to piece together the details of this book and see if you can guess the real story of Bethany...if that is her real name!

BOOK NAME: Hoot
AUTHOR: Carl Hiaasen
 
I just finished the book Hoot. It's by Carl Hiaasen. It is one of the best books I have read this year. It's about a middle-school kid named Roy. He is the "new kid" at school, so the bully, Dana, picks on him all the time. One day on the bus, Dana digs his fingers into Roy's temples and makes him look out of the window. Roy sees a tan, blond-haired kid running past the bus stop who is not wearing any shoes. Roy wonders why he is not getting on the school bus.
 
When Roy sees the same kid the next day, he runs off the bus to chase him. While he's trying to catch the kid, Roy knocks down a girl named Beatrice who is the running kid's stepsister. The running kid has found out that there is going to be a pancake house in an empty lot where there are owl dens. He has many different ways to keep the owls from being bulldozed. The pancake company says that there are no owls and that they are wild chickens, how bizarre! Though those "wild chickens" definitely look like owls.
 
So Roy gets involved with the running kid, whose nickname is "Mullet Fingers" and his owl plan. "Mullet Fingers" plan is to try and save the owls. He even gets poisonous snakes involved! If you want to know how, read the story. "Mullet Fingers" is called that because he can catch a mullet (a type of very fast fish) with just his bare hands. Roy also has to deal with Dana and he finds out things about Beatrice's life. Dana tries to strangle Roy, punch him and kick him, but things turn out good for Roy (Read the book!!!). Beatrice's stepmom is really mean to Beatrice. She yells at her all the time and doesn't care for her. "Mullet Fingers" doesn't even live with his mom; He ran away and never came back.  
    
I loved this book! I liked how Roy actually cared about the owls instead of just doing nothing. I also liked how the author didn't just pay attention to the owls. He made chapters just about Roy, too. I would recommend this book. I think anybody would like it because it's not just about a girl or just about a guy. It's about a girl and a guy, and owls.