Book Club Recipe: Stuffed Manicotti

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I love recipes that seem as though they took more work than they did. That’s why over the years I’ve served this stuffed manicotti recipe to more than one book club group. I’ve been enjoying eating these manicotti for years, as my mom used to make them when I was growing up. She learned how to make them from a friend with Italian roots. It takes a bit of work, but most everything can be done in advance and cooked the night of your meeting. You’ll wow your book club members when they come through your front door and smell these baking. If you’re planning a mother-daughter book club, this is a great recipe to pair with Gennifer Choldenko’s Al Capone Does My Shirts.

Stuffed Manicotti

Serves 8

Stuffing

  • 1 8 oz package of manicotti shells
  • 1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 10-oz package of frozen, chopped spinach, cooked and drained
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup plain bread crumbs
  • ¼ lb. Romano cheese, grated
  • 1 teaspoon oregano

Cook manicotti shells about they are nearly done, about 10 minutes in boiling water. Drain and cover with cold water to prevent sticking. In a large skillet, brown beef, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add onion and cook for an additional five minutes. Mix in spinach, egg, bread crumbs, cheese and oregano. Stir until well blended.

Stuff shells with mixture, being careful not to tear pasta. Place stuffed shells in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Sauce

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 4-oz cans of tomato paste
  • 2 cans of water
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • Dash of hot sauce, such as Tabasco
  • Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in large skillet and sauté beef until brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add onion, garlic and celery and continue cooking until onions are clear, about 5 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Pour sauce over stuffed manicotti. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Author Amy Timberlake Talks About Imagining Passenger Pigeons

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Amy Timberlakes latest historical novel, One Came Home, is set against the backdrop of the largest passenger pigeon nesting recorded in the U.S. It happened in Wisconsin in 1871, and here Timberlake recreates the experience of imagining a nesting as large as the one way back then. If you’d like to learn more about One Came Home and enter to win a copy of the book, read the review and comment here.

How to Imagine Passenger Pigeons EXACTLY like the author of One Came Home.

Close your eyes. Tell yourself to imagine lots and lots and lots of birds. The most birds you ever saw—what was it? Immediately think of a flock of Canada Geese that you saw at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Remember how there were so many birds that The Garden hired guys with dogs to scare the geese because the geese left droppings on every, single walkway. Recall the exact feeling of slipping on goose poo. Think, Worse than ice.

Meditate for a moment on goose poo. Perceive that it comes in a truly interesting set of colors—a spattering of green, black and white. Open your eyes. Think excitedly, Like The Fighting Irish! Then frown. Ask yourself: Are The Fighting Irish colors green and white? Know you need to double-check this fact, but find you have no interest in doing so, despite the fact that going online to “check facts” is a siren call—irresistible, alluring—especially during Writing Time. Scan your soul for a mite of interest in football and find none. Note this for later, future essays, which will almost certainly never be written. In your word-processing program type: “goose poo in Fighting Irish green and white.” Think you’re clever.

Abruptly know that you’re a complete eejit. Look around, quickly. Really wonder if anyone saw you thinking what you thought. Grasp that: a) you work alone; b) no one can see you thinking; and c) there’s nothing even remotely alive in this room except yourself. Wonder briefly about the alive-ness of the raisins you’ve been eating. Apprehend that they’re dead—but edible. Eating dead, edible things is distressing somehow. Remind yourself that it is biology, part of The Lion King’s ‘Circle of Life.’ Hear the lyrics in your head: Ingonyama nengw’ enamabaal! Ingonyama nengw’ enamabaal! Ingonyama nengw’ enamabaal!

 Stop! Gasp your disgust. Strictly tell yourself to get on topic—please. Make yourself say the words out loud: “Passenger Pigeons are birds, birds, birds—lots of birds.” Say it again—this time with your eyes closed. Decide to bake muffins.

