Book Lover’s Tag – for Lovers of reading

 

Robbie Cheadle, author, reader, mother, teacher, and blogger at Robbie’s Inspiration, tagged me in this Book Lover’s Tag Tour. You can read Robbie’s answers to the Book Lover’s Tag post here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/book-lovers-tag-for-lovers-of-reading/.

As an avid reader, I just had to participate. Thank you for inviting me, Robbie!

Questions

Do you have a specific place for writing?

I mainly write on my computer in the computer room. as I am usually alone during the day and I tend to stay up late at night, I get a good bit of quality thinking / creative time.

Book mark or random pieces of paper?

I use scraps of paper and book marks, and many times envelopes. I realize I am hungry, thirsty or need to take Beau out for a potty break after hours of devouring books and grab up the first thing I find to mark my spot.

Can you stop anywhere or must it be at the end of a chapter?

I can stop anywhere. If I am invested in the story, I can pick right back up. If I decide to write or interact with the family, I might have to catch back up.  I am a bit of a flibberty gibbet. I bounce up and I bounce around, so I have to skim to find my last point.

Do you eat or drink whilst reading?

I do keep a bottle of water nearby. I do not eat while reading. I find it a distraction. When I read, I am all in.

Music or TV whilst reading?

Not usually. On occasion I have a song enter my head and dance around so I have to search it out and play it, but usually, I read in the quiet.  Otherwise, I am singing along not following the story.  I do sometimes listen to an audiobook while writing my own books. I listen to Thriller audiobooks and I write feel good fiction. So it somehow works.

One book at a time or several

I tend to have several going at a time. I keep a book on my bedside table for those have to hold a physical book in my hand moments, I keep one on my Kindle on my phone, one on my Kindle Fire, and one on my desktop in the Kindle reader.  I have to admit I have some also on iBooks on my phone.  I am not even going to mention the audiobooks I love to listen to.

 

Do you prefer to read at home or elsewhere?

I prefer to read anywhere I happen to be. I love that we can now read on the phone and Kindle as we stay mobile. It makes road trips so much more fun. Funny thing, I sometimes get carsick when reading on a long trip. Especially if there are curvy roads involved. Having a Kindle and phone means I can read at night without light.

Read out loud or silently?

I read silently, I will, however, scoff about a sentence and read it aloud to make myself laugh. My grandchildren think that is funny when I am in my room alone reading funny bits to myself.

Do you read ahead or skip pages?

It is quite funny, I am intimidated by massive books so I will skim a bit until I am involved, then I will go back and reread. If it is a bit slow at the start, I skim. I don’t ever read the ending first. I am a bit of a purist about spoilers.

Break the spine or keep it new?

I try to keep them looking beautiful. I love having them on my shelves after reading and I do not want them looking scruffy.

Do you write in your books?

I do not write in books. I have journals for note taking and reference.

What books have you read recently?

I have been really involved in Children’s books and so I have been a bit heavy on the children and middle-grade books. I also have been enjoying :

 

All time favorite book?

Every time I open a book I run into the possibility of a new favorite, that’s how I found,  Jessica Lost her Wobble by J. Schlenker and The BeeKeepers Daughter by Jane Jordan. But Dickens is the torch bearer. He is the one that begins and ends the favorites at the end of the day.

My nominations for the Book Lover’s Tag are:

Colin Garrow – Author and reviewer

Orangutan Librarian Reviewer extraordinaire

Book Club Mom Prolific reader and reviewer

If you want to join in, please answer the above questions, link back to this page and then tag three new book lovers.

Have fun!

Vicki / /Sojourner

 

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Books by Sojourner:

Pre-order When a Pachyderm Comes to Visit now for only .99. Prices go up after the September 26th launch. Find out what Michael needs a fairy intervention about. Dolcey is ready to help Michael recapture his dream. Won’t you come along for the adventure?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07589BFTB/

Who’s That in the Cat Pajamas?  Book 1 in the Docley series. Meet Docley and find out how her special brand of magic allows children to find the answers they seek.  Fun for all ages. https://www.amazon.com/Whos-That-Pajamas-Dolcey-Book-ebook/dp/B07118C3NZ

The Path of the Child. The coming of age story about Melanie and her struggle for freedom, happiness, and an opportunity for a real life. Uplifting with strong characters. https://www.amazon.com/Path-Child-Sojourner-McConnell-ebook/dp/B008IN4HKK/

Find Sojourner McConnell on Facebook.

Find Vicki on Facebook

 

The benefits of baking and cooking for children by Robbie Cheadle: A Featured Fun Guest Post

The benefits of baking and cooking for children

Most children love to spend time in the kitchen either cooking or baking. It is a fabulous bonding experience with Mom or another caregiver and they always enjoying eating the results of their hard work afterwards.

I love to bake and both my sons have travelled the cooking, baking and eating road with me. Michael, particularly, loves to cook. He prefers to make more practical things than I do such as savoury and/or sweet pancakes, French toast and even stews and curries which he makes with his Dad. I like to make all sorts of fancy sweet treats and cakes.

