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The best kids parties are full of colour, music, games and laughter. A Secret Seed Society children’s party will bring you all this with vegetables as the stars, the heroes, the entertainers. Your guests will leave with a bounce in their step and an excitement for growing and eating vegetables.
“Vegetables are great food for the imagination, the colours, textures, flavours, and processes from growing, to cooking and finally composting.” Ash Perrin, Secret Seed Society Entertainer.
The parties bring to life characters from the Seed City storybooks. If your child has a favourite vegetable or character let us know and we’ll incorporate it into the show. if you want a special theme just let us know; Pirate Parsnips, Ghoulish Gourds, Princess and the Pea. Remember Cinderella went to the ball in a pumpkin!
Sugar coated pink cup cakes and over the top goodie bags are out, London’s best children’s entertainers are ready to pick up their box of vegetable tricks and visit your party! The parties are adapted to suit your group. We recommend our parties for 3-9 years old.
We provide party bags and prizes that provide fun and inspiration for all the kids after the party has ended without compromising your eco and ethical standards.
Secret Seed Society has worked to make vegetables more loveable through storybooks, theatre shows and workshops but now you can invite us to your birthday party.
Email [email protected] with the details of your party and we will let you know if we can make it and give you a quote, or call Amy 07779 080776.
Secret Seed Society kids parties are currently available in London, if you are not London based please contact us to express your interest.
Specs: max 30 kids, 2 hours, space provided / chosen by you.
I asked our friend Susan http://www.diabetic-diva.com/ also known as Diabetic Diva whether she had some recipes that children could cook with their grown up.
Diabetic recipes are ‘Healthy’ because they have limited amounts of refined sugars and salts so if you want more healthy recipes take a look at her website.
Remember you don’t have to be diabetic to enjoy Susan’s tasty recipes, in fact eating these healthy feasts can help prevent you becoming diabetic so tuck in!
TWIRLY SPAGHETTI & MINCE SAUCE
A family favourite and so easy to make. The mince can be prepared in a batch and frozen for at least 3 months. Good with jacket potatoes, rice, pasta, mock pizza.
EQUIPMENT
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Can opener
Measuring spoon
Large saucepan with lid
Wooden spoon
For spaghetti
Measuring jug
Measuring spoon
Medium size saucepan with lid
Spoon for stirring
INGREDIENTS
500g lean ground mince beef
½ sweet pepper, roughly chopped
½ onion roughly chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 jar pasta sauce
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
METHOD
COOK the mince in a pot stirring with a wooden spoon until it’s brown in colour and no pink bits remain. ADD the onion and peppers and cook for another 3 minutes
NEXT add all the other ingredients and let meat mixture cook until the sauce starts to bubble. TURN the heat down to low and let this cook for at least 20 minutes
SERVE with spaghetti and a salad (even a teeny weeny one would be great) Remember your 5 A Day.
SPAGHETTI
PUT 500ml of water and ¼ tsp salt into a pot
LET it boil
ADD 100g wholemeal spaghetti to the boiling water
COOK for 8 minutes (al dente) cooked still firm
DRAIN and put on a plate
SPOON some mince sauce over
If you like sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over and dried parsley.
Try these
Make mock pizzas using the mince sauce. Slice a wholemeal French roll in 2. Spoon some of the sauce over and about 2 tbsp grated cheese. Grill under hot grill until cheese melts.
Or add red kidney beans, ½ to 1 tsp chilli powder and dried Italian herbs to make chilli.
Here is Susan cooking with some children.
Children love to cook when there's a grown-up to help.
The ultimate Starter Kit ; storybook and seeds of your chosen vegetable and funky windowsill propagator. The propagator is colourful, re-usable and made from recycled plastic in the UK.
This is a beautifully crafted tool for keen young gardeners or those with smaller hands. Made in Holland to last a life-time. Combine with Story & Seed Packs for the complete Secret Seed Society experience.
These tools will last a lifetime. A spade, mattock and rake with long handles will cover most of the gardening jobs. Great for raised beds. The tools will now arrive in the New Year, so we will send a Secret Seed Gift card to your lucky recipient for Xmas to let them know their tolls will arrive shortly.
