Craving Cookies and A Super Surprise

You wait patiently as the butter softens on the counter along with the eggs warming to room temperature.  You watch as the flour, salt, and baking soda are combined together and set aside.  Your excitement increases as the butter is creamed together with two sugars and a teaspoon (plus a little more) of vanilla.  When the eggs are finally added, you know it's almost done.

Shifting from one foot to the other, you wonder why it takes so long to add the dry ingredients.  Then you hear the package being opened.  Quickly two cups, okay, maybe two and half cups of those delicious morsels are poured and stirred into the batter.  Teaspoon by teaspoon, shapes are placed on the cookie sheet, which is then slid into the warm oven.

The longest ten minutes ever in the history of time is finally completed.  As the door opens, the most intoxicating smell in the world wafts through the kitchen.  You gaze longingly from your mom to the cookies. A nod is given. You never forget the first time you taste one, as all the flavors melt in your mouth.  There is nothing quite so good as a home-baked chocolate chip cookie.

If you think the need for these delectable delights is relegated to only humans, think again.  Once any living being gets a whiff of their aroma, the need to eat them is irresistible.  Tea Party Rules (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.) written by Ame Dyckman (Boy + Bot) with illustrations by K. G. Campbell (Lester's Dreadful Sweaters) tells the tale of a cub who has caught cookie fever.


Cub was playing in the woods
when he smelled something delicious.
He followed his nose through the
bushes and found...

Wily woodland creature that he is, Cub has found a plate covered with cookies.  It seems he is not alone in this discovery either.  There is another bear sitting in a chair right next to those tempting treats.

Unlike Cub, this bear is of the stuffed variety.  So when Cub tries to engage the bear in conversation, he is met with silence.  In fact he falls off his seat when Cub touches him.

Cub now knows the cookies are all his.  As he is about to savor the first bite of one, he hears someone coming.  Uh, oh...

Cub does the only thing he can think to do.  He masquerades as the teddy.  Let's stop here a moment.  There's a lively, young bear taking the place of an inanimate toy?

A young girl is ready for her tea party to begin.  The table is set.  The cookies are on the plate.  She has brought the tea and a bouquet of fresh flowers.  When she carefully peers at her bear, he seems to be a tad dirty.  This will not do.  Readers are introduced to Tea Party Rule number one, cleanliness.

Cub has no choice as he is carried inside by the girl.  He tolerates a bath because he wants those cookies in the worst way.  He endures rules two and three because all he can think about is consuming those cookies.

Oblivious to the discomfort Cub is enduring, the prim and proper girl goes about  HER preparations according to HER rules.  Again outside the girl pipes up, voicing her fourth and final rule.  This is the proverbial straw that breaks this little guy's back.   Cub is, after all, a bear.  Girl responds as only she can, playing by the rules. GAME ON!


Ame Dyckman's passion for play in her storytelling makes its presence known by the time the first page is turned.  Techniques such as blending the narrative with Cub and the girl speaking their thoughts aloud, repetition of key phrases, pausing to complete sentences and word emphasis, all promote the feeling we readers are there watching this friendship, however improbable, form.  The atmosphere hums with anticipation.  Giggling and guffaws are a given.


With Cub and the girl eyeing one another, ready to grab the single cookie, framed in tiny birch branches, on the front jacket and cover and the question asked and answered on the back, readers can sense fun just around the corner.  Opening and closing endpapers have readers gazing through a birch forest, looking for nature's residents hidden among the trees.  On the title page, edge to edge, across both pages, we are still in the woods but now we see a mother bear sleeping with a cub, as another wakes up.

Rendered in sepia marker and colored pencils, K. G. Campbell's illustrations are spirited, brimming with humor and an enchanted extension of the story.  Each is set amid liberal amounts of white space; his artwork is so detailed, so delicate, it's like the white is gently holding each picture. The visuals in turn flow around and become one with the text.  The looks on the faces of Cub, the little girl and her cat will have readers roaring with laughter.  I adore both the two page spreads in the little girl's bedroom as she implements her rules.  When she's carrying Cub and her cat back outside to the tea party setting, I'm grinning, grinning big and wide.

Tea Party Rules written by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, is one of the best tea parties you will ever have the pleasure of attending.  It's impossible not to fall in love with the characters.  Wouldn't it be fun to plan a tea party with your students having them bring in their stuffed animal friends, dressing up to fit the occasion?  You could make up your own tea party rules.

To learn more about the author and illustrator follow the links to their websites embedded in their names above.  Ame has been interviewed at The Little Crooked Cottage, The Styling Librarian, and by Nicole Y. Walters.  The most exciting thing is happening below!

Today...yes today....Ame is sharing with the world her brand new book trailer for Tea Party Rules.  It's short, sweet and full of laughter and love, just like she is.






I am thrilled and thankful she agreed to answer some questions below.  Enjoy.

AME:  Thanks so much for having me on Librarian’s Quest, Margie!  I’m very excited to be here!  And—(YES, Cub!)  Cub is visiting today, and he’s very excited, too.

MARGIE:  I would like to know more about how you felt about the illustrations the first time you saw them.  What did you like best about them?  Did you and K.G. talk at all before you saw them?

