Special Guest Post: Bad Fairies & Cabbage Patch Stew

Title: Bad Fairy

Series: A Bad Fairy Adventure (Book One)

Author: Elaine Kaye

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Genre: Fantasy Middle Grade

Length: 66 pages

Age Range: 8-12

Thistle Greenbud is not a bad fairy. She simply doesn't like rules, and it's just her luck that her homework is to create a new rule for the fairy handbook. But first, she has more important things to do. Like figure out how to get back at Dusty and Moss for playing tricks on her.

Before she can carry out her plan, though, disaster strikes and she finds herself working alongside the very fairies she wanted revenge on. Can they work together and trust each other, or will things go from bad to worse?

Recipe for "Cabbage Patch Stew" from Bad Fairy

Cabbage Patch Stew is Thistle’s favorite meal in Bad Fairy.

In real life, I made Cabbage Patch Stew for my kids from an old recipe I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I still make cabbage patch stew a couple of times a year.

When I had to write about Thistle and her family eating dinner together, I immediately thought of cabbage patch stew, because with words like “cabbage” and “patch” it just sounds like something fairies would eat.

Ingredients:

One medium-sized onion, chopped

One large green bell pepper, chopped

Three stalks of celery, chopped

2 cups of chopped cabbage

One 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

Two 15-oz cans stewed tomatoes

Two 15-oz cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

½ teaspoon garlic powder (more to taste)

11/2 teaspoon chili powder (more to taste)

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions:

- Chop celery, onion, and green pepper. Sauté with oil until almost done.

- Mix chopped vegetables, and chopped cabbage in a pot.

- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, can of kidney beans, and both cans of stewed tomatoes.

- Add garlic powder, chili powder, and brown sugar, to taste.

- Cook until cabbage is tender.

- If you desire more broth, add water.

*Feel free to add more or less cabbage or other vegetables. 

OKUM SOKUM!

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:

As I fly through the front door, I smell my favorite dinner—cabbage patch stew. I stand next to Mom, who is still at the stove, stirring the pot. I give her a big hug.

She turns and smiles at me. “What’s that for? Did you get into trouble again?”

I roll my eyes. “No, Mom. I didn’t get into trouble. I just love cabbage patch stew, that’s all.” Shrugging my shoulders, I grab plates for the table.

The table is ready when she calls me over to the counter. “We still have enough time to make dill weed biscuits. You can start on that since you know how. I’ll help you as soon as I finish this salad.” She’s chopping up dandelion greens and other delicious weeds. I get right to work on the biscuits. Maybe I am a “good” fairy after all.

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BOOK GIVEAWAY

Eligibility: International

Number of Winners: One

Giveaway Ends: July 1, 2020 12:00am Eastern Standard Time

ENTER THE BOOK GIVEAWAY

Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green Adventure series. She first created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her homemade pea soup, thus inspiring the story Pea Soup Disaster. Bad Fairy is her middle grade debut and the first of A Bad Fairy Adventure series.

Kaye has worked as a library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools in the Sunshine State. 

She currently lives in Florida, but she has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan home. She is a grandmother of three boys.

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Answer to Fairday's Riddle: Spelunking Spell...

Excellent guessing, Riddlers! We'll be on an adventure into a cave. We have a special guest post on Monday; tune in Wednesday to find out how the answer ties into the story. See you all around the book block. ~ F

A secret place found inside— clever spot to stay and hide. A chasm forged by passing time tells its lore in ancient rhyme. Here in lies a sleepy wake with sulfur breath and bones that quake.  

What am I referring to? Answer: Cave!

Fairday's Riddles: Volume I 

Make time to riddle and rhyme!
62 original riddles and illustrations

Fairday's Riddle: Inner Dwelling...

Hello, Riddlers! Can you guess our theme? They are exciting to explore! ~ F

A secret place found inside— clever spot to stay and hide. A chasm forged by passing time tells its lore in ancient rhyme. Here in lies a sleepy wake with sulfur breath and bones that quake.  

What am I referring to? Stop by Friday for the answer. 

The picture is the clue!

Margo's Musings: Can an Egg be Too Good?

We are still getting curbside pickup at our local library. This week we asked our favorite librarian to surprise us with a few books she thought we'd like. It's exciting to have a bag of books that you might not have found on your own. My little sister, Margo, and I couldn't wait to dig in and start reading.