SPECIAL OFFER FREE POSTAGE ON ALL XMAS ORDERS
Get in touch if you have any questions about our products or would like to have Secret Seed Society at your Xmas Fayre, we can offer you a retailer discount if you’d like to sell them for your fundraiser.
We have started collecting news items that interest us from the internet. There are links to sustainability ideas, seasonal growing and cooking. This is this weeks collection….subscribe to be reminded each time it comes out.
We’re all familiar with the benefits of eating a healthy diet, but it seems the importance of eating seasonably is less well-known. Those who already grow their own will agree when I say that fruit and veg are at their best when freshly picked. But there’s more to eating seasonably than this.
For a helping hand click on the images below to see when different fruit and veg are in season:
Autumn
Winter (coming soon)
Spring (coming soon)
Summer (coming soon)
Secret Seed Society, child-friendly recipes and tips for growing and cooking with kids for a healthier, happier future.
Any idea when courgettes come into season? How about cucumbers? No? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Research shows that most people aren’t sure when most British fruit and vegetables are in season which is a real shame as it means they’re missing out on when they’re at their absolute best.
While it’s easy to enjoy blueberries with your breakfast in winter, being accustomed to buying whatever we want, whenever we want it means we are increasingly becoming disconnected from our food and its relationship with nature. Eating with the seasons means getting back in touch with nature’s rhythms and eating the right thing at the right time. What could be more delicious than a crisp salad when it’s hot and sunny a wholesome stew when it’s cold? Ask any chef and they’ll tell you that fruit and veg are at their best when they’ve just been picked, so why settle for sickly looking strawberries in Winter or unappetising asparagus in Autumn?
Reasons to eat seasonably:
1. Fruit and veg are at their freshest and tastiest when they are first picked
2. Eating seasonably is a great way of eating more sustainably
Growing fruit and veg in season requires lower levels of artificial inputs like heating, lighting, pesticides and fertilisers than at other times of the year and so has a lower environmental impact.
3. Grocery bills are cheaper due in part by reduced transportation and production costs for growers. Everybody wins!
Get the whole family involved! Try cooking and eating seasonably to experience the joy of eating fruit and vegetables at their peak of perfection: fresher, tastier, better value and better for the environment. For more info check out our ‘Eat the Seasons’ page, and also our recipes page.
Our friends at Eat Seasonably also have a great interactive calendar that will keep you in the know all year through, click here to view.
Secret Seed Society, child-friendly recipes and tips for growing and cooking with kids for a healthier, happier future.
Eating what you grow with child friendly recipes and cooking tips.
Runner Beans
Have you spent the summer nurturing and tending your runners? Well now is the time to get harvesting! But remember to send us a picture of your longest runner bean for our giant bean competition.
Is there a bean long enough for the Giant Bean Competition?
Runner Beans give your plate brilliant colour and taste great! Try them boiled with your roast dinners; stir-fried in oil with garlic, peppers, beansprouts and chicken; or in a warm new potato and mackerel salad.
Spinach
Popeye knew what he was doing when he indulged in these leafy greens. Spinach is bursting with nutritional value. You can chop it up and stir it round in a frying pan with a drop of olive oil. after a few minutes it will have become much more ‘solid’ and reduced in size…delicious in our tartlets recipe with a little bit of cheese.
Courgettes
Another vegetable that is versatile. Looks a bit like a cucumber but has a whole taste of its own!
Wow! this courgette was yellow! It added colour to our tartlets.
We put it in our tartlets but it is also great in stir-fries or mixed with tomatoes, peppers and onions in a ratatouille. Another favourite is in muffins or cakes. You could even try it raw with carrot, pepper and celery sticks with a tasty dip to dunk it in.
Berries
Blackberries are bountiful this year, take a walk and pick your own. If you manage not to eat them all before you get home try mixing them into some plain yoghurt for a delicious pud.
Carrots
These are a wonderful colour…normally bright orange but did you know carrots were purple originally? For lots of ideas for making carrot soup see Carla Carrot.
Carrots add lots of colour to other dishes or can be used to make a wonderful soup.