AME:  Seeing K.G.’s illustrations for the first time was a RIOT!  K.G.’s a GENIUS with facial expressions—there’s so much humor in them!  I love all the little jokes he added, too—the bubble bath bottle, the artwork in the girl’s room, etc.—and I still crack up EVERY time I see Cub in that frilly pink dress.  (Sorry, Cub!  But I’m sure you can laugh about it by now, no?  Oh.  Moving right along…)  Sadly, K.G.’s far, far away on the other side of the country, so we didn’t really talk before first sketches except for an e-mailed “Hey, K.G.!  I bet you’re gonna ROCK it!”  And he did!  But I hope the two of us can hang out sometime soon.  OW!  (Why did you poke me, Cub?  Oh.)  Make that the THREE of us!

MARGIE:  I think the forest of birch trees adds to the lightness and fun of your narrative.

ME:  AFFIRMA—I mean, AGREED, Margie!  Kids enjoy looking for the hidden animals in the end pages.  I THINK I’ve found all of them!

MARGIE:  Did you and Husband Guy make the trailer?  It's the perfect amount of text and pictures to get people to read the book.

ME:  We did!  We cleared a few extra nights in our schedule by having cookies and tea for dinner, and—uh-oh.  (I was just kidding, Cub!  OF COURSE we didn’t eat cookies without you!)

AME:  Thanks again, Margie!  Cub can’t wait to try your chocolate chip cookie recipe!  (NO, Cub!  Those are MY car keys!)  Looks like I gotta go!  Happy reading, everybody!

This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I clipped it from the Traverse City Record Eagle more than fifteen, probably twenty, years ago.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup sugar (I use raw with a little of the white)
2 eggs at room temperature (brown, cage-free, organic)
1 package (3 oz.) cook and serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use two)
Zest of one orange, reserving the juice
1 cup dried cherries
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)(I add 1/4 cup more to make the cookies less flat.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (12 oz.) chocolate chip morsels (Ghirardelli)

Grate orange and chop zest finely. Squeeze orange and pour juice over dried cherries. Simmer until cherries are soft, or you can microwave them for 1 minute.  (I never do this.)  Drain cherries; set aside.  Combine flour and baking soda.  Mix butter, orange zest, sugars, eggs, pudding mix and vanilla together until creamy.  Gradually add flour/soda mixture.  Combine fully then fold in cherries and chocolate morsels.  Let dough rest in the refrigerator for one full hour. (This is important.) Place large teaspoons full of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  (Watch the time though depending on the humidity and your oven. It might take fewer minutes.)

Shhhhh...Can You Keep A Secret?

Truthfully, I can't remember a time when I did not like pizza.  Growing up I can still remember the thrill of knowing a pizza night was close at hand when the Chef Boyardee box showed up in the pantry after Mom went grocery shopping.  As I got older my homemade pizza dough from scratch was a household favorite.

Say the word pizza party to a group of students and watch what happens; eyes will light up and a quiet buzz will spread around the room.  The team that brought readers Those Darn Squirrels (Clarion Books, 2008), Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door (Clarion Books, 2011), Those Darn Squirrels Fly South (Clarion Books, 2012) and Dragons Love Tacos (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012) have a new title guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.  Secret Pizza Party (Dial Books for Young Readers) is a ring-tailed rascal's quest for this mouth-watering, gourmet, doughy delight.

Poor Raccoon.
All he wants in life is some pizza.

Peering into pizzeria windows and invading trash cans, does not seem to be working in his favor.  As the narrator extols the virtues of all things pizza with apologies to the forlorn, frustrated Raccoon, a plan is suggested, a plan which must not be revealed to anyone.

Lest Raccoon needs a refresher on the true meaning of secret, the conspiratorial voice explains to him and the reader the advantages of keeping mum.  There is one problem though; how to get the pizza delivered to Raccoon.  I mean...after all...he is wanted for pizza theft.  But what's a party without the main course?!

Who's that in the trench coat, boots, wide-brimmed hat and glasses?  Shhhh...it's Raccoon.  He's going in to pick up a pizza.  Money?  Wallet?  He's got to run now on what promises to be a challenging, rather than a perfect, route back to his home inside the tree trunk.

Now it's time for the secret pizza party.  Wait a minute...there's the sound of voices, many voices, bright lights and a distinctive odor coming from outside Raccoon's home.  And he's off...


Adam Rubin reels readers right into the story with his snappy narration; a voice acting in partnership with Raccoon while providing readers with the inside scoop.  Lead by contemporary word choices loaded with humor we willingly follow the path, collaborators in the plan.  His descriptions of the pizza, his comparisons between regular and secret, the rambling escape route and the surprising conclusion combine to make the best kind of story; feeding our desire for a fun-filled adventure.  Here is a single example.  

Hot diggity dog, our pizza party is going to be so much fun!
Call the pizza man and tell him to bring over his absolute finest pizza pie.

Hang on a minute, you don't want the delivery guy to know where you live.

