Join us Thursday, May 29th at 7pm for the 2008 BEA Kane/Miller Kidlit Drink Nite.

Firefly

11720 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604

Phone: 818 762 1833

On line review:

Buildings in Los Angeles tend to be faceless blocks from the outside, so don’t be disappointed to find that Firefly has no sign outside indicating where it is. It hasn’t stopped those in-the-know driving over the hills to Ventura for nights of fine dining and classy drinks. The bar is done up like a millionaire’s drawing room with antiques, oil paintings, leather couches, plush sofas and shelves of books - very Getty. The dining room is beyond this, an open-air patio serving Mediterranean type dishes to suit the al fresco setting, among them gorgeous grilled pancetta-wrapped shrimp, filet mignon and various cheeses. The wine and drinks served by stylish staff are just as tasty. Start off with an apple-tini, go on to California wine and by the time you’re on the brandy you’ll be gazing at the stars above you - or at the tables next to you. A classy tucked away gem.

In case you didn’t catch it in January, check out here what the PaperTigers reading Challenge 2008 entails: there’s still plenty of time to join in!

We are running three in parallel in our household as my boys decided they wanted to complete it on their own, as well as do one as a bed-time readaloud… so here are our comments about Book Number One!

Back in October, I wrote a post about I Am Jack by Susanne Gervay - the time to read it came at the end of January when Big Brother had a few issues with bullying (now, I’m glad to say, resolved). As usual, I turned to stories as a springboard for discussion and we read it all together as our first Reading Challenge readaloud. Big Brother’s situation had been squashed very early on and certainly never got anywhere near what poor Jack has to endure but reading the book opened up comparisons and empathy. It brought home the importance of talking - and being available to listen. A couple of bedtimes were prolonged to read an extra chapter; and we had a very late night as we arrived at the end – we couldn’t possibly have left it hanging. Once again, I really recommend this book…

Meanwhile, Big Brother* (aged 9) chose Mga Kuwentong Bayan: Folk Stories from The Philippines edited by Alice Lucas and illustrated by Carl Angel. It is published by Many Cultures Publishing, a division of the nonprofit San Francisco Study Center. The book contains three stories: A Creation Story, The Monkey and the Turtle and Aponitolou and the Star Maiden. Here’s what Big Brother has to say about it:

I thought it was brilliant – especially the story where all the stars came onto the ground. It was about a star woman and a human man who fell in love with each other and the husband already had a wife on earth so he had to spend half a year in the sky and half a year down on the ground. I thought it was quite fun to have a different kind of book to read, with almost black and white pictures. I tried reading the Tagalog version but I didn’t get very far!

Little Brother (aged 6) had chosen The Birdman by Veronika Martenova Charles and illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. It is the poignant true story of a Calcutta tailor who buys and sets free the sickly birds that are left at the end of a day’s trading at the market. You can read PaperTigers’ review of the book here, and here are Little Brother’s comments:

I really liked the pictures because they looked very artistic with lots of bright colours and dots on them. I really liked Noor Nobi’s idea of making a flock of poor birds. He set them free and they didn’t go far away because they loved him. I liked that it was a true story because something like that is very good and kind.

We will keep you posted on Number 2 of our Reading Challenge selections. In the meantime, do let us know how you’re getting on, if you’re already on board; or let us know your book choices, if you’re just starting.

* I have Here and There Japan to thank for helping me finally to come up with what to call my children in my blog postings: other possibilities had been commented upon and others were too much of a mouthful… I think this now works?!? So thank you, Annie!

It’s spring Down Under, and the gardeners of Melbourne are out in abundance, reminding me of the heartwarming account of a multicultural community garden, Paul Fleischman’s lovely Seedfolks.

Gina Biancarosa, friend and literacy expert, is a big fan of the Newbery Award-winning children’s author, and Seedfolks is her “absolute favorite” Fleischman book. “Just so well written, and even though it takes place in America, there are a number of immigrant characters in it.” She points out the Christian Science Monitor’s comment on Fleischman’s website, “The size of this slim volume belies the profound message of hope it contains.” Here’s an account of what Seedfolks inspired one young reader to do. Here’s an excerpt from Seedfolks and Fleischman’s story of how he came to write it.

Now for a few other books on community gardens… In Jorge Argueta’s bilingual text, Xochitl and the Flowers, Xochitl and her family, El Salvadorans new to San Francisco, turn a garbage heap behind their apartment into a nursery for plants. Here’s PaperTigers’ interview with author and illustrator Carl Angel. In Our Community Garden, by Barbara Pollak, also set in San Francisco, kids make a feast of burritos, stir-fry, and other ethnic specialties, using foods they’ve grown in their community garden. The Garden of Happiness, YA author Erika Tamar’s first picture book, is the story of a multicultural community garden in New York City.

Inspired? Right. For ideas on how to use Seedfolks in the classroom or how to start a school garden, click here and scroll down. Happy gardening!