Amy Timberlake photo

Amy Timberlake photo taken by M J Alexander

* * *

Amy Timberlake’s latest novel is a western for middle grade readers titled One Came Home (subtitled “A sister lost. A body found. The truth buried.”) It’s set during the last great passenger pigeon nesting in 1871, and is the story of thirteen-year old Georgie Burkhardt, who leaves everyone she knows in order to find the sister she’s lost. She grew up in Hudson, Wisconsin. She has an M.A. in English/Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she’s also taught writing. She’s worked as a book reviewer, a book event coordinator, and as a children’s bookseller. Her previous books include That Girl Lucy Moon and The Dirty Cowboy. The Dirty Cowboy was illustrated by Adam Rex and won SCBWI’s Golden Kite Award. That Girl Lucy Moon was chosen as a Book Sense Pick, a NYPL’s “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing,” a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of 2007, an Amelia Bloomer Book, and the winner of the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. Amy Timberlake lives with her husband in Chicago. Learn more about her life and work at her website: www.AmyTimberlake.com.

Book Review and Giveaway: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

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One Came Home cover image

Today I’m excited to feature a new historical novel by author Amy Timberlake. It’s called One Came Home, and it tells the story of a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl’s quest for the truth during a crisis in her family in 1871. I really enjoyed reading this one, and my complete review is below. Also, I have one copy to give away to a reader in the U.S. or Canada. Just comment before midnight (PST) Tuesday, January 29 and say what you like about historical fiction.Please note, the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Andrea on winning. Also, look for Amy Timberlake’s very interesting essay about imagining passenger pigeons to appear immediately after this review.

Review: One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

Lately it seems most of the books I have been reading for young readers ages 9 to 12 have taken place in modern times and dealt with modern issues. Which is one of the reasons why I was happy to pick up One Came Home by Amy Timberlake, a historical novel set in Wisconsin in 1871. Timberlake’s tale reminded me of what I like so much about stories set in other times—their ability to transport me to an age that no longer exists and learn about what life was like for the people then. Often the issues have meaning in modern times even if the details of those issues don’t.

One Came Home tells the story of Georgie, who at 13 years old expects that when she grows up she will take over running the general store her family owns and settle into life in the tiny town of Placid. She doesn’t understand why her older sister Agatha doesn’t have the same dream. Agatha loves books and would like to go to the university at Madison.

When Agatha runs off, the sheriff sent to find her returns with an unidentifiable body in Agatha’s dress. While everyone else believes Agatha is dead, Georgie refuses to think so, and she sets off on a journey of her own to find her sister.

To solve the mystery about her sister, Georgie will have to draw upon her ability to get people to open up to her as well as her skill with shooting a rifle. In the end, she learns a lot about herself as well as many people around her.

Underlying Georgie’s story is the historical event of one of the largest passenger pigeon nestings in the U.S. It really happened in Wisconsin in 1871, and Timberlake effortlessly weaves facts about this phenomenon in with Georgie’s life. It’s all the more fascinating as passenger pigeons are now extinct.

Some of the problems in the book arise because communications were not instant in the 1870s as they are today, and crime forensics was not advanced. Comparing the two eras and how they may have produced a different story would be a good topic for discussion. Georgie also learns a lot during the story as she begins to see situations from others viewpoints as well as her own. This would also make a good topic of conversation in a book club.

One Came Home brought out issues of family trust, loyalty and fierce determination while immersing me in a bygone era. I highly recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12.

The author provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Author Angela Shelton Discusses Writing Fantasy for Children

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Today I’m excited to participate in the blog tour for  Angela Shelton, author of the new middle-grade fantasy series, The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton. As a stop on the tour, I have one copy of Tilda to give away to someone who comments here by midnight (PDT), Friday, December 28. (U.S. and Canadian residents only please). (Please note: the giveaway is closed. Congratulations to April on winning.) Here’s a bit of information about the book and the author. Keep reading to find out what Shelton has to say about the challenges of writing fantasy for children.

The Adventures of Tilda PinkertonSynopsis: The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton

If you had a super power what would it be? Invisibility? The ability to fly? X-ray vision? What about the ability to make hats? Not regular hats but magical hats . . . hats that make people blossom, help them become the person they secretly wish they could be. Tilda Pinkerton has that ability. But will hat making help her save the universe from evil powers trying to destroy it? Things don’t look good, especially since Tilda can’t remember who she is or why she’s on the planet of Ooleeoo.

