Toby Alone

Do you absolutely love adventure books? What about fantasy-adventure books?
Ohhh, boy do I have a book for you!

Thrilling chase scenes, terrible secrets, having the whole world looking for you and wanting you dead, living every day in survival mode: These are the elements of Toby Alone, a fantasy/adventure that will leave you so far on the edge of your seat that you may find yourself on the floor without even noticing.

Toby Lolness, the main character, is a twelve-year-old boy who is 1 ½ millimeters tall.

Yes, millimeters. Meaning one-thousandth of a meter. One-tenth of a centimeter. Tiny. Miniscule. Infinitesimal.

Toby lives in the High Branches of the Great Oak Tree with his loving, devoted parents. His father, a brilliant scientist, makes an incredible discovery about the tree which turns their world upside down. Overnight, Toby is separated from his parents and begins a desperate escape for survival that sends him all over the massive tree. Along the way he learns meets many people, among them the lovely and mysterious Elisha, who immediately befriends him, and Joe Mitch (aka enemy number one), the fat weevil farmer whose rise to power banishes the Lolnesses to the Lower Branches and turns the entire tree against them. Toby must escape the powerful Joe Mitch and his nasty cronies and save his parents from being executed. Quite a large task for such a small person! This story is full of flashbacks so you have to pay close attention to what is going. However, it's completely worth the extra brain power.

Warning: The ending will leave you hanging, but don't get angry--there is more to come. (This is only the first of a 2-part series.)

After reading this book, I found myself staring at the shady oak tree in my backyard with newfound curiosity. Was there an entire world of microscopic people living in this oak without my knowing it? As if my dog, Kendall, knew what I was thinking, she began sniffing the grass and lower branches for signs of life. Perhaps it was a bug, or a feather, or a bit of squirrel poo that caught her attention and made her begin to pant and claw. I like to think otherwise…
Hey, adults can have imaginations too, right?

Recipe to Read By: Tree Bark

Don't gag yet--this is not the brown cardboard stuff that tastes like dirt many of you ate as small children (don't deny it--we've all tried it one time or another). This is the chocolate/Oreo variety of tree bark that tastes 100 times better than the real thing. In fact, it's so good, you may find yourself telling people that it's tree bark just so they'll stay away from it.

Ingredients

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

6 oz white chocolate

2 tbsp peanut butter

10 Oreo sandwich cookies

Directions

Place semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in separate medium microwaveable bowls. Microwave until completely melted, following directions on package.

Add peanut butter to white chocolate; stir until well blended.

Crumble half the cookies over chocolate in each bowl; mix well.

Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto wax paper-covered baking sheet, alternating the colors of the chocolates.

Cut through chocolate mixtures several times with knife for marble effect.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.

Break into 14 pieces.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Label the container "Tree Bark" and no one will touch it.

*Recipe courtesy of: Kraft Foods

Watch the video of how to make this yummy concoction here

Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles

Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher is not just a delicious read, but a delicious experience for the senses. As you know, here at Sweet Reads we are all about incredible edibles, so this title was bumped to the top of my To-Read-Right-This-Very-Instant List before even cracking open the cover. (FYI: That doesn’t happen very often. I’m very stingy with my TRRTVI List.)

The edibles referred to in the title are NOT the type of edibles you will find on this blog. You will not find a wholesome banana bread or a crumbly sugar cookie or any type of normal food item within the pages of this book. Ohhh, no sir. These edibles are the kind you may find on Fear Factor, except with a gourmet twist. For instance, have you ever tried Salt-Cured Raptor Tails or Scorpion Tails in Smoked Garlic Oil. Or how about Crocodile Kidneys in Blueberry Wine and Giant Squid Tentacles in Jasmine-Scented Jelly? Yeah, me neither.

Madame Pamplemousse is the woman responsible for creating these eerie, yet intriguing delicacies in her tiny shop with the help of her one-eyed cat, Camembert.

Inside, the shop is cool and musty-smelling, lit only by candlelight. In the flickering shadows, great bunches of sausages and dried herbs, strings of garlic and chilli peppers, and giant salted meats hang from the ceiling. Rows of cheeses are laid out on beds of dark green leaves and all around there are shelves winding up to the ceiling, crammed with bottles and strangely shaped jars.