One of my favorite things about the artwork of Dan Salmieri is how his details convey and encompass the theme of a story.  The front jacket and cover done in shades of black featuring Raccoon in his disguise, eyes looking straight at the reader, finger to his mouth asking for quiet, the title done in shapes of pizza in front of the darkened pizza parlor, match the mood of secrecy.  The back jacket and cover feature a wanted poster of Raccoon, REWARD: 1 FREE PIE (NO TOPPINGS), nails holding it in place.  The opening and closing endpapers are patterned in slices of cheese pizza on a white background.

Using watercolor, gouache, and color pencil Salmieri alternates between black and white backgrounds, a variety of picture sizes, double page, single page and smaller vignettes, with his signature characters.  It's in looking at the eyes, the long thin arms, body motions and facial emotions, readers will be hard pressed not to burst into laughter.  Raccoon face pressed against the glass of the pizza restaurant watching people eat,  the decor in his abode, pizza graphics on the walls, a bedspread covered in whole pizzas, a lampshade in the shape of a pizza slice, and the page without text showing him full figure in his undercover garb, are top-notch hilarity.


I love the minds that pair raccoons, those notorious nocturnal raiders, with a favorite food.  Secret Pizza Party written by Adam Rubin with illustrations by Daniel Salmieri is a passion, no... an obsession, gone wild.  I know readers will enjoy hearing this story read to them with the same frequency they enjoy eating pizza, every meal, every day.

Please visit the author and illustrator websites linked to their names above.

A Tea-rrific Time

It would seem that our lives are composed of rituals; certain practices done at specific times of the year, month, or even every day.  During the month of August it might be staying up into the early hours of the morning to watch the Perseid meteor shower, growing up it was new shoes before school started in September, or each night not being able to go to sleep until you've told members of your family good night, I love you.  These routines give comfort, a sense, whether true or not, that all is right with the world.

I'll wager that most people can barely begin their day without a first cup of coffee, or in my case, a cup of tea. In Asian cultures there are beautiful ceremonies for the preparation and serving of tea.  Low tea and high tea are British terms used to distinguish between the times tea might be served.  When you host or attend a tea party there is an etiquette to be observed.  In Tea Rex (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.) written and illustrated by Molly Idle adjustments to tradition prevail in a rather BIG way.

When hosting an afternoon tea for a special friend---
greet your guest at the door.

If a grinning Tyrannosaurs rex, invitation in hand wearing a teeny, tiny purple bowler hat and purple and yellow polk-a-dot bow tie, happens to be filling the open door frame, this could present the first of many...er...challenges during the event.  Having him follow you to the parlor is not going to be easy when he can hardly squeeze through the door.  With meeting the other guests and finding one's spot at the table complete, the polite conversation begins.

In response to shenanigans involving cutlery on the part of the younger brother, Mr. Rex lets out a mighty loud roar of approval.  Offering food, despite its variety, and the pouring of tea proves to be rather problematic.  The guest's enthusiasm for both is a tad over the top.

Mayhem quickly follows on the heels of one mishap after the other. Appropriate music and dance (more like riding  on a roller coaster at the amusement park) concludes the tea party. Whew!  With the special guest barely, in every sense of the word, out the door, a surprise is delivered to the hosts, actually, a bunch of BIG surprises.


Sentence by sentence in a most prim and proper form, Molly Idle provides a narrative which reads like pages from Miss Manners.  With little stretch of the imagination you can almost hear the voice enunciating each and every word chosen with care.  The pauses between page turns elevate the disparity between what is read and what is seen in the illustrations.


On the front jacket and cover we are treated to a snapshot of a very special occasion but a picture on the back, a circular inset, tells a different story, the real story.  The palette of colors displayed on the jacket and cover are used throughout on illustrations rendered with Prismacolor pencils. Opening and closing endpapers provide charming close-ups of an invitation and thank you note sent by Cordelia to Mr. Rex, the opened envelopes against his bowler hat, the notes held by his versatile tail.

The details in the decor, the characters' attire, the table setting and facial expressions (oh, those eyes) only increase the hilarity.  The "before the roar" and "after the roar" differences are the first of many.  For example in a series of three visuals for When everyone is settled, you may serve refreshments.  Be sure to offer several choices---and cater to the individual tastes of your guests, we see all the characters seated at the table hands and feet reaching toward delectable delights followed by the disappearance of all including a portion of the plate and then "whoosh", the teddy bear in attendance is about to be consumed too. My favorite of them all is the double page spread of what's left of the parlor after the party as Cordelia and her brother push (it's a tight fit) Mr. Rex out the door.  All sense of decorum has vanished.


With delicate, dramatic illustrations drawn to illuminate and accentuate Tea Rex by Molly Idle is most memorable.  The very idea of dinosaurs and tea parties is so foreign to our way of thinking, the humor begins immediately and grows page after page.  You'll be looking for a free date to have your very own afternoon tea.  Who will you invite?

Please stop by Molly Idle's website.  A link is embedded in her name above.  This is a link to Molly Idle Picks Kid-Friendly Dinosaur Books at BOOKish. (Thanks to John Schumacher for tweeting this link.) This book trailer is only the start of a wonderful reading experience.