Books introduce new friends with fur and feathers

Allow me to introduce a few new acquaintances of mine to you. Some are quite the characters but all are worth getting to know.  Each is very unique in his or her own special way.  I think you’ll like my new friends and want to invite them to your house.
First there’s Pete. Pete wears many different hats.  When I first met him he was wearing a construction hat along with a herd of friends who were tackling a very important construction project.  Mack likes him, so you know he’s a friend of mine.
Pete can sing and play the guitar, drive a tractor and he sometimes wears overalls down on the farm.  Emree likes him, too, because he has buttons, in fact he has 4 groovy buttons on a yellow shirt.  Pete looks so cute in that shirt as did all the children at Emree’s end-of-school program recently.  To everyone’s surprise we found out that day that Pete also has a fifth button. But he’ll probably need to tell you about that.
Pete’s blue, not the sad kind but the color, and he wears real nifty pajamas when he sings his groovy rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Yes, for sure Pete is a cat that you’ll want to keep in the house.  I love Pete the Cat.
Next, let me tell you about Flora.  There are no words to describe Flora…. just pictures and beautifully done art work.  You see, Flora is a little girl who aspires to dance as gracefully as a flamingo. She knows that to dance like one, you must learn from one.  She tries hard and it doesn’t come easily for her legs aren’t long and her neck is short and she has no wings, but she has determination.  Flora is charming. And you’d better be sure you have a sweet little girl in your lap when you invite Flora and the Flamingo in. Emma Kate and I followed their every move through the pretty pink pages.  We think we’d would like to dance like a flamingo too. Flora inspires.
And, then there’s this fish without a name.  He’s easy to recognize, though, as he swims through the black water because he’s wearing a hat. But it’s not his.  In fact, little fish admits that he stole it from another fish.  A really big fish. I’d say this little hat-stealing fish was brave but not so smart.  Who takes someone else’s hat, even if it was too small. Big fish has friends and big fish knows all the hiding places.  Introduce this little scaly character to your grandchildren if you want to get some conversation going.  What just happened?  You’ll have to meet little fish.
Oh, dear Otis.  DW brought Otis home from a trip to Nebraska and he’s been with us ever since.  He’s a brave, kind-hearted helper on the farm and we all love him.  Any one, albeit an old tractor, who saves a drowning calf, rescues kittens from a burning barn, lets his friends win at tug of war, and enjoys sitting in the shade of an old apple tree is someone you’ll be glad you know.  Otis has many adventures and always saves the day, but always unselfishly.  Putt puff puttedy chuf is what he says. That’s tractor speak, you know.
And before you go to bed you’ll want to meet Mr. Simpson.  This hard-working farmer is busy all day long tending to his farm chores, but at night his sheep just will not go to sleep. He’s worn out from trying to get those wooly buggars to sleep. They’re full of excuses all night long. With a little help from his dear wife Bernice maybe Mr. Simpson can help your little insomniacs fall asleep too.  He’s a good man to have in your library.
Grandchildren will certainly expand your world!  Simpson’s Sheep Won’t go to Sleep is by Bruce Arant; Otis and the Kittens and other Otis stories by Loren Long, are on the New York Times bestselling list. Flora and the Flamingo is a Caldecott award winner, by Molly Idle. This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen is another Caldecott Medal winner. Pete the Cat books are written by James Dean and you can see them at www.petethecatbooks.com  Read on!

Recipe of the Week

Ice Cream in A Bag
Enjoy some real homemade ice cream!  No freezer required!

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place these ingredients in a quart size zip top freezer bag; seal tightly.

4 cups ice
¼ cup rock salt

Put ice and salt in a gallon size zip top freezer bag.  Place filled quart bag inside the gallon bag with ice and salt; seal gallon bag. Make one per child.  Let each child shake and knead this/her bag until the mixture freezes. Eat with a spoon right out of the bag!