Deb Nance

“circle under berry...
berry over square...
circle over berry
under orange
over square.”

Whew! Now this will make you think...this will push you a little past your simple thoughts of colors and shapes...this will send you a little beyond your ordinary classifications...

Ella sings. Ella sings good.

But not everyone wants her to sing in their clubs. Because Ella is black.

Ella has a friend. Her friend helps Ella get into the clubs. Her friend is Marilyn. Marilyn Monroe.

A wonderful true story of friendship. The words and pictures are perfect for a story about jazzy Ella Fitzgerald.

Freedom Summer is the story of the friendship of John Henry and Joe, two boys who both want to grow up to be firemen and who both enjoy swimming. There's something that divides the boys, and that is the ramifications of being of different races during a time in America that creates the ramifications. The boys swim together in the creek because John Henry is barred from swimming in the whites-only pool in town. And then comes a break in the laws that divide the boys, and they hear the pool will now be open to everyone.

It's a powerful story that should not be missed.

I still remember reading All-of-a-Kind Family when I was a little girl. These children live in a big city, not a little town like me, I thought. The family lives in an apartment, not a house like everyone I knew did. The family is Jewish with different traditions than I had experienced. It is one of those books that opened my eyes to the fact that people had many different ways of living in the world.

This book is the story of the author of All-of-a-Kind Family, Sydney Taylor. It tells the story of the bold girl, Sarah Brenner, who shared stories of her life as part of an immigrant family in New York City, with a focus on her family's Jewish traditions.

Charged by Professor Feather, Jo and Alex journey by riverboat through a beautiful forest in search of the last Rainbow Bird.

The illustrations are stunning, and the story may spark a love in children to save rare species.

What are the best places to go to see nature in and around Houston? Wild Houston is a perfect introduction to both (1) what to see, and (2) where to go.

Cybils nominee for best board book. More later.

I went into this book expecting it to be more of a moving-and-starting-over book, but it turned out to be more of a troubles-and-healing book. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at first (a disconcertingly disappointing feeling in the pit of my stomach as I had committed to reading it for a blog group and had received an ARC free for that purpose) but my initial feelings soon changed and I found that I loved the story. Paula and John met later in life and fell in love and married, but then John got shot in the course of his job as a reporter and life for the couple changed dramatically. A very good read.

Willie is an eleven-year-old boy living in Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. His father and older brother both work in the coal mines. Willie knows he will have to work in the mines when he gets a little older, but he longs to work with what he loves, horses.

This book for me was an eye-opening experience into the lives of people of the past. Accidents in the mine, explosions, dust, poisonous gases, wearying work, consumption—all these were a routine part of life working in the mines.

“Mr. and Mrs. Gagleson-Bittle were missing something...” The two were living happily in a big house, but they both wanted “...something a little bit lick-your-face-play-fetch-roll-over-rub-your-belly-and-chase-your-tail.” So they decided to get...a snail. They enjoyed the snail, but they thought they would like something more, so they decided to get...an elephant...And off the story goes. A complete delight for all of us who love animal friends.

How long have I been trying to find a copy of this book from the 1001 Children's Books list to read? Happily, today I found a video of this book in the Julian the Rabbit series. Yes, it was in Italian, but it was only twelve pages, so I could type the story into Google Translate to read it fairly easily.

It's a very bright colorful book, and the text is just right for little ones. Giulio Coniglio is stung by a bee, but somehow the bee and Giulio become friends.

The young daughter leads the way, while the dad somewhat reluctantly follows along, in this hike to the top.

You will feel like you are hiking with the two of them as they travel through the dense jungle, go up a shaky ladder, slip on rocks, and arrive at the summit, all the while glorying in the wonders, big and small, along the way.

A story told entirely in conversation. Delightful.

Fernandez has fallen and may have a concussion. Fernandez must be kept awake, and the narrator of this book decides to do so by telling Fernandez three stories. The narrator is inspired to create the stories by objects around the two of them. One story is about a potato. One story is about two people who have identical suitcases. One story is about an artist on a naturalist excursion to Australia who cannot draw.

John Lewis wanted to be a preacher when he grew up, and he started his career with the only audience available to him as a child, his chickens. He preaches, and the chickens listen. When one of his chickens falls into the well, the boy saves her, and attributes her rescue to another of God's miracles. John Lewis even baptizes the chickens.