Somewhere out in the Sombrero Galaxy, Tilda Pinkerton is being hunted by the Keeper of Darkness. But Tilda isn’t worried. Of course that could be because she doesn’t remember who she is or what she’s doing on the planet of Ooleeoo. Even in the middle of cosmic danger, Tilda does what she does best: creates hats that make people . . . not better, but MORE of the person they are meant to be. When the mayor of Ooleeoo bans Tilda’s hats is he just being a curmudgeon or is he secretly working for the enemy? Can Tilda figure out who she is in time to save the galaxy?

The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton is the perfect combination: it has a roller coaster ride of a story for middle-grade readers and the interesting addition of words to expand their vocabulary that will make parents (and teachers) happy. If your child is looking for a new series to enjoy The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton may be the answer to her reading wishes.

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Quiet Owl Books (July 31, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0615646778
ISBN-13: 978-0615646770
Twitter hashtag: #TildaPinkerton

Author Angela Shelton

Author Angela Shelton

The Challenges of Writing Fantasy for Children
By Angela Shelton

Isn’t writing for children the easiest thing in the world?

Excuse me while I roll on the floor laughing. Sure, just start writing for kids. They’ll love it. Try the fantasy genre – it’s even easier!

Not.

Kids are Smarter than You Think

Despite some comments by wine guzzling mommy bloggers, the above statement is true. Kids are smarter than you think.

They don’t miss much either. One of the challenges in writing for them is to NOT dumb things down. If you write for children like baby talking to a two year old who can already speak in complete sentences, they will look at you like you have lost your fantastical mind.

We are in a time of dilemmas. On one hand, advanced learning levels are being lowered so that everyone can get a chance, not just the super smart kids. On the other hand, the New Common Core Standards are being implemented in many states, requiring larger vocabulary and advanced learning for all levels.

I lean towards the advanced learning being required. I’ve seen how kids will rise to the occasion, even kids with learning disabilities.

Don’t underestimate kids!

Who are you writing fantasy for?

I thought I was writing for 10-12 year-old girls. Apparently kids read up —which means younger kids are reading what older kids are meant to be reading and the older kids are reading Twilight. Yes, it’s true.

I’ve also seen that the biggest buyers of my book, The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton are women 50+. Who knew?!

I spoke to a few twelve-year-old girls about my fantasy book. I asked them what they liked about it, what they were missing, and what they wanted more of.

They told me they wanted more “inappropriate things.”

That’s right. They wanted kissing, touching, naughty no-nos, and that unrequited angst you get from being in love with a vampire or werewolf. Puke.

The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton is a clean read and a vocabulary builder. There is nothing naughty in it besides a few flirtatious scenes between Mayor Mudpie Melic and Belinda Balletomania (because of her very large bouncing bosom while ballet dancing).

So what are the challenges in writing for children? One of them is that some children grow up very quickly now and want to read and watch Twilight when you think they still want a fairytale!

What do you do about it? 

Keep writing. Write what you want to read. So far, the kids who are reading my fantasy book are advanced reading boys and girls, age 8-9. That is the age group I thought Tilda would be too advanced for. I forgot—kids are smarter than you think and kids read up.

Plus, you may have been totally off base about what age you were writing for and a line of women 50+ may show up to get their book signed.

Number one rule—write what you want to read.

Angela Shelton is an author, actor, and public speaker. She has been writing since she was eight years old. Her first novel was adapted into the movie Tumbleweeds. Angela won a regional Emmy award for her portrayal of Safe Side Superchick in The Safe Side video series created by Baby Einstein’s Julie Clark. After living in Los Angeles for over a decade, Angela left the big city for a one-light country town to marry her first love and fulfill her dream of writing books in a barn house.

http://tildapinkerton.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/angelashelton

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AngelaSheltonFanPage

https://www.facebook.com/tildapinkerton

Angela’s Book Blog – http://magicalhatshop.com/

About Angela Shelton

Angela is an author, actor, and public speaker. She has been writing since she was eight years old. Her first novel was adapted into the movie Tumbleweeds. Angela won a regional Emmy award for her portrayal of SafeSide Superchick in The Safe Side video series created by Baby Einstein’s Julie Clark. After living in Los Angeles for over a decade, Angela left the big city for a one-light country town to marry her first love and fulfill her dream of writing books in a barn house.