The government would like all schools to be sustainable by 2020, and has produced guidance within an eight-doorway framework. SSS adheres to two of these doorways in particular; food and drink, and purchasing and waste. Schools can be sustainable through being model suppliers of healthy, sustainable food and drink; showing strong commitments to the environment; and maximising their use of local suppliers. SSS achieves this through increasing children’s awareness of where food comes from, food chains, and the processes used in growing, harvesting and food preparation.
SSS connects to the purchasing and waste doorway by carefully sourcing goods and services of high environmental and ethical standards that have been obtained from local sources where practicable. All of SSS’s materials for each book and accompanying pack compliment these principles.
2. Healthy Schools
In ten years the National Healthy Schools programme has become one of the country’s most widely embraced initiatives in schools. Schools need to satisfy criteria in the four core themes within the programme: Healthy eating, physical activity, PSHE, and emotional health and well-being.
SSS promotes inclusion through bringing together cross-curricular learning through an interactive approach. Children initially engage in a written and visual text, and have close links to ICT through the website extras. Connecting the imaginative seed-based characters with further learning opportunities brings an extra ‘real and meaningful’ experience to learning, and allows for children’s individual learning styles.
Activities such as growing seeds, or making recipes supports all areas of Healthy Schools and promotes positive emotional health and wellbeing so children can understand and express their feelings, build their confidence and emotional resilience, and therefore their capacity to learn.
3. Every Child Matters Agenda
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a comprehensive approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The five outcomes for children and young people are: Be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve through learning, make a positive contribution to society, and achieve economic well-being.
SSS encourages children to work together in more integrated and effective ways through growing, harvesting and cookery based activities that link with the central imaginative narratives of the stories. Children are learning and reflecting on their environment through a variety of creative and exciting cross-curricular links, and our fulfilling of outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda.
4. Growing Schools Initiative
Growing schools promotes learning outside the classroom and has been founded in response to the government’s needs for children to have the chance to learn in new, more relevant and exciting ways. By having direct experiences of growing within the natural environment, this has been shown to be particularly effective in benefiting those who find classroom learning difficult.
SSS connects directly with this principle through developing children’s understanding of where food comes from and the role of farmers and growers, the interdependence of the urban and rural environments, and how and why we should care for the natural world.
Wonderful taste combinations for the whole family to enjoy cooking and eating.
The pages were quickly turned, we all “oohed” and “aahed” over the colourful dishes. Mouth watering photography and plenty of tasty recipes left us hungry to get cooking and eating vegetables.
We like to be brave with trying out new flavours and Arthur’s book was full of inspiration to get creative in the kitchen, like pea & mint lollipops, adding ginger to his carrot soup, pairing parsnip with lemon, rocket with watercress oil, beetroot with cumin and coriander.
Secret Seed Society helps families make the most of what they have in their garden, in store or left over. We’re not fans of recipes that are too prescriptive and make you feel you have to go and buy lots of ingredients because nothing else will do. We think it makes you a less creative cook and also leads to waste, especially when you grow your own veg. We felt Arthur was on the same page as us, keen that nothing should be wasted, he uses discarded asparagus trimmings to make ‘Waste not Asparagus Soup’.
Arthur is keen to excite people about veg.
Arthur has been a hero of ours for some years for his connections with the Shoreditch Trust and Peoples Supermarket. An understanding of food, its growing, cooking and eating is of such great importance to us all on a personal and a global level.
This beautiful book will inspire the whole family to cook a rainbow of veg whatever the season and we are already working out some alternative lollys with our Seed Agents. Umm what about butternut squash and rosemary?
What did Amy recommend to plant in Timeout’s urban kitchen garden? It’s all edible, colourful, structural and aimed to give a tasty crop even for first time gardeners! Read more
Getting Maize (Sweetcorn), Squash (Courgette, Marrow, Pumpkin) and Bean (Pea, Beans) to grow together is one of the oldest and most talked about poly-culture methods of planting. The basic principle behind planting these three plants together is quite simple, the Maize supplies support for the beans, the squash helps to suppress weeds by providing a ground cover (a bit like a living mulch) and the beans fix nitrogen into the soil. Once the corn matures the squashes should be close to reaching maturity and the corn can be harvested allowing the squash to take over the plot. This method of planting is an excellent way to grow a number of different crops in a small space. It does work best in tropical countries but the method can be put into place in the UK or any other temperate climate with the help of some canes to support the beans and peas.