All of the skills Lewis will use in adulthood in his work as a preacher, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and one of the leaders of the March on Washington and the demonstration on the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Prairie Up is a textbook for people who want to design and create a natural garden. I want to design and create a natural garden, but I really, really, really don't like textbooks. Whenever someone tells me there are three ways to do something, I want to shake my finger in that expert's face and say, Three things? Only three things? Sorry, but I don't think so. And this author does a lot of three-thing-ing. And I'm aware that most people like textbooks, especially when they are going to do something new. This is a good textbook, if you like that sort of thing. And it has lots of lovely lists, which I do like.

The Wolves of Yellowstone tells the true story of the return of wolves to Yellowstone Park. The wolves' return set in motion a series of beneficial results that helped to bring about a positive change to the national park.

(This was very difficult to read in Kindle format.)

Happy day! The Pigeon is back! This time the Pigeon is determined to drive the sleigh. But what really makes this sleigh go? And what is...that smell?

Reading this book sparked my four-year-old grandson to propose a Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Firetruck and a Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Eighteen-Wheeler. Fun!

Mama always said cooking for someone was like giving them a gift. When Mama and Daddy head out of town to a food-truck festival, their three daughters, Tiana, Azaleah, and Nia, are delighted to get to spend the weekend with their Auntie Sam. Azaleah gets the idea to make cookies for her parents, so with Auntie Sam's permission and little sister Tiana's help, she carefully makes a batch. But the cookies are awful, and it takes all of Azaleah's skills of solving a mystery to figure out what went wrong.



The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane is a refreshing book, with its story of a family of people who have occasional little difficulties in their relationships but who genuinely care about each other. There's no over-the-top drama; the story is a gentle look at regular life. The little details—instant oatmeal for breakfast, buying groceries at a convenience store—offer windows and mirrors to contemporary readers. The characters are charming without being unbelievable, and that's a difficult tightrope to walk. I especially loved how the characters are persistent at working to change their behavior when they fall short. The aunt, especially, is a model of ideal behavior. She spoils the children just a bit but she always draws the line at going too far. The story's heart is a little mystery that draws the reader in, and I don't mind admitting that I, happily, didn't figure it out before the reveal at the end. Yes, I'd call The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane completely refreshing and delightful.


I was gifted a copy of The Scrumptious Life of Azaleah Lane, written by Nikki Shannon Smith @nikki2smith and illustrated by Gloria Felix @GloriaFelixArt, from Capstone @CapstonePub. The opinions expressed are my own.

I have slowly, over the last couple of years, been trying out recipes from this book. Last week I made the Pizza all Siciliana (Sicilian Pizza). Field describes this as a “fat pizza” and I think that's a great description. The Sfinciuni tomato sauce is to die for, a rich blend of tomatoes and onions that simmer on the stove for a couple of hours. Delish.

I also posted about this wonderful book a year ago on my blog. I share that post below:







“Bread is merely flour, water, yeast, and salt as the world is merely earth, water, fire, and air.”

Carol Field in The Italian Baker





Carol Field offers up recipes of the Italian countryside in this book, including breads, pizza, pastries, cookies, and focaccia. I decided to try focaccia, something that Field suggests has become the national dish. 




Field notes that focaccia is “simplicity itself,” made from the herbs of the countryside, along with oil from Liguria, and garlic and olives. Sometimes there are variations with tomatoes or oregano, capers or anchovies, basil or sweet onions.




Schiacciata is the word Florentines use for the breads other Italians call focaccia. 




Here is the recipe I used:




Schiacciata alla Florentina




2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cup warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons lard at room temperature

2 1/2 tablespoons of nonfat dry milk

3 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt




By hand, stir the yeast into the warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the oil, lard, and dry milk. Mix in the flour and salt and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and gradually stir the flour into the liquid. Stir until well combined. Knead on a floured surface until velvety and soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should be soft, so add any extra flour sparingly.






(I didn't have lard, so I substituted butter.)




Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.