Madeleine is sent by her parents to work in her uncle Lard’s restaurant, The Squealing Pig, for the summer. Uncle Lard (whose outfits are as horrendous as his food) serves foods that are greasy, fried, and full of fat. Madeleine is an aspiring (meaning aiming for) chef who loves to experiment in the kitchen, often creating delicious and unique dishes to the surprise of the Head Chef and a jealous Uncle Lard. Once Uncle Lard realizes Madeleine’s potential, he banishes her from the kitchen and forces her to scrub the pots and pans that are covered with slimy fat. When he finds out about Madame Pamplemousse’s incredible edibles, he sends Madeleine to work in her shop and act as a spy to gain the secrets to her recipes.

Madeleine flourishes under the watchful eye of Madame Pamplemousse and is taught many culinary skills, all the while keeping her word to her uncle that she would find the secret ingredients in the incredible edibles. One day, Madame Pamplemousse catches Madeleine spying on her during a clandestine (meaning secret) cooking operation and Madeleine, racked with guilt, confesses her intentions. Surprisingly, Madame Pamplemousse is not the least bit angry and gladly hands over the recipe to an ashamed, yet grateful, Madeleine. What she discovers on the yellowed piece of paper written in ink is a list of ingredients that is anything but incredible. In fact, they were quite ordinary. It is at this moment that Madeleine realizes that the reason Madame Pamplemousse's incredible edibles are so extraordinary is because of the cook--not the ingredients. One of my favorite lines in the entire book comes during this realization and I loved it so much that I wrote it in my NN (Nightstand Notebook) and highlighted it. The ending is a tad predictable, but completely worth reading. If anything, it will have you asking your mom for something a little more zesty than the usual mac n' cheese or chicken fingers. Roast Piranha with Raspberry Coulis anyone???

Recipe to Read By: Crusty French Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cold water

DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.

Add the sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; return to bowl.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.

Shape into a loaf 16 in. long x 2-1/2 in. wide with tapered ends.

Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaf on baking sheet.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
Beat egg white and cold water; brush over dough.

With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes 2 in. apart across top of loaf.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

When the bread comes out of the oven and smells like heaven on a baking sheet, spread the warm, crusty goodness with pate of North Atlantic Sea Serpent with Green Peppercorn Mustard. If it is a special occasion, serve the fresh bread with Velociraptor Heart in Red Wine. (Unfortunately, you will have to find these recipes elsewhere.)

Recipe courtesy of http://www.allrecipes.com/

Two Thumbs Up for MBS

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"

The results are in: fourth graders love The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. And what's not to love? The four main characters are wonderfully unique and likeable, there are countless opportunities to solve mind-bending puzzles, and the non-stop adventure keeps your fingers turning page after page after page. The plot revolves around four "gifted" children who are brought together through a series of strange tests given by Mr. Benedict. We immediately took to Reynie, the main protagonist, who is a problem solver by nature and reluctant leader of the MBS. The other characters include Sticky Washington (don't call him by his real name--George!) the human encyclopedia, Kate Wetherill, the acrobatic daredevil, and Constance Contraire, the tiny klutz with a sour attitude. Mr. Benedict has gathered the children together to help him with a top secret dangerous mission. The four of them must work together to foil a treacherous villian from sending messages through the minds of innocent people. My students loved solving the puzzles along with the characters and even learned Morse Code! Although the 512 pages look intimidating, we devoured this book in record time and were pleased to learn of a sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey.

Recipe to Read By: Snickerdoodles

Mystery stories call for a recipe with a mysterious past. No one knows where the name “snickerdoodle” comes from and even the origin of the cookie is shrouded in mystery, but what isn’t mysterious is where all the cookies go when you make this delicious recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir in the eggs. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cinnamon. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them onto an unprepared cookie sheet, two inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be slightly brown.

Remove from sheets to cool on wire racks.
4. Eat under the covers with a flashlight and a copy of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.allrecipes.com/