Her Tilda Pinkerton books can be traced back to her childhood fear of dictionaries! Angela was a big believer in the “if I can’t spell it, how can I find it in the dictionary to learn how to spell it” school of thought. In fact, she was so frustrated by the uselessness of dictionaries that she destroyed several during her childhood. She eventually got over her fear of dictionaries (OK, she still hates them. But she learned to hide her antagonism for word books), and began writing. Her Tilda books contain a plethora (Go ahead, look it up. At least you know how to spell it!) of wacky words and definitions to expand the vocabulary of readers in a fun way. No dictionaries involved!

 

Three Questions for Author Heather Vogel Frederick

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Heather Vogel Frederick photo

Heather Vogel Frederick’s The Mother-Daughter Book Club series, comes to an end with her latest release, Wish You Were Eyre. Originally planned for four books, the series was so beloved that Frederick extended it to six. Many real-life mother-daughter book clubs have started out by reading about Frederick’s fictional one, and they have sometimes gone on to read the classic stories featured in her books.

With the last of that series on the shelf, I was curious about what Frederick would be feeling about finishing up the stories of Emma, Jess, Cassidy, Megan and Becca. Here are three questions I asked, along with her responses:

MDBC: What did you find most rewarding about writing the Mother-Daughter Book Club series?

HVF: Wow, where do I start? It was really fun to play “Empress of the Universe” in choosing favorite classics for my fictional book club to read, and hoping thus to entice young readers to give them a try.  My plan worked!  I loved hearing back from so many fans who were delighted to discover, say, Daddy-Long-Legs or the Betsy-Tacy series. Knowing that some of these classics will find their way into the hands of young readers, thanks in part to my books, is just tremendously cheering. The other, unexpected, reward from writing this series has been the opportunity to connect with so many girls. As the mother of two boys, this has been sheer fun.

MDBC: What will you miss the most?

HVF: It’s really hard to say goodbye to characters I’ve come to know and love. I hesitate to tell you this, because it sounds so sappy, but as I was writing the final chapter I burst into tears. Just broke down and sobbed! I hadn’t expected this at all, and was completely blind-sided by the wave of emotion. As a writer, though, you really do live part-time in the world of your own creating, and I guess it just hit me that “this is it–I won’t be spending time in this world, with these people, any more.” It was bittersweet for me.

MDBC: What are you looking forward to now?

HVF: I’ve begun work on a new novel, another contemporary middle-grade story, this one set in the fictional town of Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire. I was born in New Hampshire and moved back there in high school, so it’s fun to be on familiar turf. It’s still early days yet, I’m just getting to know my characters, but I like them very much so far. I’m taking Jane Austen’s writing advice to heart when she said, “Three or four families in a country village is the very thing to work on…”

MDBC: Heather Vogel Frederick working on a new middle-grade story set in a New Hampshire town sounds like the very thing to read when it comes out. While I’ll miss the characters I’ve come to love from your series, I’ll look forward to discovering new ones.

Book Review: Fangirl by Ken Baker

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Fangirl cover image

Josie is a normal 9th grader who can’t wait for summer to arrive. She loves to write songs, hang out with her best friends Ashley and Christopher, and obsess over her favorite singer, Peter Maxx.

Peter is 16 and would like to have a normal life. Most people imagine his life as a teen pop star is all glamour, but the truth is, he’s exhausted half-way through a 40-concert tour that has him constantly in the spotlight.

When Josie and Peter meet by chance when he stops by her high school to give an award in a video contest, the sparks fly. But can a teen star expect to have a normal relationship with a regular girl?

