Pumpkin A La Mode

"Then on the day of Halloween

and not one day before,
Fiona gathers all her pumpkins
and begins her yearly chore."

She's a chef after my own heart and, like all master craftsmen, she's been ploughing her dough for years (rumor has it at 400!).  You can't judge a pie by its aroma but there's something totally amiss with  Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies.

First published in 2001, Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies is that rare "trick AND treat" read that's just perfect for Halloween.  Double dip and you'll enter the wonderful, "fairest of the fair" world of noted children's author, Mark Kimball Moulton. There's an upbeat, rhythmic rhyme to his prose that makes reading Miss Fiona and other Moulton books (Twisted Sistahs is another Halloween fave!!!) fun and memorable.  And the current, whimsical illustrations by Karen Hillard Good take you back to a time when fairy tale books were just a joy to behold!

So what's the secret to Miss Fiona's wonderful, sumptuous pies?   I'm not blogging!!!  Maybe Miss Fiona's more than the butcher, baker, or pumpkin collector.  Remember, you mustn't judge her just 'cuz she's a stringy-haired, green-skinned spinster. Maybe she knows there are things best left unsaid.  But what can I say?  It's Halloween!  Time to eat, drink, and be scary.  And ghouls, well, Tudyghouls just wanna have fun!

Best Witches!!!

350!

It may just be the most important number of our lives!  No, it's not a shorter year or temperature for baking cookies!  It's the parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere that's safe for our planet and all of us!  Right now, we're at 387 ppm so we need to get moving to bring CO2 levels down to 350!  How do we do that?  Get involved on October 24 and beyond!  Check out the science, mission, and creative ideas at 350.org and spread the word!  Even if all we do is some sidewalk art, the important thing is to get people thinking 350! 

And even if you're a kid, it's not tough helping out! Walk or bike instead of ride.  Swap out all your lightbulbs with compact fluorescents.  Plant trees and grow a few garden crops.  And if you've got other good ideas share them by posting a comment right here!  Remember this is our home and if we don't take care of it, no one else will!

LOL

"Run, run, run as fast as you can!  You can't catch me!  I'm the stinky cheese man!"

Admit it.  Laughter is the best medicine. And if there's one thing kids do naturally, it's this:  they Laugh Out Loud!!!

We forget there are books that actually do this better than movies, video games, or TV. Here's the clincher:  if a book's funny, it's bound to be read time and time again.   And that, Tudygirls, is the whole point of the game.

So check out Tudy's must-laugh read for October:  Jon Scieszka's and Lane Smith's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Think about it.  What if the Ugly Duckling grew up to be, well, really, really ugly?  Mr. Frog Prince?  A gooey, eeeyewy, slime ball.   And Little Red Riding Hood?  A triathalon running, "woman-in-red-shorts" superstar!!!

There are enough warped twists and turns in this fairy tale anthology to keep the hysterics coming.  You'll never view Aesop's world the same way ever.  And staid, predictable fairy tales become a thing of the past.

Enjoy the bounty!