So Many Birthdays, So Many Cakes

I love posting pictures of the birthday cakes I make for my children, but not because I think they are amazing. I don't post to brag (and you can see from the pictures they are NOT professional). I post the cakes because I think it's important that we don't all try to feel we have to live up to Pinterest-worthy cakes (or crafts or home or anything else). 

Also, sometimes my efforts are worthy of a hearty laugh. I don't mind if you laugh at me; I laugh at myself, too.

So, in chronological order, let the birthday cake parade begin!

First in the lineup is a volcano cake for the boy who wanted a volcano cake last year, too. 

Front view

That number 11 is make with store-bought chocolate rocks. The trees are pretzel sticks, and they turned out much better than expected; my expectations for being able to make anything resembling a tree were quite low. 

Back view

Next in line is the easiest cake of the bunch. Cake + whipped cream + sprinkles + plus Peppa Pig toy= one happy birthday girl.

Yay for birthday gifts that double as cake toppers!

The third cake I made in September was a book. That was the request. I decided I wanted to try out spray paint made for cakes. It was easy to use, but I'm not sure it did anything so special. I was going for the gilded pages look, and I'm not sure I achieved that effect. But the cake was loved, so I was happy. 

The budding author's birthday cake

The next cake was another repeat of sorts. The five-year-old boy wanted another cake that used construction toys to mutilate excavate the cake. Another super-simple cake. Notice the extra green frosting from the book cake and the chocolate rocks from the volcano cake?

Rubble in action

The last cake was by far the most difficult, and it wasn't even really a cake. I was so tired of cake that I dropped suggestions for the birthday girl who thought the suggestions were a great idea. So after two evenings of work (not kidding at all here), the sweets were ready.

My washer is the perfect place to store the birthday cakes out of the way and behind locked doors.

The birthday treat ensemble included not one but two cookie trees. This was not in the original plan. Originally I thought I'd make one cookie tree, but I didn't really know what I was doing. I made three cookies of each size, but the tree I made with all of them too much resembled the leaning tower of Pisa. The whole thing was disassembled, and I made the tree with only two cookies of each size. Then we made a second (rather squat) tree with the extras.

The trees were decorated with frosting and pastel candies.

Then the petits fours. I wanted to try my hand at petit fours. Let's just say my hand has been tried. It was a job and a half. I did enjoy the process, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. Maybe with a different recipe for the coating? It was too sweet for me. Maybe if I made them again they wouldn't turn out so gloppy looking? Oh, well. The birthday girl liked them.

The chocolate ones are just brownies cut up small with a chocolate glaze. The ones with green dots on top are simply the extra of what's under the pink stuff.

Up close and personal

I had to wedge the candle in between the petits fours presents because the tops of everything were too hard to shove candles into. 

And that is the end of our birthday "cake" parade. I hope you enjoyed. I know I will enjoy the break until the spring birthdays.

(Mostly) True Animal Tales

Nonfiction seems to be a favorite of the boys in our household. Throw in a few animals, and this week's two books are bound to be favorites-- or are they?

My mother put a lot of effort into finding books for the children for Christmas this year--books that would both interest them and books that seemed age-appropriate and had good reviews.  For my 7-year-old son she picked two nonfiction picture books, one about a young Teddy Roosevelt and one about an elephant named Queenie.

As per the way things go when at Grammy's house, the children were tucked in by their loving grandmother. She even read one of the new books to each of the little ones. My 7-year-old picked Queenie: One Elephant's Story which is written by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe. After reading the tale, my mother came out to the living room and apologized for reading the book to the children. She was worried that it upset them too much.

You see, this beautifully illustrated book is a true story about an Indian elephant named Queenie who was a mainstay in the Melbourne Zoo in Australia for quite a long time. She gave rides and was a huge attraction. Then one day, *SPOILER ALERT*, she crushed her caretaker. Then she was put to sleep, not only because of the accident, but also because of a food shortage during World War II. 

This book is a good book, but it joins Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War* (by Yukio Tsuchiya) in the category of good picture books (about zoo elephants who get killed during World War II) that really are not meant for little kids. These books can upset an adult. They are not necessarily kid material; preview them first, especially if your children are young or sensitive.

On to the second book.

One of my main goals in blogging about kids' books is to help parents find "safe", if not great, books for their children to read that the children want to read. It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that the book in one son's hands had visited his hands more time than I could count, and my other son had also read it more than once. It is True Tales of Animal Heroes by Allan Zullo.

True Tales is a nonfiction chapter book about real animals who rescued kids and teens. The author notes in the beginning that dialogues and situations have been dramatized and names and specific incidents changed, and I definitely saw that while reading it. Overall though, this book was a fun read, and I can see why kids like it. If your child can read it, it's appropriate. My boys started reading it after the Magic Tree House stage of reading; it's fairly easy. I looked to see if it is still in print because it's a Troll book, and I figured it might not be the kind of book that has staying power; many used copies are available on Amazon for a penny each. Animal lovers will love this book.

* When looking online to find the author of Faithful Elephants, I found there are some who dispute the truth of the book and many who object to its strong anti-war propaganda-like message. I just thought I'd let you know since I hadn't really intended on reviewing that book since I hadn't read it for years--but it seemed to go hand-in-hand with Queenie.

First Book Review

When I started this whole blog thing, a friend much wiser than I suggested I try only one blog instead of three. I am finally following her advice.

Now, instead of trying to keep up my neglected book review blogs, I'm going to attempt to post weekly (on Mondays) about the children's books I've been perusing. If you're interested in my motives for such an endeavor, here's an explanation.

 The Mystery of Meerkat Hill 

The Mystery of Meerkat Hill by Alexander McCall Smith is a library find for me. (You'll find that most of the books I review are ones I pluck randomly off the shelf in the kid's section.) It's a good find. Precious, actually.

The main character in this mystery for early independent readers is a girl named Precious, and she lives in Botswana. In this, the second in a series, Precious makes two new friends at school and helps them with a big problem. 

Much more than a formulaic mystery for young readers, this tale weaves together good values and friendship in a framework of beautiful storytelling. Throw in interesting factual details about animals and life in Botswana and lovely illustrations by Iain McIntosh, and you've got a good read for children.

Although Precious is a girl, this is a book that isn't "girlie".  My 10-year-old son enjoyed it, and I suspect it would be enjoyed by readers as young as 5. 

Eventually I might even come up with a rating system, but for now, I'll just tell you it's worth a read. I found nothing offensive, and it was so refreshing after having read so many books for younger readers that are just passable because the words are easy.

I do hope to read the rest of the series some day, including the first which is The Great Cake Mystery. Perhaps you'd rather start by reading that one first.