My Grandpa's Books -- Baseball Joe

My parents have been sorting through family mementos and trying to place them in good homes.  Thus, I recently inherited some of my Grandpa's books.  My goal is to learn about these books and their authors and possibly read a few.  And, of course, share my findings here on booksandcarbs.com.

 

Given the recent, historic World Series, I thought I'd start with the Baseball Joe books, of which my Grandpa had six.  I read up on the Baseball Joe series and learned that Lester Chadwick was a pen name for Howard Roger Garis, a writer for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, whose writers also authored the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and a Bobbsey Twins books.  I really enjoyed Mark Ahren's Baseball Joe piece found on booksonbaseball.com:  "Baseball Joe was one of a group of fictional sports heroes, capable of not only winning games but also solving crimes and extolling virtue simultaneously."  I'm intrigued.  Ahrens also covered the conventions of the syndicate's books and the way series books like Baseball Joe were dismissed by school librarians and other adults as "unworthy trash."   

The first Baseball Joe book was published in 1912 so several of the titles are now in the public domain and thus available for free in an ebook version.  I'm going to preview Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars or The Rivals of Riverside, the first in the series, to see if it's appropriate for my ten year-old (not concerned it may be "unworthy trash" -- just want to check the reading level).  He's a good sport and a good reader so I'd like him to read a Baseball Joe book for history's sake, and since I found the free ebook of Baseball Joe of the Silver Stars, I might see if I can talk my dad, my brothers, and my nephew into checking it out as well.  Actually, I need to find out if my dad read his dad's copies of the Baseball Joe books when he was a boy (an eat-sleep-breathe baseball boy).  Stay tuned. 

The name Baseball Joe has extra resonance because of a hometown hero from where I grew up, Joe Nuxhall (aka "Hamilton Joe" and "the 'ol left-hander"), who pitched his first major league baseball game for the Cincinnati Reds as a fifteen year-old high schooler and went on to have a memorable career as the voice of the Reds.  

 

Just to be clear, my Grandpa's books aren't going to end up on Ebay or the Amazon Marketplace. 

Oh Wow, Puppy Chow

Puppy chow is my favorite treat.  When I make a batch, I eat it obsessively.  Wake up in the morning?  Puppy chow and Diet Coke.  Lunch not quite satisfying?  Little bowl of puppy chow to supplement.  TV time snack?  Puppy chow.  My kids also enjoy it but have been overheard saying, "What happened to all the puppy chow?"  Oops.

I use the proportions of the standard "Muddy Buddy" recipe (listed on back of the Chex cereal box) with one essential change:  white chocolate chips instead of semisweet chocolate chips.  This tweak is critical.  Trust me.

Here's the recipe with my tips ...

Ingredients:
9 cups of Chex (rice or corn, your choice -- generic brand works fine)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/12 cups of powdered sugar

Equipment:
large flexible bowl
medium-sized microwave safe bowl
2-gallon plastic storage bag (zip top better than slide top if you can find it).
sheet of wax or parchment paper

Procedure:
1.  Pour 9 cups of Chex in a large plastic bowl (a cheap bowl that you can bend a bit works best).

2.  Melt white chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl for one minute and then in small increments as needed.  Stir until the lumps are gone.

3.  Stir in vanilla extract.

4.  Pour melted goodness over the Chex.  Stir gently with a spatula so that you cover the Chex without crumbling it.

5.  Pour powdered sugar into your giant plastic storage bag.  Then pour in the gooey Chex and seal bag tightly.  Shake the bag so that the powdered sugar covers the Chex. 

6.  Pour your finished puppy chow onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper to cool.

7.  Make someone's day!  Then, go back to step one and make another batch.  You can use the same bowls and the same plastic bag.

I've given batches of puppy chow as new neighbor gifts, thank you gifts, and hostess gifts.  I've brought it as the "dessert" for my tennis team lunch before.  People love it.  Only caveat is to be aware of peanut allergies and never send in to school and never serve for a group of kids unless you know for sure there are no allergies.

One more bonus?  It's gluten free.

  
 

Non-Fiction Read Alouds

My kids are all independent readers now, but that doesn't mean I don't still want to read with them.  It also doesn't mean that they all love reading on their own.  I'm still on the lookout for books we can enjoy together, especially for my least motivated reader.

Our library had a special section reserved for children's books that have won the Monarch Award, which is an Illinois School Library Media Association Readers' Choice honor.

Many of the Monarch Award titles gathered were non-fiction, and those were the ones my eight year-old and I really enjoyed reading together.  It's kind of nice to read for ten minutes, learn a little something, and then be able to discuss it.  Here are a few of the non-fiction (or "based on a true story") read alouds we would recommend ...

 Trapped: A Whale's Rescue by Robert Burleigh.  Paintings by Wendell Minor.

 Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox.  Illustrated by Brian Floca.

 Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis.  Illustrated by Gilbert Ford.

We loved this because the Ferris Wheel was introduced in our town (Chicago!).

