Literary Lunch: MAGIC RAMEN

Today we have a special visitor . . . our old friend, Nina Holstead from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love, is back! And she's serving a magical lunch. 

Have you ever wondered who invented ramen? Andrea Wang tells the story of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of ramen, in her beautiful new book MAGIC RAMEN.  

Kana Urbanowicz's mouth-watering pictures will inspire you to make your very own bowl of ramen.

Mr. Ando worked day in and day out to create quick, convenient, and tasty noodle soup for all the people he saw standing in long lines after WWII to get food. He believed that peace follows from a full stomach and went to work to create what we all know as instant ramen. He eventually went on to invent Cup Noodles and his ramen even went into space.

Read more about Momofuku Ando and his journey in MAGIC RAMEN.

Nina from Mamabelly.com packed a lunch full of noodles and love:

• two banana bread "chicken drumsticks"
• nutritious strawberries and blueberries 
• happy cheese sandwich people looking forward to ramen
• a carrot, celery, and mushroom salad with Mr. Ando's backyard shack
• a bowl of healthy ramen with chicken, carrots, cheese hearts, spinach, and an egg  

Literary Lunch . . . Vampirina!

It is finally summer and time for the beach! Vampirina is taking a trip to Moon Monster Madness in Anne Marie Pace's new book VAMPIRINA at The Beach. You would not believe how much fun the beach can be at night!

Nina from Mamabelly.com packed a lunch for the beach:

• a chocolate pudding and graham cracker Monster Beach
• scary strawberries with sugar cookies
• melon beach balls and of course
• a Vampirina chocolate sandwich with raspberry jelly accents

Nina | Mamabelly's Lunches with Love web: www.mamabelly.com facebook: www.facebook.com/MamabellysLunchesWithLove twitter: @LunchesWithLove

The Little Crooked Bookshelf + A Bonus Literary Lunch!

Happy New Year!

How appropriate that our first "crooked bookshelf pick" of the new calendar year—is a marvelous story by Andrea Wang, written for the Chinese New Year. We love this book so much, we asked Nina from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love for a bonus Literary Lunch to celebrate its publication, and ring in The Year of The Rooster. (See Nina's brilliant bento creation below!)

The Nian Monster
by Andrea Wang
illustrated by Alina Chau

This week's pick is from cottager Anika Denise.

What it's all about...
The legendary Nian monster has returned at Chinese New Year, intent on devouring Shanghai, starting with Xingling! The old tricks to keep him away don’t work on Nian anymore, but Xingling is clever. Will her quick thinking be enough to save the city from the Nian Monster?

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf…
As a child growing up in New York, I was captivated by celebrations of the Chinese New Year. This is a book "little me" would have adored. ("Grownup me" is equally smitten.) It has everything I love: a mysterious monster, a feisty female protagonist, food you want to pluck from the pages and taste, and magical illustrations.

Favorite line(s)...
"Every monster has a weakness. Nian had three—loud sounds, fire, and the color red."

Most swoon-worthy illustrations...
It's hard to choose. All of Alina Chau's watercolor illustrations for The Nian Monster are lovely. But here are three particularly stand-out pages and spreads.

From The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang; Image (c) 2016 Alina Chau

From The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang; Image (c) 2016 Alina Chau

From The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang; Image (c) 2016 Alina Chau

Why kids will love it…
Because monsters! And paper lanterns! And long life noodles! And... and...

Why grown-ups will love it…
Everything I said above, plus it's a wonderful way to teach children more about the customs and traditions of the Chinese New Year.

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The Nian Monster Literary Lunch

What would you do if a beast with horns, scales and wide, wicked jaws showed up in the midst of your family preparing a new year celebration? That is exactly the problem Xingling faces when the Nian Monster suddenly appears outside her kitchen. Will Xingling be able to tame the monster by feeding it traditional food? Find out in Andrea Wang's new book THE NIAN MONSTER!

Nina from Mamabelly.com packed a lunch to satisfy any mythical beast:

• a helping of long-life noodles with fish for good fortune
• a mini Xingling made of cheese and spinach
• a sweet peanut butter "rice cake" made from bread and peanut butter
• and sweet apples with firework sprinkles

* For more of Nina's Literary Lunch creations, visit:

--web: www.mamabelly.com

--instagram: @Mamabelly
--facebook: www.facebook.com/MamabellysLunchesWithLove
--twitter: @LunchesWithLove

* View The Nian Monster book trailer here.

* Click here, for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Nian Monster art.

* Want to use The Nian Monster in your classroom? Download the Teacher's Guide here.

* For more about Andrea Wang, visit: andreaywang.com.

* To explore more of Alina Chau's work, go to: alinachau.com.

Literary Lunch . . . with The Infamous Ratsos!

Today's Literary Lunch Menu is brought to you by our wonderful caterer, Nina, from Mamabelly!

For more of her fabulous BENTO creations visit her website:

MAMABELLY LUNCHES WITH LOVE

Scroll down to learn how to make this lunch. . .

Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be TOUGH just like their dad, Big Lou. But every time they try to show the world how tough they are, they end up proving how kind and generous and helpful they are instead. What will Big Lou think when he hears just how bad the Ratso Brothers are at being bad?

Nina from Mamabelly packed an infamously tough lunch to accompany the book:

• Tiny Crawley's hat on cheese crackers
• Mrs. Porcupini's cereal bar soap 
• Mr. O'Hare's hot chocolate pudding
• and the Infamous Ratso Sandwich for Florinda Rabbitski : grilled cheddar with beets and pickled mushrooms! Yum-O!

