Lemon Cake and Children of the North Lights by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

This recipe is one I make with my children and whenever friends ask about it - and I start explaining the recipe - they say, hang on a second, I'll find a pen. It is IDEAL for making with kids, and here's why; the only measuring unit needed is an empty Yoplait yogurt carton, like this one.

You need: One carton of Yoplait natural yogurt (I used pear, but that's only because I was stuck, the natural white one is better) plain flour, baking soda, caster sugar, three eggs, sunflower oil and a lemon.

Dump the yogurt into a bowl, rinse the carton if you want to and use it to add one carton of sunflower oil, two of caster sugar and three of flour. Add the rind of the lemon, a teaspoon of baking soda and the three eggs.

Mix it all up and put in a springform tin at 180 degrees for about thirty five minutes. While its still hot you can brush some lemon juice mixed with icing sugar on top. (I let my son do this and the second I turned away he just poured the juice and sugar on the cake, and it was still yum.) It is absolutely fool-proof.

Well, this is a book blog so I'd better mention one. Children of the North Lights. If you are looking for a wintery read or a birthday present for someone aged four or five to seven - this is a lovely one. I first saw it mentioned on a blog called Pen Pals & Picture Books and gasped when I looked at the illustrations. 

Written in 1935, Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire traveled to Northern Norway to research this book which tells of a year in the life of the Sami people. Focusing on twins Lasse-Lapp and Lappe-Lise, it shows how they travel with their families and flocks of reindeer during the dark days, and when the sun makes an appearance, they are taken to a village. There they go to school until the thaw, when their parents come to collect them. Look at these pictures!

Before entering the village they are taken to the bathhouse.

Then they roll in the show,

and dress in clean clothes, stuffing their shoes with fresh hay.

And here they are in the classroom.

Kumon activity books

My eldest is twelve so I have a few years of art supply shopping under my belt. And more than a few once-used sticker albums, colouring books and activity workbooks in a box in the kitchen. So I know what not to buy. Also its worth mentioning, my first three kids were all born within two years of each other, so there was rarely undisturbed one-on-one time, which is really essential for a lot of these activities. At least for my boys it was.

And now, here I am home alone in the mornings with a three year old. We can't sort socks (well we could, but we don't) and read stories all morning. About a year ago I saw Kumon books recommended for toddlers on a mommy blog. They  cost about three euros each, so I got two, Let's Sticker & Paste! and Let's Fold!, feeling that I knew in my heart of hearts they would rarely be used. Well, I am proud to say we are coming to the end of both of them. (I can't believe it actually - using something up? It feels very virtuous - which says a lot about the amount of waste I normally accept.)

They are nicely produced - good paper, nice colours and designs and the principal of both is simple. Practice cutting and practice folding. Great for both pincer grip and concentration. He loves them and for short periods of time, with a little starting off from me, can work alone. Which means the dishwasher sometimes gets emptied before lunch!

See? That's my cup of coffee and laptop! Sometimes I get to use them while he does something educational that does not involve Cbeebies. Awesome!

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell

I know graphic novels are great, and our shelves are certainly weighed down with them (they are also often on very heavy paper!) but I have to admit, I do like to see my kids also reading regular books. (Is it OK to say that - or am I offending graphic novelists? I really don't mean to.) I mean books that sometimes take a bit more time to read. 

I can't help noticing that one of my kids will put down a novel he is half way through, if a new graphic novel appears in the house. And that first book will then be forgotten forever. I've heard others say similar things, that their kids will only read the Wimpy Kid or Tom Gates series, refusing to try anything new.

So I thought this one could prove a stepping stone to something different. 

Flora and Ulysses is "illuminated" which is a lovely way of putting that some pages are graphic novely, some are all text and some are illustrated. 

An hour ago my eight year old arrived in from school (that's his glove propping it open), announced he had finished it and after some "gentle" probing said he would give it a ten out of ten.

As you can see, the pages with only text are short and manageable but at 231 pages, there's quite a lot to it. He has been reading it since December 28ish and I think sticking with it for that long is a high commendation.

 Also it really is a beautiful book. 

Beowulf, as told by Michael Morpugo, illustrated by Michael Foreman

My ten year old doesn't really like books about people. Monsters are his thing. But not just any old troll or dragon, he's pretty specific. A few years ago, when he was just starting to read by himself, we came across the Usbourne Young Reading series in the library, in particular their version of Beowulf. He read this one over and over again and on our next visit we had a look to see what else they had. Pickings were slim, so we ordered these ones online;

My goodness, talk about value for money. He pored over them for months. And so, the search continued. His for for blood curdling fights and many many-headed beasts, mine for well written myths that each built on his reading ability and also might include a few human (or humane!)characters, to try to tempt him into the real world, just for a little while. We had hits and misses. Among the former are D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (an amazing, AMAZING book that deserves its own post) and all the George O'Connor graphic novels.(also pretty fantastic.) 

This Christmas, he requested the Michael Morpugo version of  Beowulf.