The overall yield for all three would be greater than a mono-crop in a similar sized area. It is therefore ideal for the urban gardener with a very limited amount of growing space. The three plants together can also look quite attractive and could act as a decorative border within a garden as well as a good source of food.
A variation on this planting regime would be sunflowers instead of corn.
What we see, hear, taste, touch, smell and do gives us six main ‘pathways to learning’. Young people are intensely curious and should be given the opportunity to use all of their senses to explore the world around them.
The potential for learning is maximised if we use the powerful combination of visual, audio and kinaesthetic (doing) ways of learning as well as providing children with the freedom to be creative and informally learn through play. The value of learning outside the classroom is now forming part of many new educational initiatives, and the ethos of SSS’s work is to compliment and facilitate this. We can help you with our interactive theatre show, workshops and lesson ideas
The educational value of SSS means that it is addressing statutory curricular requirements within a cross-curricular and creative way.
• Literacy: Each story is designed to challenge and stimulate readers in early KS2. Imaginatively animated pictures alongside the text also allow younger children (KS1) to enjoy following and responding to the stories. Grammatical structure and use of developing techniques such as alliteration and metaphor provide extensions for engagement with the text.
• Science & Technology: The illustrations are designed to familiarise children with the name of a wide range of vegetables. The context for the stories relate to understanding the purpose, value and nature of plants, food and growing. Children learn how to grow their own seeds, and to understand what is needed to turn a seed into food. Linked to each seed type are accompanying recipes which connect plants with our diet, and allow children to explore the sensory qualities of materials, and healthy eating.
- SSS’s website is filled with interactive links so children can share experiences of growing seeds and making recipes. With links to facebook, twitter and a SSS blog site, children can share their experiences of reading, growing and cookery within a safe and secure environment.
• Art and Design: The books and website feature original artwork where characters and settings are created using an imaginative combination of collage and photography to create a visual storyboard which follows alongside the text. The images themselves introduce children to mixed-media art and design which lend to creative follow-up projects. Also featured on the website is a short animation film which could be transferred to school projects.
• Personal development: Children need to understand more about the world in which they live, and how they interact with the natural environment and its resources. Children build creative and independence skills through direct experiences of growing seeds and cooking, allowing them to become better problem-solvers, increasing confidence and self-esteem.
• Sustainable development: The need for our future generation to be aware of the need for sustainability is a priority in learning for life. SSS holds this principle at heart with all products used in producing the book and accompanying resources being sourced from sustainable plant materials. Children gain an insight into recycling, and alternative ways in which to produce materials without being harmful to the environment and to limit waste.
• Other curricular areas: Geography (interacting with the environment); and Citizenship, the books are designed to promote togetherness, reading together, planting together, cooking together and eating together a complete journey.
My first "review" of 1O1 SECRETS! A KNAPSACK OF INSPIRATION AND HOPE is in, and it comes from a friend who is a very independent thinker. She and her husband Ron retired to Costa Rica. They built a home and turned one of the large rooms in their home into a local library out of the goodness of their hearts. And this is what she wrote about 101 SECRETS!:
I just read your bookand think it is very worthwhile and a book that needs to be read by every “tweenager.”We have sent it on to a couple of teacher friends. Do you see the possibilityof a Spanish translation in your future? I would love to buy one for mylibrary. This book could make the difference in so many children's lives!
Love, to you andMarilyn,
Suzanne Yankowski
0 Comments on Costa Rica Calls for 101 SECRETS! as of 1/1/1900
1)No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.. 2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair. 3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch thesecond person. 4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato. 5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.. 6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.. 7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time. 8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. 9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. 10) The best placeto be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree. 2) Wrinkles don't hurt. 3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts 4) Today's mighty oak is justyesterday's nut that held its ground... 5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside. 6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not thetoy.. GREAT TRUTHSABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional... 2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get. 3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're downthere. 4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rockingchair that you once got from a roller coaster. 5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers
0 Comments on Great Truths Along the Road of Life from the Internet as of 1/1/1900
You may recall that I was on the cover of November's School Library Journal with some lovely ladies. If you don't recall, dude, it was only last month!
