In more ways than one, we are celebrating July this month.
What you will find in this blog post:
*Happy 250th Birthday America
*How We Celebrated
*I Treated Myself to Something Special
*Books I’ve Read and Reviewed
Happy 250th Birthday America
Did you know?
Quote from Wikipedia:
“The United States Semiquincentennial,[a] also called the Sestercentennial (two and a half centuries), or the Quarter Millennium, will be the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.”
A little tidbit about me. I graduated high school in our “bicentennial” year. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long ago. I didn’t appreciate the history of this historical time much back then like I do now. In my days at school during history classes, there were lots of dates and events to memorize. I love how schools are doing more interactive activities nowadays to engage learning.
How about you?
*Did you enjoy learning about history when you were young?
*Do you enjoy learning about history now?
How We Celebrated
As always, we celebrated with family and friends in our driveway. Of course there always has to be food, right? You might remember the “Taco Bar” I talked about back another post, ► “Reflections and Helpful Hints.” I’ll go ahead and repost that here.
We invested in a three pot crockpot years ago and it has been a lifesaver for crowds. It has one large pot in the middle and two smaller ones on the sides.
Fill your taco meat in the middle, cheese dip in one of the smaller ones, and refried beans in the other small one. Have all your other ingredients and dips ready to go and everyone serves themselves. It’s always a big hit!
A little tidbit on serving big crowds. 🙂
*Watch how your guests fix their plates.
*Do they struggle to find the right utensils?
*Do they have a hard time serving themselves in the space you provided?
*What’s missing that would make everything go smoother?
*I’ve done so many of these events over the holidays and it helps to have everything ready. I try and get the big parts out of the way the day before.
*Oh, and have paper towels on hand for any mishaps. Expect them to happen and you will feel less stressed.
I Treated Myself to Something Special
After months and months of research, I broke down and bought an ipad, Apple Pen, and Procreate. Phew, it’s going to take me more time to learn these new items and program. (Any suggestions are highly appreciated.)
So far, I’m loving it. I plan to work on my next book with it. I’ll still use our PC, other drawing apps to finish it up, so I have a lot of tabs going at the same time, ha! So far, I have this to show you…
I’ll keep you posted on how things go.
Books I’ve Read and Reviewed
“Some Writer,” E.B. White by Melissa Sweet
Young, middle, and older readers will be inspired by this one!
What Is It About?
Caldecott Honor winner Mellissa Sweet mixes White’s personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell the story of this American literary icon. Readers young and old will be fascinated and inspired by the journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children’s book author who loved words his whole life. This authorized tribute, a New York Times bestseller, includes an afterword by Martha White, his granddaughter.
My Review:
I loved this book! If you are a fan of author E. B. White’s work, you will enjoy this one, too!
If you have been following my blogs, you probably have noticed I’m loving the artwork Melissa Sweet displays in her books. This one will keep you turning the pages with collage art and interesting information on E. B. White’s life. Readers will enjoy all the facts about how he grew into a writer and succeeded with books like, “Stuart Little,” Charlotte’s Web,” and more. I know I will re-reading them all soon.
Ooh, here’s another one!
“Balloons Over Broadway. The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade,” ” by author and illustrator, Melissia Sweet
What Is It About?
Meet the master puppeteer who invented the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Melissa Sweet brings to life the inspirational story of the puppeteer who invented the giant balloons floating in the sky during the annual parade celebrating Thanksgiving. The Caldecott Honor artist brilliantly captures the essence of Tony Sarg, a self-taught immigrant with a fascinating imagination.
The collage illustrations coupled with Sweet’s storytelling portray Sarg’s joy in his childhood inventions and his ingenious balloon creations that still bring delight to viewers around the country. This nonfiction illustrated book will capture the hearts of all ages.
My Review:
Another book I loved, but it also made me sad, which I will get to in a bit.
This book is beautifully illustrated with another inspiring story about a man with a passion from when he was a child. He had been raised around puppets and inherited his grandmother’s collection of them. This developed as a hobby for him, and finally in 1917, turned them into a profession.
I loved the detailed historical content about the Macy’s Day Parade and behind the work of Tony Sarg.
What made me sad after reading this book?
Do people, especially young ones, watch the parades on Thanksgiving Day anymore? I know when I was growing up, we wouldn’t have missed it. I asked my followers on my “Books by Rose” Facebook page if they still enjoyed watching the Thanksgiving parades. Only a handful of them said they did. How about you?
I really hope parents and readers can find this book and read up on the work it takes to make these amazing balloons before watching the parade. I know I will be watching. 🙂
Last one…
“I Caught You,” by Izzy B.