Flatten the dough firmly on a lightly floured work surface and divide into two 8-ounce and one 10 1/2 ounce piece. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest under a towel for 15 minutes. Dimple and spread the balls with your fingers to cover the bottoms of two oiled 8-inch pie plates and one oiled 10-inch pie plate. Brush the tops with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. 






(I had to use three 8-inch pie plates as I didn't have a 10-inch plate.)







Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour.




Cover with one of the following toppings:




     2 red onions, thinly sliced and sautéed in 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of fresh basil




     or 3-4 fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced, sprinkled with chopped basil leaves and 3/4 teaspoon of salt




     or 2 yellow and/or red peppers, thinly sliced and lightly sautéed with a large garlic clove in 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil for 15 minutes; discard the garlic




     or 4-6 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into thin slices and lightly sautéed with 2 whole cloves of garlic in 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil; discard the garlic; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.






(I used tomatoes with fresh basil for one pizza, cheese for another, and pepperoni for a third. I liked the cheese and the tomato pizzas best)



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using baking stones, if possible (turn on oven 30 minutes before baking) and place the baking pans directly on the preheated stones. Bake the schiacciata 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.

“I want a scary book!”

You know that demand in your library. You pull out the scariest books you have and still you hear, “No, I want a really scary book.”

Hand her this one.

It's really scary. Scary photos. Scary stories. Even a scary cover. Probably a little too scary for my primary students, but just right for the upper end of elementary, and it doesn't talk down to junior high.

This book is a collection of old photos from the files of the New York Times. All of New York is here from the last hundred years, including the skyscrapers, the people, the big events. I loved browsing through this seven-hundred-plus page collection of intriguing photographs.

Ken Budd is trying to come to terms with the reality that he desperately wants children and his wife, just as firmly, does not. His beloved father passes away and Budd realizes that there will be no children in his life to mourn his passing. He decides to use this passion to raise children to help others and volunteers for a series of trips to assist others. In the course of this book, he ventures to New Orleans after Katrina, China to work with special needs students, Costa Rica to teach English, Ecuador to explore the effect of global warming, the West Bank to help Palestinians, and Africa to work with orphans.

In the process, Budd teaches us all that there are ways to effectively work through what appears to be a no-win situation.

A different kind of travel memoir.

I love travel narratives. I'm not happy if I haven't read a good travel narrative at least once a month.

I am also fascinated with languages. I've been trying to learn Spanish for fifteen years now, I spent six months learning French before a trip to Paris, and I plan to learn Italian next summer.

This book, then, is a perfect book for me, a travel narrative of a woman who seeks out languages spoken around the United States. Author Elizabeth Little heads off to the American West to seek out Native American languages, goes to Louisiana to look for French and Creole, goes to North Dakota to experience the language spoken by her family - Norwegian, and ventures into the American Southwest to see how Spanish is spoken.

Very good travel narrative. I must admit that Little lost me every time she started speaking linguistics (the etymology of words was especially mind-boggling), but the truth is that the book is more travel narrative than a linguistics narrative. Thank goodness!

Ah, at last! I'm finished with reading children's books and I'm back to reading whatever I wish. So for my first trip back into reading what I want I picked this book from my enormous TBR. Osborne is fed up with what he terms Whatever travel, travel that takes you to places that are as indistinguishable as bottled water. He decides to try Papua New Guinea. It's an excellent choice for someone jaded to travel. If you are seeking being shot at with arrows, swimming with crocodiles, visiting with indigenous people wearing nothing but a shell, then this book might be a good destination for you.

Some writers have all the fun. John Baxter, an expat twenty-year Paris-ite and writer, decides to set off around France in search of all the wonderful classic French dishes which are gradually becoming extinct. He seeks out kir and pineau and pastis and absinthe. He looks for the very best caviar. He samples macarons and cannelé and madeleines. He checks out truffles and lamphrey eels and bouillabaisse and soupe à l'oignon (onion soup) and even le bœuf en broche (an ox on a spit).

Even I, who love books more than real life at times, know the limits of reading. And this is where even a bibliophile must draw the line; I wish I could have been with traveling with John Baxter on his real journey, eating these amazing foods and dallying about the country with him. It is not to be, sadly. But this book, with Baxter's little sidetrip stories about the cook who committed suicide when his meal crashed and burned and the time Paris-under-siege had to eat zoo animals, is a lovely consolation prize.