We were thrilled to discover The Good Egg written by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald.  We've read a lot of books by Jory John, so we knew we were in for a treat. When we looked at the cover Margo was obsessed with the eyeglasses.  She kept saying, "Glasses. Oh- big glasses." I have to admit the egg on the cover does look pretty cute with those spectacles on.

In the story there is an egg. He's a very good egg. It seems crazy to him that the other eggs are so reckless and misbehave all the time. No matter how much he tries to get his friends to behave, they will not listen. This causes him a ton of stress, and he starts to crack. The good egg realizes he needs to go away and be by himself. While he is gone he starts to take care of himself; even pampers himself. Being away, he misses his friends and starts to learn that he can't be responsible for their behavior. Trying to control them wasn't making anyone happy. When he rejoins his friends in the carton, he has a new attitude. Of course, he still wants to be good—but he realizes it's possible to be too good and not enjoy life.

The book has some really great messages. Sometimes we need reminders that we can't control other people and what they do. We can only control ourselves. I also think it's important to take care of our health, so that was a point that hit home with me.  The illustrations are awesome. The facial expressions on some of the eggs is priceless.  Of course, the main character wormed his way into our hearts with those big blue eyes and enormous glasses. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good picture book. I can see it being used in school to help students learn lessons about behavior, self-care, and finding the balance in life.

The Good Egg is part of a series of books with similar titles (The Bad Seed, The Cool Bean, etc.). We look forward to checking those out as well.

Has anyone else read The Good Egg? Or have you read another book written by Jory John or illustrated by Pete Oswald? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
~F

Answer to Fairday's Riddle: Cells In Shells...

Excellent, guessing, Riddlers! Next week, we're hunting for eggs. Tune in Monday to find out how the answer ties into the story. See you all around the book block. ~ F

If you crack a yolk, you'll lay one on 'em.

What will you lay? Answer: Egg!

Fairday's Riddles: Volume I 

Make time to riddle and rhyme!
62 original riddles and illustrations

Fairday's Riddle: How Many In Your Basket?

Hello, Riddlers! Can you guess our theme? 😅 Good luck! ~F

If you crack a yolk, you'll lay one on 'em.

What will you lay? Stop by Friday for the answer.

I gave you a clue!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday # MMGM Book Review: Restart by Gordon Korman

Chase Ambrose is a star in his town. After all, he’s the best football player that’s lived there since his father was in high school. Everyone knows Chase; some love him and admire his skills, some fear him and hate his guts. He has buddies that would do anything for him. So when Chase wakes up with no memory of who he is or what his life has been like, it’s a shocker. He also can’t play football because of the traumatic brain injury he sustained- at least for now. Chase has to navigate school where everyone is new, and he doesn’t know who they are or what their relationship was like in the past. But he soon finds out after ice cream gets dumped on his head and kids scatter whenever he walks by. Chase is concerned about who he used to be. The friends he's making are not in the same crowd he ran with before. His best friends on the football team still want him to be the same old Chase, but is he? If only he could remember what caused the accident? And what did he do to get in so much trouble that he has hours of community service? All Chase knows is that he has to be who he feels he is now—no matter who's happy about it and who resents it. Will he ever get his memory back? Is the new Chase really “Chase”? You’ll have to read this book to find out.

Restart by Gordon Korman is a book you don’t want to miss. It’s told from multiple characters’ points of view, but predominately Chase’s. When I heard Gordon Korman talk about it at The CT Children’s Book Festival, I knew I had to pick up the book. And I was not disappointed. It was fascinating to follow along with a character who doesn’t remember who they were, and to see what other characters thought about them then and now. It really makes you wonder if people can change and shows how things can shift in the blink of an eye. I would recommend this book to kids in fourth grade and up. It’s realistic fiction and spotlights bullying, friendship, and change. I’ve read a lot of books by Gordon Korman, and I look forward to reading many more!

Has anyone else read Restart? Or have you read a book by Gordon Korman? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!

~L

Answer to Fairday's Riddle: What's Your View?

Excellent guessing, Riddlers! Next week we're sharing our point of view. Tune in Monday to find out how the answer ties into the story. See you all around the book block. ~ F

Imagine a space in your mind— a living room of some kind. There's a couch and chair, table and plant, a person reading or TV rant. The scene is set; inner eyes have the view. Which is other? Which is you? Energy cast in a direction conjures insight by your attention. All of the pieces wave in flux until you choose your preferred crux. Then you'll know the story plot, but only from that one spot.

What am I referring to? Answer: Perspective/ Point of view

Fairday's Riddles: Volume I 

Make time to riddle and rhyme!
62 original riddles and illustrations