Of course, I was interested in what people had to say about the cover. Heard some very nice things about the photograph. Had some great conversations with people about blogs and blogging inspired by the story. Was even recognized for being on the cover! (OK, it was at a school library conference but it still counts!)
And so it was with great eagerness I saw that yay, it was December, so the December SLJ would be online and I could read the letters!
Um. Yeah.
Here's the link to the letters: Some Readers Couldn't Stand Our November Cover. Now We Need A Drink. I know that people are more inclined to write a letter to complain than to praise, but it would have been nice had there been a positive letter amongst the others. And let me shout a big "THANK YOU" to those who are leaving positive comments to the letters article.
It's a little ironic that on the day I post a book review praising the portrayal of someone with alcoholism for being well-rounded and fair (Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr), I read these letters.
Having a drink in my hand? Really? (For the record... sugar water with colored dye to give the photo a bit of "pop" since we were largely in gray, white and black.) And as I read on, I thought of a line from one of my favorite movies.
"look at you... you have a baby. in a bar."
Being shocked at a baby in a bar? One thing. Being shocked at grown ups in a bar? A bit different; and I don't find anything inappropriate with either a librarian or a blogger being in a bar or having a drink. (Tho, speaking seriously -- don't drink and blog. You'll regret it. The post lives on in RSS).
And as for the "oh no substance abuse! drinking!"
I have friends and family who are Friends of Bill W. So, yeah, it's not something I take lightly. I'm not putting up anything else that will go against what that second "A" stands for. But remember -- keep coming back. It works if you work it!
Those Friends of Bill W. have seen the cover and liked it and got it. Got the Mad Men aspect, the idea of this being a visual representation of online community of people who rarely meet up in person. Anyway. So I asked someone close to me (anonymous, remember?) about this, forwarding the links, and I got this text back: "tell them u love the sober peeps too."
And I do! I love the sober peeps! And the peeps who aren't!
So, let's turn this into something POSITIVE.
Hey, guys, lets do what bloggers do and m
24 Comments on God Grant Me The Serenity..., last added: 12/4/2009
Funny, I thought SLJ was a professional magazine for adults. Some of those letters made it sound as if school librarians were leaving it out on the shelves for their middle school students to peruse. I had no idea the tween set was interested in how blogging and kids' lit is related.
I, for one, think it's a cute cover. I love the Mad Med-inspired look. It shows that libraries and librarians are up-to-date on current trends and fashions, which I always thought was part of our job.
I thought it was interesting that all the letters (at least all those I saw) were from school librarians. One of them even appears to be under the impression that ya'll are all school librarians as well. Reminds me how glad I am to be a public librarian...and to have wonderful (intelligent, logical, cooperative, and practical) local school librarians to work with.
Have to admit, I completely missed all the cool pop culture references; I just assumed it was a "this is bloggers being social" kind of moment.
Hey, why don't you all drop by my library sometime? We're having a wine tasting in January! (srsly, no kidding, it's a fund-raiser sponsored by our board, one of whom owns a local liquor store)
I have to admit that I missed the Mad Men reference because I am simply not that cool. I got a "This One's For You, Bloggers!" vibe out of it. Which, the issue was... one for the bloggers, I mean. At least that's what I thought. But fortunately, the letter writers are here to assure me that all along you were promoting alcohol use in schools. (?!) Who knew.
Oy.
Liz, you're a bigger (metaphorically) woman than I would be about this. Thanks for making it positive. I am now thinking of books for your list.
Is is terrible of me to think the letters are funny? What stupid things people get upset over! I liked the cover and have no problems displaying it in my school library. I can't help but wonder if the librarians who wrote those letters ever censor the cover of Time and Newsweek which also have the occasional controversial cover. I think what really irritates me is the implied assumption that kids are so dumb they will see a picture of adults holding drinks in their hands and immediately go out and become alcoholics.