I remember baking with my small boys. Gregory used to love to measure and pour the ingredients into the bowl. Funnily enough, Greg also loved to wash up. Sadly, this has not continued into his teenage years. I used to strip him down to his nappy and stand him on a few chairs lined up in front of the sink [so that he could not fall off] and set him free in front of a sink of soapy water. He used to splash around happy with a cloth washing up the bowl and wooden spoon. I kept the washing of any sharp implements and breakables for myself.

Michael, on the other hand, has never been a fan of any kind of cleaning up. He likes to measure, pour and, especially, to mix. He also likes to “lick” out the bowl. I have photographs of Michael covered from head to toe in chocolate cake mix with the bowl upside down on his head. What fabulous fun.

Other than the obvious fun and bonding factors, there are a list of other great benefits to baking with your children. I did some research on this and this is what I found:

1. Maths skills: Baking helps children to learn maths concepts, in particular, measurement and simple fractions (half a cup, a quarter of a lemon). In addition, multiplication and division are involved if you half or double a recipe. Other kinds of cooking may also involve patterning (for example with salads and kebabs) and simple addition (how many people are you feeding? how many cupcakes do you need for the class?);
2. Art skills: Decorating cupcakes, cutting out biscuits and making animals and people out of fondant (sugar dough). All of these activities encourage creativity and develop design abilities. An element of construction can also be involved if you are making a gingerbread house or a marshmallow tower and children learn how to fit pieces together and get a tower to stand up;

Cupcakes decorated for charity by the children of St Columba’s Presbyterian Church Sunday School – Parkview, South Africa

1. Comprehension skills: Baking and cooking teaches children how to read and interpret a recipe. They learn to follow a sequence of steps and how to organise the required ingredients. Baking also teaches children techniques and vocabulary such as folding, beating, kneading and blending;
2. Science skills: Contrary to popular belief, baking is a science. Children learn the scientific effects of raising agents such as yeast and baking powder. They learn about the interaction between certain substances such as salt and bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and milk, yeast and warm water. If they make a mistake and/or leave out an ingredient, disaster often follows which helps enforce these learning points;

Giant marshmallow made by Michael – the scientific effects of gelatine

1. Life skills: Baking and cooking with your children teaches them lifelong skills. In the future, the job of feeding themselves and their future families will become theirs. Baking and cooking skills will stand them in good stead when they leave home; and
2. Self-esteem: Baking and cooking helps increase children’s self-esteem as they see and taste the results of their efforts. It also teaches children to work together with someone else in a team and that hard work pays dividends in the end.

I am not an occupational therapist but I found the following additional benefits listed on an OT website for children:

1. Bilateral coordination;
2. Eye-hand coordination;
3. Hand strengthening; and
4. Spatial perception and planning skills.

These four benefits make perfect sense to me in the context of baking and cooking with children.

So, what are you waiting for, get cooking. An easy way to start is with mini pizzas. You can buy the bases ready made from most grocery stores and you can also buy the tomato paste source to spread on the bases. Grate some cheese, cut up some mushrooms, pineapple, ham and anything else that you fancy and let the kids have fun assembling their own pizzas.

Thanks to Robbie Cheadle for this delicious and delightful post. Robbie, you are welcome to share a post any Friday. You can follow Robbie at:

Blogs: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com and Goodreads.com

Facebook: @SirChocolateBooks

Twitter: @bakeandwrite

A Lovely Award Nomination!

 

Blogger recognition award

Thank you, Robbie Cheadle from Robbie’s Inspiration for nominating me for this award. Robbie was sweet enough to nominate me for this as I was recuperating from Mystery Thriller Week.  I really appreciate you thinking of me.

Valentine’s Day Guest Post from MTW authors Robbie and Michael Cheadle

Robbie and Michael are the co-authors of the Sir Chocolate series of books which are all about a little man, Sir Chocolate, who lives in a land where you can eat everything, even the flowers and the trees. Sir Chocolate and his lady love, Lady Sweet, have a number of little adventures, sourcing ingredients for their fabulous chocolate creations and helping their friends in Chocolateville out of various scrapes and problems. Each book contains illustrations made from fondant, biscuits, and cake and also includes five simple recipes that children can do under parental supervision. Each book also features a poem about life with children by Robbie and a fondant creation by Michael, aged ten years. The books also include links to our blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com, where tutorials on how to make the various fondant creations that feature in the books are available. The link to our YouTube videos, edited by Gregory Cheadle aged 13 and ¾ years, Michael’s older brother, which show you how to make the more complex recipes is also included in each book.

Mystery Thriller Week Book Review: Sir Chocolate and the Baby Cookie Monster by Robbie Cheadle

Sir Chocolate and the Baby Cookie Monster Story and Cookbook by Robbie Cheadle

• Print Length: 19 pages
• Publisher: TSL Publications (December 2, 2016)
• Publication Date: December 2, 2016
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B01N2T89RS

My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