Book Chatter

Back in May, Charlotte, of Charlotte's Library, tagged me with a meme of questions with five-part answers. I've changed up the format a bit to be all about books. If you'd like to pick it up and run your own answers at your blog, please do! I tag whoever would like to join in.

A. What were you reading five years ago?

• Five years ago my son was in preschool, and I was reading him books like Jamberry, Freight Train, and "Hi, Pizza Man!"
  

B. Five books on your library list?

• for grown-ups

• 1. City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza (novel about New Orleans and Katrina)
• 2. Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders, by Eric Etheridge
• 3. "Ordinary Children," Extraordinary Teachers, by Marva Collins (recommended by Mental Multivitamin)

• for kids

• 4. United Tweets of America, by Hudson Talbot (on state birds, recommended at Open Wide, Look Inside)
• 5. Jellaby, by Kean Soo (graphic novel, recommended at Library Voice)

C. Five foods you wanted to make or sample after reading about them in a kids' book?

• 1. Thunder Cake (in Patricia Polacco's picture book)
• 2. Maple candy (in Little House in the Big Woods). We made it!
• 3. Ruby's angel surprise cake with raspberry-fluff icing (in Rosemary Wells' Bunny Cakes)
• 4. Be-bim bop (from Linda Sue Park's picture book of the same name)
• 5. Pumpkin bread (from Too Many Pumpkins)

D. Five literary characters you'd like to meet?

• 1. Miss Nelson (from Miss Nelson Is Missing)
• 2. The chicken-chasing queen of Lamar County (from the picture book of the same name) 
• 3. Lilly (of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse)
• 4. Jasmine (from Monsoon Summer)
• 5. (tie) Mr. Putter and Tabby (from Cynthia Rylant's series)

E. Five places you've wanted to visit (or revisit) after reading a kids' book?

• 1. The Meteor Festival in Union City, Michigan (Patricia Polacco's Meteor!)
• 2. Chincoteague, Virginia (Misty, of course)
• 3. The coast of Maine (Bert Dow and so many other picture books)
• 4. Alaska (from The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations)
• 5. (tie) The Little Red Lighthouse (from The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge), Lightship (from the book of the same name), and the John J. Harvey (from Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey), all in New York
  

F. What if you had a billion dollars? What would you do with it?

• You know, I think we can do a lot to help out those in need right now, without being billionaires. Consider becoming a literacy volunteer, whether you're teaching adults, reading with children at a school, or helping someone learn English as a second language. And don't forget the food banks; they tend to run low in the summer.
  

Comments

[Charlotte]

Thanks! I like it better as a bookish meme, and now I'm trying to think of my book places I'd like to go...

[Susan T.]

My pleasure, Charlotte! It was fun to put together.

[Mary Lee]

EXCELLENT remake! I love when people make memes do what they want the meme to do!! (Who's in charge here, anyway?!?!)

You'll love Jellaby, but you'll be frustrated that book 2 isn't out yet.

Your Billion Dollar answer is worth every penny. Great advice.

[Jules]

LOVE that literary characters question. Too fun. And kickin' answer to the last question.

[Susan T.]

Mary Lee, thanks. I could yap about books for days and days!

Jules, I can just picture Lilly in person, can't you?

[Stacey from Two Writing Teachers]

This would be great to do with students at the end of a school year (modified of course)

[Susan T.]

Stacey, that would be fun for kids to do at the end of the year! By that time, they've read so many books with their teachers, and independently, in class.