I posted a similar comment to Monica's blog, but, I am in Atlanta, GA and people down here think teachers shouldn't drink AT ALL - now I do not adhere to those standards, I mean, I am 21 and am allowed by law to have a drink..sometimes even TWO - LOL - but come on - the magazine is aimed at ADULTS - I have yet to see a student pick up SLJ and say, gee I can't wait to read this month's issue. CHEERS to you, I loved the cover, you all looked FABULOUS!
I thought it was a reference to Fuse #8s KidLit Drink Nights. Jeez, people crack me up. I never even thought about it. Well, a little controversy will have more people reading the magazine. Good work, and yes, it's an awesome cover. Thanks for being awesome.
They should have taken the picture with you guys sitting at the reference desk with drinks in your hands. That way, so many people would have blown so many gaskets, the job market would break wide open.
Liz, that is an amazing cover! Those people need to get over themselves. The magazine is aimed at adults not children. Do we need to protect adults from seeing that other adults can enjoy themselves with a drink now and then? So sorry that your good feelings about this are now tainted. For the record - you ROCK!
Wow. Those sensitive SLJ readers. I'm sure there weren't any positive comments in the bunch because the overwhelming majority of us took a look, thought, "Oh, how cute," and then read the freakin' contents without obsessing over the cover. Was it SLJ readers who freaked out over a bustacious superhero librarian on the cover, too, or was that American Libraries?
As for well-rounded portrayals of alcoholics, I really appreciated the portrayal of the mom in Barbara Hall's Tempo Change, who is in recovery and for whom the Program is a really big, positive thing in her life.
Liz, I probably don't need to go there...in fact, I shouldn't...but I'm sure you already know what I would say. You guys are fab, the cover is fab, and SLJ is fab. And so great that you have their support ("Now we need a drink"). Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight!
Hmm. I'm one of the sober ones, and I didn't think anything of the cover other than, "Gosh, I wish I looked that good." It never occurred to me to be offended.
My favorite alcoholic in a book? Uncle Haskell in "Up a Road Slowly."
grannie elbow said, on 12/2/2009 11:55:00 AM
If you had been using up natural resources or eating meat or wearing fur you'd have gotten letters about that!
Chris said, on 12/2/2009 12:20:00 PM
Librarians are real human people - we drink! Some of us even smoke! I sometimes get double takes from customers I see at the gym, because I don't think they think of me as a real person. I think some people in the profession place this self-imposed burden that we have to be perfect little servants - here for the children, no cussin' or shoutin' aloud allowed! And I can't help but wonder if people would be protesting so much if it was guys holding drinks at a bar. Is there some kind of "loose women" double standard being applied here? Just my off the cuff observation.
I'm not a school librarian/media specialist, so I don't understand why students would see the cover of a professional magazine. Wouldn't something like that just be delivered to their mailbox at school?
It's not as if anyone appeared inebriated. I thought it was a nice cover.
(I wonder if some of the letter writers have an issue with a blogger on the cover?)
Gwenda, yes, that's the equivalent of a "but." "I don't mean x, but.." well, yes, you do mean x.
Miss Tammy, Jon, tanita, teacherninja, Ilene, Laura, Jennifer, thanks!
Jennifer, I'm in NJ, so alas, cannot drop by at what seems like a fun event.
Doret, mb, lisa, chelle, thanks for the title suggestions.
Paige, it does indeed raise bigger issues about what other "bad influence" items are not available. I find it especially troubling because while I respect that some peoples values are "no alcohol, ever", I am against one persons values being imposed on another. Which, in a way, is what is going on: "because I think any drinking is wrong, there should be no books/mags/etc that show drinking is anything other than wrong."
Kathy & Chris, it's a little scary how people think they can control the lives of "public servants" especially those who work with children. Teachers especially have a history of their lives being controlled, with teachers being fired for being pregnant, or divorced, or married. I guess that's why it's sad to see that viewpoint coming from within the profession, also. Here, that a person who happens to work with children should not drink in public.
Christine, now that's a strategy to create more jobs. Except the librarians would all be replaced by support staff, or, better yet -- volunteers. And at schools, parent volunteers.
Grannie, I actually had that exact same thought, lol!
lisnwyrk, thanks for the link.
Becky Hall said, on 12/3/2009 12:38:00 PM
I liked Joan Bauer's Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward. Another is Lush by Natasha Friend. They all give realistic portrayals of the children of alcoholics.