Fangirl by Ken Baker goes back and forth as it tells the story from both Josie’s and Peter’s perspective. Josie is kind of shy and writes lyrics when she’s trying to make sense of the things in her life. And with her parents’ recent divorce it seems like a lot of things don’t make sense. Peter struggles to stand out as a person, not just an icon. His dad, who sees fame as something fleeting to be  pursued while the iron is hot, pushes him to perform.

Fangirl is every girl’s fantasy—what girl wouldn’t want to get to know the famous celebrity she has a crush on—but it’s also interesting to read about how Josie stays true to herself despite the pressure she feels to act in ways that Peter will like.

Moms who read this with their daughters may need an interpreter to figure out the abbreviations in the text messages that go back and forth between Josie and Peter, but it’s still fun to read. Girls aged 12 to 14 will especially like Fangirl.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

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Ask the Passengers cover image

A. S. King, author of Everybody Sees the Ants and Please Ignore Vera Dietz isn’t afraid to write about big issues facing teens, including bullying, domestic abuse and alcoholism. With her latest book, Ask the Passengers, King delves into the issue of sexual identity and what defining it means not only to the teen, but to the people surrounding her as well.

Astrid Jones is the main character who retreats to her backyard picnic table when she wants to escape the tension in her life. Lying there she focuses on sending her love to passengers on passing airplanes. It’s her way of holding everything together until she graduates high school and escapes the whispers and secrets that come with living in small town, Unity Valley.

And Astrid has a lot of secrets to keep. Her mom is a control freak who favors Astrid’s younger sister Ellis and criticizes Astrid. Her dad smokes pot and mostly refuses to be pulled into the conflict. Astrid’s best friend and next-door neighbor, Kristina, is lesbian, and she dates a popular guy at school who is gay because they give each other cover.

Astrid herself thinks she may be attracted to her co-worker Dee, but she’s not sure if that makes her a lesbian or just confused about what she wants. When an unexpected event tears away the layers Astrid has built around herself, she finally has to decide who she is and how she must go forward.

Ask the Passengers delves into the philosophical as the story follows Astrid on her journey of self-discovery. She wonders why everyone expects her to say outright that she’s not heterosexual when she’s not even sure herself. People thins she’s lying when she says she doesn’t know.

Everyone in Astrid’s high school seems to have an opinion about who’s okay to date and who’s not, and hate messages against gays are scrawled on classroom bulletin boards, so she knows if she makes a statement about who she is it’s more than a casual declaration. Astrid finds that she’s testing the bounds of friendship and learning a lot about people closest to her as well as casual acquaintances through this one issue.

The small stories interspersed about the reactions of passengers on airplanes who receive Astrid’s love are interesting too. They offer little snippets into multiple issues people deal with on a day to day basis. Ask the Passengers offers a lot for discussion both on what Astrid is facing and what the passengers resolve about their lives. I recommend it for ages 15 and up.

The publisher gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Book Review: If the Buddha Had Kids by Charlotte Kasl, Ph. D.

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If the Buddha Had Kids cover image

There are many books to help parents decide how to raise their children. But a new book by Charlotte Kasl, Ph. D., takes an approach I haven’t seen before. It’s called If the Buddha Had Kids: Raising Children to Create a More Peaceful World. While the guide touches on the tenets of Buddhism and how they relate to parenting children, it also has lots of common sense advice for parents who are searching for ways to raise their children with both love and discipline.

Kasl starts by explaining some of the basic tenets of Buddhism, then she goes on to explore how they can be applied to common situations parents find themselves facing. Each chapter takes an issue—why children misbehave, managing emotions feelings and impulses, use of electronics, struggles over food, and more—and looks at how parents can respond.

Kasl uses examples, both good and bad, from her own parents and discusses challenges she faced raising her own daughter. The chapters are written so it’s easy to focus and reflect on a single issue before moving on to another. To help with the reflection, Kasl frequently lists suggestions and questions for parents.

You don’t need to believe in Buddhism to find the ideas helpful, and Kasl isn’t trying to convert readers to those beliefs as she writes. Rather, she provides advice that will help parents even if they don’t accept all of her suggestions.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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