I neglected to snap a pic of our very favorite (and the saddest) of the non-fiction read alouds:  Ivan: The Remarkable Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by G. Brian Karas.  

All of these books have background information and additional research at the end.  Reading and learning together never gets old.

Book Fair Find

It's Book Fair time!  I've worked at the fair during the after-school shift for the past two days, and it's fun to see parents and kids excitedly shopping for books (and decoder pens, monster erasers, big finger pointers, and all the other piddly sh*t that gets the kids to part with their money). 

I neglected to take a photo of our new $3.99 pens nor of the Paw Wars poster that my oldest spent $4.95 on.  Just picture two squirrels having a lightsaber battle and ponder what wall real estate you'd offer that gem.

I think my middle guy had the most interesting find:  Suzette Valle's 101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up: Be Your Own Movie Critic -- The Must-See Movie List for Kids.  

Finding a crowd-pleasing film for family movie nights can be challenging, and I'm eager to read through this book in more depth.  It seems the movies range from G to PG-13, and there's helpful background information provided for each movie.  There's also a spot for your child to rate the movie, record the date they watched it, and note who they were with when watching. 

Possible gift idea, I'm thinking.  Paired with a box or two of movie candy, popcorn, a copy of one of the DVDs listed, a Netflix or theater gift card, or a cozy blanket?

Since we had a babysitter tonight for a couple hours while I attended a meeting, I asked my middle guy to show her the book.  They ended up going through it together.  She put post-its on the movies she considered "must-see" and wrote helpful notes like "maybe when you're older" and "*****."  Her five-star picks were A League of Their Own and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (which probably falls in the "maybe when you're older" category as well).

I'll circle back to this book after we make some movie choices.  For now, put it on your radar if you have school-age kids.

The Hopefuls

I have no Election Day insights or commentary to offer.  

How about a mini-review of a novel about politics?  I've read and enjoyed all of Jennifer Close's novels, and The Hopefuls is her best yet.  I appreciated the glimpses into the political and social scenes in Washington, D.C. and Texas.  The novel also portrays the strategy and extraordinary effort required by campaigns and the toll that such takes on personal relationships.  Close humorously (but seemingly accurately?) captures the jockeying and posturing for power and position (and access to people in positions of power) engaged in by D.C.'s twentysomethings. 

My favorite aspect of The Hopefuls is Close's depiction of the fragility/resilience of marriage and of the sometimes fleeting (but not necessarily less real for being so) nature of friendship.  I think book clubs would have plenty to talk about with this one, especially with the relationships portrayed, but you'd have to consider whether you'd like to open the door to a possible political discussion at your book club meeting. 

This book cover is my favorite of 2016 so far.  I vote you read it. 

Digging Out from Dinner Blues

The biggest development in the dinner department at our house is that we now have 4/5 of diners willing to eat tacos of the basic ground beef prepared with store-bought seasoning variety.  The fifth family member gets cheese quesadillas on taco night. 

I have more child-free time than ever in recent history which should make menu planning, shopping, and meal preparation easier.  The problem is one of will.  Now beaten down by years of my kids' picky eating and my hubby's travel schedule, I've lost interest in seeking out and trying new recipes.  Motivated by the taco "success," I am vowing to turn back the clocks eight or ten years to when I was more motivated (and only had one child) and blissfully collecting new recipes.  I only made a fraction of the ones that caught my eye, but the passion was there.

I visited the library this afternoon and grabbed a few cookbooks (see collage above) that looked promising.  My strategy will not be to put post-its all throughout the books and then hastily remove them (with recipes unmade) when they're due back.  Instead, I plan to try one (just ONE) recipe in each book.  Or maybe even ONE new recipe total from among the four books.  I'll follow up in a few weeks with triumphs or excuses.

And, since I mentioned tacos, check out these new flat taco shells.  Sort of an open-face taco, but less risky than a tostada shell.  I liked them.  Let's hope these new shells aren't the most exciting thing to hit my kitchen this month.

Free lead for Weird Al and/or YouTubers everywhere:  Flat-bottomed shells you make the kitchen world go 'round. 

Dinner success stories?  I'm all ears.  Please share!

 

iPhone Pic Picking -- Pretty Stuff

I should be photographing these gorgeous Fall days, but there have been so many glorious ones, I'm starting to take them for granted.

Instead, I did some iPhone pic picking and want to share some of the prettiest things I found.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to California last weekend with my husband for his work.  Our hotel was just across the street from the famous Bouchon Bakery so I had to visit (twice, ahem) and snap a pic of some of their pretty and delicious goods.  I forgot to photograph my favorite bakery treat because I was too eager to maul it.  It was called the Fuggedaboutit:  a huge rice kripsie treat with a thick layer of caramel, dipped in premium chocolate.  I'm not likely to fuggedaboutit.

This bouquet of decorative kale was $4.99.  Love, love, love it.  Do autumn brides know about this? 

NTB, but I think these cards are pretty pretty as well.  Like I've said before, you can make beautiful stationary in seconds with a little washi tape and some blank cards.