What Is It About?
Join Dad Bear and Little Bear as they journey to their beloved fishing spot. Despite their anticipation to catch a fish, they end up empty-handed. Little Bear is disappointed, but Dad Bear reveals an invaluable life lesson: the day’s true catch was something far more precious— the love and memories shared between them.
My Review:
I was online before Father’s Day and author and illustrator, Izzy B, was giving this book away as a free download. I’m so glad I was able to get this copy because it’s such a sweet book.
This tender tale between a father and son, will open some goodness of this world with this outdoor fishing themed story. Great for grandfather’s and grandsons, (grandchildren) to read together, too. I loved it and I hope you all will get a chance to read it, too.
That’s all I have for this month. Let’s hear about you!
How is your summer going? What big plans do you have? Or, are you just taking it easy and enjoying your time outside and doing nothing? (That’s okay, too.) In fact, I posted this a week ago so don’t forget…
As always,
Happy Reading!
~Rosie
I love your taco bar idea. Tacos are always a hit.
Our county is all about Apple devices. So I’ve used Mac’s and Ipads for years. I can probably help if you have any questions. I do love the Apple pen, it allows for a lot of control, which is important when it comes to painting digitally. I’ve dabbled with Procreate a little but it’s been a while so the software has probably changed but you can always reach out to me if you have questions.
Thanks so much for your note, Rebecca.
Yes, tacos are always a hit for all ages.
I’m just using the regular Procreate for now. I see they have a lot of add-ons but I’m not there yet.
You bet I’ll reach out if I have questions. I appreciate your support always. 🙂
Have a great rest of your July.
I’ve always found history fascinating. In high school I studied both modern and ancient history, my teacher always brought them to life with his intensity and passion. As an adult, being able to travel, especially back to the UK, where history is everywhere, has fulfilled life-long dreams. Do we ever stop learning?
When I Caught You sounds like a great book. We often take our grandson fishing but have never had any success. He is often disappointed, but we remind him that we are sharing special time together and building memories to cherish.
Good luck with your nee Ipad and procreate.
Hi Sandra! Thank you so much for your note.
I can’t get enough of history now. I’m so glad your teachers made it interesting for you. I love how things are taught now and how they teach subjects to enhance learning. I have a whole story about that someday. 🙂
Yes, Izzy B’s book is all about spending time together and building memories.
Thank you for your kind encouragement on my new tools to make my books and more. I’m excited to learn all of it over time.
Hmm .. tacos are always a good idea . I’m envious ! You always seem so well organized . I’m a professional Incorrigible procrastinator …so you know how that goes . I’m so excited that you got an iPad 😀 ! While I do not use Procreate , it is definitively an excellent program . And thanks to Youtube , you will easily find some Tutorials . Love you children’s book reviews .
Thank you for your note, Ariane! 🙂 I thought of telling you about what I decided on all this drawing thing and got so busy, I forgot. (So, maybe not so organized on that, ha!)
Our Taco Bar is always a hit and the adults and kids love it. I tend to make so much we still end up having it leftover for days. I keep sending it home with those who stop by.
I love Youtube and it’s how I ended up deciding on “Procreate.” Now, figuring it all out is another thing. I’m getting there day by day. Thank you again for all our visits about what to buy. You are always so helpful, Ariane!
Glad you enjoyed the book reviews. I’m a little behind this month and hope to catch up with that soon.
Enjoy the rest of your July!
Lol… no worries Rosie ! Your guests were much more important . And I knew you would soon let everyone know about your decision on your drawing thing . I have no doubt you will find your way around Procreate 😀 . Have fun experimenting !
Happy reading , drawing and enjoy the rest of your July 🙂 .
Thank you for understanding, Ariane. Yes, I looked into all the ones we talked about and actually added a few of the free ones to try out. I’m so thankful for all these great apps out there. I’m still doing hands on art, too, and will talk about that when all of this is said and done.
I hope you enjoy the rest of July, too. 🙂
Great taco bar ideas. An iPad is similar to your phone, which is easy to use; no tips for the other programs you mentioned since I’ve never used them. But they keep telling us it’s good for our brains to learn new things, so that’s good!
Thanks, Julie. 🙂
Yes, I’m finding that out. It is just like our phones. (Bunny is is using his tablet for an audiobook, or so I’m pretending, ha.) 😉
The Procreate program is fun, I just need to take the time to learn more about it. “One Thing at a Time,” right?
Learning is always a good thing.
Enjoy your month!