Author Archives: Lauri Griffin

Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney

There seem to be more books about mothers and children than fathers and children. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is a fun exception, with a little male competition. The story is about two rabbits, Little Nutbrown Hare and his father, Big Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare holds onto his father’s long ears to make sure he’s listening. He wants his father to guess how much he loves him. His father says he doesn’t think he could guess that. Little Nutbrown Hare stretches out his arms as wide as possible and tells his father he loves him … Continue reading →

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is the story of two suburban children, Claudia and James, run away from home. Claudia is almost twelve, she feels unappreciated and bored with her life. Jamie, her younger brother runs away because Claudia invited him. Claudia likes elegant things, so they run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They hide out in the bathrooms, sleep in antique beds, turn all their clothing gray at the Laundromat, learn about history as they explore the museum, have macaroni and cheese and coffee for breakfast, and take baths in the fountain. There … Continue reading →

Week in Review – Fun

Don’t miss these great ideas for summer fun! Did you know that you can easily make your own Gummy Candies? Get the kids in kitchen for delicious Summer Drinks Kids Can Make. And think about Experimenting with Ice Cream Sandwiches. If you are traveling this summer, don’t miss Quick Travel Games for Rest Stops and Hotel Room Fun for Family Travel. Check back this week for more fun travel ideas and ways to beat the heat.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble – William Steig

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a well loved children’s book written and illustrated by William Steig. The illustrations of this loving family of donkeys are very dear. Not only did this book win the Caldecott Medal in 1970, it was also selected as one of the 100 Best Books of the Century by the National Education Association. Sylvester is a young donkey who lives with his mother and father. One of his hobbies is collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color. One rainy day he finds a shiny, red, round pebble. As he examines it, he feels the cold … Continue reading →

Once Upon a Day – Lisa Tucker

The characters in Lisa Tucker’s Once Upon a Day immediately sucked me into their world. This story is told through the point of views of many interesting characters. Stephen was a doctor, and quite happy in his life until his lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. Because he couldn’t save them, he gave up medicine and began driving a cab. Dorothea is a twenty-three year old woman who has never before left home, gone to school, or had a friend. She’s been raised with her brother in The Sanctuary, by her father and grandmother. While she’s had … Continue reading →

An Exchange of Gifts – Anne McCaffrey

An Exchange of Gifts is sweeter and more innocent than most Anne McCaffrey tales. It reads like a forgotten fairy tale, including the happy ending. The pages have an elaborate pen and ink border illustrated by Pat Morissey. The border also attributes to the fairy story ambiance. In this world everyone has a special gift. Princess Anastasia’s special gifts are the Green Thumb and the Curing Hand. Her royal family does not encourage such a gift. They are not happy that Anastasia want to dig in dirt and crush herbs. They also want her to marry a man she does … Continue reading →

Homemade Gummy Candies

Did you know you can make your own gummy candies? It’s really not hard. They aren’t as sweet, or as colorful as the ones you buy at the store, but they are still fun to make. And I feel like they are a bit healthier anyway. To make the candies all you need is a little juice, a packet of gelatin, a spoonful of sugar and some basic kitchen equipment. Spread waxed paper or parchment paper over a cookie sheet. Pour one quarter cup of apple or grape juice into a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil over medium … Continue reading →

Summer Drinks Kids Can Make

We had a hot day today, and the kids asked to make Line Cooler. And yes that is line with an ‘n’, not ‘lime’. Our recipe is adapted from the Line Cook Cooler in The Grit Cookbook. The Grit is a restaurant in Athens, Georgia and don’t you know that they know a thing or two about heat and humidity. I’ve sent this recipe to several people and no one ever tries it. I know the ingredients don’t sound like they could possibly add up to much, but I promise that it’s worth the try. The taste is so cooling … Continue reading →

International Children’s Digital Libary Foundation

I have an amazing resource to share today. The International Children’s Digital Library Foundation is a free online library with thousands of children’s books from around the world. This digital library has an amazing selection of books. To give you an idea, there are currently 662 books in many different languages in the preschool age range alone, and 121 that were originally written in English. You will find books written in Portuguese, Yiddish, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian, French, Norwegian, and many, many more. Most of the books are translated into English. Some are translated into many … Continue reading →

Experimenting with Ice Cream Sandwiches

Valorie’s blog on Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches made me remember a fun ice cream place from my college days. It was called Serendipity. To get there you had to go down a tiny staircase. The store was actually below sidewalk level. And since serendipity means an accidental discovery of something pleasant, valuable, or useful, I thought the name of this tiny little ice cream store fit perfectly. They sold all kinds of ice cream, but my favorite was their design– it –yourself ice cream sandwiches. First you picked from chocolate, sugar, oatmeal, or chocolate chip cookies. These were large fresh-baked … Continue reading →