Becky, thanks! Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to put together a post with all the suggested titles.
One other thing: Please think of leaving your comments at the SLJ letters itself. I have no idea if the folks at SLJ click thru to read these posts; but without your comments at their website saying "I liked it, I didn't find it inappropriate" those initial six letters stand unchallenged and give the appearance of being the only feedback SLJ has recieved.
I missed the pop culture reference; I chocked it up to Fuse8's KidLit Drink Night ... not for the drinks but for the social opportunity of talking shop. Does SLJ publish all the letters it receives? I gotta believe that there were some kudos to y'all that deserved mention.
As for books, I'm not sure if it completely fits, but I'd add Albert Borris' Crash Into Me. The other is Thanksgiving at the Inn, which I just recently finished, which is a great father-son story.
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4. Growing Schools Initiative
What we see, hear, taste, touch, smell and do gives us six main ‘pathways to learning’. Young people are intensely curious and should be given the opportunity to use all of their senses to explore the world around them.
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I CANNOT BELIEVE the first letters starts "I am by no means a prude"--if you wrote that, then YOU ARE A PRUDE.
::rolls eyes::
Funny, I thought SLJ was a professional magazine for adults. Some of those letters made it sound as if school librarians were leaving it out on the shelves for their middle school students to peruse. I had no idea the tween set was interested in how blogging and kids' lit is related.
I, for one, think it's a cute cover. I love the Mad Med-inspired look. It shows that libraries and librarians are up-to-date on current trends and fashions, which I always thought was part of our job.
I agree, I thought the cover was clever and great looking. People will complain about anything nowadays.
Congrats on making the cover!
I thought it was interesting that all the letters (at least all those I saw) were from school librarians. One of them even appears to be under the impression that ya'll are all school librarians as well. Reminds me how glad I am to be a public librarian...and to have wonderful (intelligent, logical, cooperative, and practical) local school librarians to work with.
Have to admit, I completely missed all the cool pop culture references; I just assumed it was a "this is bloggers being social" kind of moment.
Hey, why don't you all drop by my library sometime? We're having a wine tasting in January! (srsly, no kidding, it's a fund-raiser sponsored by our board, one of whom owns a local liquor store)
Now We Need A Drink - Love that title header for the letters because the people who wrote the letters probably hate it.
I do enjoy a good list
Blessing's Bead by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Last Night I Sang To The Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz
I have to admit that I missed the Mad Men reference because I am simply not that cool. I got a "This One's For You, Bloggers!" vibe out of it. Which, the issue was... one for the bloggers, I mean. At least that's what I thought. But fortunately, the letter writers are here to assure me that all along you were promoting alcohol use in schools. (?!) Who knew.
Oy.
Liz, you're a bigger (metaphorically) woman than I would be about this. Thanks for making it positive. I am now thinking of books for your list.
Is is terrible of me to think the letters are funny? What stupid things people get upset over! I liked the cover and have no problems displaying it in my school library. I can't help but wonder if the librarians who wrote those letters ever censor the cover of Time and Newsweek which also have the occasional controversial cover. I think what really irritates me is the implied assumption that kids are so dumb they will see a picture of adults holding drinks in their hands and immediately go out and become alcoholics.
I posted a similar comment to Monica's blog, but, I am in Atlanta, GA and people down here think teachers shouldn't drink AT ALL - now I do not adhere to those standards, I mean, I am 21 and am allowed by law to have a drink..sometimes even TWO - LOL - but come on - the magazine is aimed at ADULTS - I have yet to see a student pick up SLJ and say, gee I can't wait to read this month's issue. CHEERS to you, I loved the cover, you all looked FABULOUS!
I thought it was a reference to Fuse #8s KidLit Drink Nights. Jeez, people crack me up. I never even thought about it. Well, a little controversy will have more people reading the magazine. Good work, and yes, it's an awesome cover. Thanks for being awesome.
They should have taken the picture with you guys sitting at the reference desk with drinks in your hands. That way, so many people would have blown so many gaskets, the job market would break wide open.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Liz, that is an amazing cover! Those people need to get over themselves. The magazine is aimed at adults not children. Do we need to protect adults from seeing that other adults can enjoy themselves with a drink now and then? So sorry that your good feelings about this are now tainted. For the record - you ROCK!