I haven't read it myself, Beowulf just isn't my thing. I had to study the story in college and, to put it mildly, old and middle English were not my forte. The doorstop edition of Beowulf that was on my booklist made my shoulders ache and my brain freeze. 

So, the only review I can give the edition above is that after opening it on Christmas morning, he sat on the couch and read it BEFORE trying out his Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack. 

And there you go. If you have a little reader who is into mythological stuff, this is a good one. 

Raina Telgemeier

We love Raina Telgemeier. Ever since Smile, I keep an eye out for her name, because if its on a cover, I know my boys will like it.

Smile, as the cover will tell you, is about teeth. A true story, to me it is a perfect picture of life between the ages of ten or eleven and fourteen.Without being overly dramatic or sentimental or chip-on-the-shoulderish, Raina tells the story of the long and arduous dental work she had after a fall which knocked one of her front teeth up into her gum. It has everything, the mean friends, the nice friends, the sulking, the getting-on-with-it. Anyone facing braces (which is everyone now, it seems) should read it. But its not just about teeth, its about growing up and life.

For my kids, who have read it multiple times, it seems to be source of comfort. If they come downstairs at half nine-ish complaining that sleep isn't coming as easily as usually does, or they have that lonely feeling that arrives when everyone else is asleep, its the first choice to bring back up with them to read.

While not quite as popular, Drama is great too. Its about being involved in Drama productions in school and the various relationships that form when kids stay late.
The insecurity, the enthusiasm, the doubt, the crushes, its all there, and handled very sweetly. My sons have all read it a few times and when asked their opinions said "really good, almost as good as Smile."

So of course, when I saw she was doing a graphic series of the Baby-Sitters Club, I had to get some. These are in black and while, (Smile and Drama are in colour) and have all been passed from brother to brother.

They're great, and now that I think of it, bought initially to keep my eight and ten year old's occupied during a two hour flight. As it turned out, they were perfect. Being graphic, they are ideal to read on a noisy plane as they didn't require the concentration of a novel, and no one could order they be switched off during take off and landing.

Really, if you are travelling with kids this year, all of the above are an ideal addition to anyone's carry-on bag.

Stuff from Christmas that worked out: Zingo!

I've never been big on games. As a child I never got excited about monopoly and to my shame, I have managed to reach adulthood without ever learning how to navigate my way around a deck of cards.

Howandsoever, I must teach my kids that sneaking off with a book is not the only way to amuse themselves. (Although it is the best - other than sneaking off with a book and chocolate - that's heaven.)

So every Christmas we find something under the tree that I imagine we will all sit around the kitchen table and play together. Just like on t.v. You know, the shrieks of joy, the shared conspiratorial smiles, the strategy, the fun! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Having little boys in the house means impatience and fiddley fingers, which means any game with vital, small pieces and coloured dice and tiny pencils and instructions that take longer than three minutes to read don't work. We lost most of the "bones" in Operation within seconds of the cellophane being torn off the box, Junior Cluedo was equally "successful" and our Bingo - well, there are 100 tiny balls in the counter thingy and if you lose one (one!) the game is pointless.

I need something where the end is in sight from the very beginning(so I know it won't be too long before I can sneak off with my book) and that our youngest can play. I learnt long ago that amusing him with colouring or even a movie while the older boys and I and their Dad play a game was futile. He will not be excluded. So, we got this one - Zingo! Bingo with a Zing.

Its great. The tiles are contained and if we lose one, its no biggie. The slidey mailbox thing that the tiles live in is sturdy and works even with small hands. Each round lasts about ten minutes so my heart doesn't sink when its pulled out of the cupboard and all in all, I really like it. We all do.

Stuff from Christmas that worked out: They Might Be Giants Here Come The 123s

I bought this for my youngest, hoping it would be as successful as Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies was last year. But oh dear, the first time we listened to it I had to fight the urge to turn down the volume or even just press stop.  I was never a huge fan of They Might Be Giants in 1989 (that's when Birdhouse in Your Soul was released), favouring instead Soul II Soul and Nenah Cherry. (It was difficult to hang with a buffalo stance in South Dublin, but I tried really, really hard.)

Anyways, this got great reviews and the songs on Slugs and Bugs had been so easy on the ear that this genre was something I wanted to investigate. My older three boys are in school, but I'm at home every day with a three year old;  finding something we can both listen to is really valuable.

So initially, it was disappointing. Then we saw there was a DVD with both the songs and their videos in the pack too and we gave it a try.

Maybe it was because we have had such a heavy diet of Peppa Pig and The Rhyme Rocket over the past few months but to my eyes, the videos were just lovely. And all of a sudden, the songs grew on us. Before we knew it we were all humming along, trying to remember the words and playing the CD over and over again.

And it is extra nice, when you have been listening to your kids "negotiating"(that's a very diplomatic way of putting it) whose turn it is on the Xbox or who ate the last Cadburys' Rose, to hear them singing together. Because the words in these songs are all as catchy as the tunes themselves.

All in all, this is something from Christmas that worked out. Highly recommended.