Wow. Those sensitive SLJ readers. I'm sure there weren't any positive comments in the bunch because the overwhelming majority of us took a look, thought, "Oh, how cute," and then read the freakin' contents without obsessing over the cover. Was it SLJ readers who freaked out over a bustacious superhero librarian on the cover, too, or was that American Libraries?
As for well-rounded portrayals of alcoholics, I really appreciated the portrayal of the mom in Barbara Hall's Tempo Change, who is in recovery and for whom the Program is a really big, positive thing in her life.
Liz, I probably don't need to go there...in fact, I shouldn't...but I'm sure you already know what I would say. You guys are fab, the cover is fab, and SLJ is fab. And so great that you have their support ("Now we need a drink"). Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight!
Hmm. I'm one of the sober ones, and I didn't think anything of the cover other than, "Gosh, I wish I looked that good." It never occurred to me to be offended.
My favorite alcoholic in a book? Uncle Haskell in "Up a Road Slowly."
If you had been using up natural resources or eating meat or wearing fur you'd have gotten letters about that!
Librarians are real human people - we drink! Some of us even smoke! I sometimes get double takes from customers I see at the gym, because I don't think they think of me as a real person. I think some people in the profession place this self-imposed burden that we have to be perfect little servants - here for the children, no cussin' or shoutin' aloud allowed! And I can't help but wonder if people would be protesting so much if it was guys holding drinks at a bar. Is there some kind of "loose women" double standard being applied here? Just my off the cuff observation.
http://www.hbook.com/blog/2009/12/step-away-from-bar-ladies.html
I'm not a school librarian/media specialist, so I don't understand why students would see the cover of a professional magazine. Wouldn't something like that just be delivered to their mailbox at school?
It's not as if anyone appeared inebriated. I thought it was a nice cover.
(I wonder if some of the letter writers have an issue with a blogger on the cover?)
Gwenda, yes, that's the equivalent of a "but." "I don't mean x, but.." well, yes, you do mean x.
Miss Tammy, Jon, tanita, teacherninja, Ilene, Laura, Jennifer, thanks!
Jennifer, I'm in NJ, so alas, cannot drop by at what seems like a fun event.
Doret, mb, lisa, chelle, thanks for the title suggestions.
Paige, it does indeed raise bigger issues about what other "bad influence" items are not available. I find it especially troubling because while I respect that some peoples values are "no alcohol, ever", I am against one persons values being imposed on another. Which, in a way, is what is going on: "because I think any drinking is wrong, there should be no books/mags/etc that show drinking is anything other than wrong."
Kathy & Chris, it's a little scary how people think they can control the lives of "public servants" especially those who work with children. Teachers especially have a history of their lives being controlled, with teachers being fired for being pregnant, or divorced, or married. I guess that's why it's sad to see that viewpoint coming from within the profession, also. Here, that a person who happens to work with children should not drink in public.
Christine, now that's a strategy to create more jobs. Except the librarians would all be replaced by support staff, or, better yet -- volunteers. And at schools, parent volunteers.
Grannie, I actually had that exact same thought, lol!
lisnwyrk, thanks for the link.
I liked Joan Bauer's Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward. Another is Lush by Natasha Friend. They all give realistic portrayals of the children of alcoholics.
Becky, thanks! Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to put together a post with all the suggested titles.
One other thing: Please think of leaving your comments at the SLJ letters itself. I have no idea if the folks at SLJ click thru to read these posts; but without your comments at their website saying "I liked it, I didn't find it inappropriate" those initial six letters stand unchallenged and give the appearance of being the only feedback SLJ has recieved.
At least you weren't holding Higher Power of Lucky scrotums.
I missed the pop culture reference; I chocked it up to Fuse8's KidLit Drink Night ... not for the drinks but for the social opportunity of talking shop. Does SLJ publish all the letters it receives? I gotta believe that there were some kudos to y'all that deserved mention.
As for books, I'm not sure if it completely fits, but I'd add Albert Borris' Crash Into Me. The other is Thanksgiving at the Inn, which I just recently finished, which is a great father-son story.