Want more fun literary lunch ideas? Follow Mamabelly here:

* web: www.mamabelly.com

* facebook: www.facebook.com/MamabellysLunchesWithLove

* twitter: @LunchesWithLove

Mr. Pig LIVE… with MILK!

Curtain...

Spotlight...

Cue the music...

in 5… 4… 3… 2... 1!

We're BACK folks, and we're LIVE with our first Mr. Pig LIVE! episode of the 2016-2017 season!

I'm your dapper host, Mr. Pig. And today, we'll be talking to someone very special. The crème de la crème of guests, you might say. We've been keeping the lid on it all summer, lest we spoil the surprise.

Please put your hands together for. . . MILK!

<<Applause>>

Milk is the star of the funniest, punniest picture book of the back-to-school season: MILK GOES TO SCHOOL by Terry Border (author of Peanut Butter & Cupcake).

MP: Welcome, dear. And what a sweet little hair bow you're wearing. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. Shall I call you Milk? What's your full name?
M: Milkificent Butterfat. But Milk is fine.

MP: What one word best describes you?
M: SPECIAL 

MP: Quite so. Do you have a belly button?
M: No, but I do have a UPC code on my bottom.

MP: What is the best thing about being you?
M:  I have a dad who thinks I’m la crème de la crème!

MP: What is the worst thing about being you?
M: I can’t go out when it’s hot.

MP: If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you bring?
M: A tub of ice to sit in.

MP: Wise choice. What is your idea of the perfect day?
M: Playing with my new friends from school. Even Waffle and Egg.

MP: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
M: To get along with everybody all the time and have people love me. And I’d like to run really, really fast.

MP: What are you reading right now?
M: Charlie and the Chocolate Milk Factory

MP: What is your favorite word?
M: CUTE

MP: What is you least favorite word?
M: Spoiled!

MP: What is your favorite sound?
M: My friends saying, “hello!”

MP:  What is your least favorite sound?
M: Farts! Some kids do those all the time (and one time our teacher did too! hahaha!).

MP: Share one thing that most of our readers don’t know about you.
M: I’m really nice.

MP: If you could dine with three characters from other books, who would they be?
M: That little guy who saves the trees in that one book. Humpty Dumpty, ‘cause maybe he’s a nicer egg than the one in our class. And Madeline, because she lives with all of her friends, but I would miss Mom and Dad.

MP: What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
M: Some dry cereal.

MP: What is your most embarrassing moment?
M: That one time when I spilled myself of course. At school!

MP: What is your pet peeve?
M: I don’t have one yet, but my mom said I could have a gummy bear if I keep his cage clean.

MP: What was it like working with Terry Border?
M: Who?

MP: Never mind, dear. That's all the time we have for today. While we roll the credits, you can follow me to the kitchen, where our caterer Nina -- from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love -- has whipped up a delicious Literary Lunch in your honor!

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Milk Goes To School
by Terry Border
(Philomel 2016)
ISBN: 978-0399176197



"A quirky read-aloud with offbeat humor and fun images that young readers will appreciate. A good choice to address the challenges of making new friends at school."—School Library Journal

"Border's witty food comedy will lure children who are hungry for clever visual entertainment." —Publishers Weekly

Terry Border (www.terryborder.com) is the author of Milk Goes to School, Happy Birthday, Cupcake! and Peanut Butter & Cupcake. He is also the mastermind behind the Bent Objects project, which has been lauded in media all over the world, spawning books (such as this one), calendars, greeting cards and puzzles. He lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana. Follow him on Twitter @TerryBorder.

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A LITERARY LUNCH. . . for MILK! 

Milk is ready for the first day of school. She even has a special new backpack. But making friends is not as easy as she thought. Will she make friends on the first day?

Nina from Mamabelly packed the perfect lunch for the first day of school: 

• new pancake friends
• a new egg and a new carrot friend
• a school house pepperoni sandwich and
• a little surprise for milk (strawberry flavored fruit snacks)

Want more fun literary lunch ideas? Follow Mamabelly here:

* web: www.mamabelly.com
* facebook: www.facebook.com/MamabellysLunchesWithLove
* twitter: @LunchesWithLove

Literary Lunch

Kit and Buzz are BSFs—Best Skunks Forever.

Every day they rock out together. But when Kit wants to sing a song about skating and Buzz wants to sing a song about painting, the BSFs get into a HUGE fight!

They try to hum, drum, and strum on their own, but it's all wrong.

Will Kit and Buzz find a way to make up? Read the book, munch the lunch, and find out!

Nina from Mamambelly.com made this rockin' friendship lunch:

• Buzz sandwich made with cheese, spinach and a red candy
• Kit sandwich made with cheese and red pepper and a red candy

Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Literary Lunch!)

A special treat for the stars of Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) by Julie Falatko and Tim Miller (Viking Books): this scrumptious and adorable Literary Lunch! And look, it has cheese!

Nina from Mamabelly.com created a narrative bento featuring:

• fried rice
• grape tomato ballons
• and a cheese, tomato and cucumber Snappsy

Snappsy the cucumber did NOT ask to be in this lunch!

Literary Lunch - Ella and Penguin Stick Together

Nina, from Mamabelly's Lunches with Love, read Ella and Penguin to her family, then whipped up this tasty treat, complete with glow-in-the-dark stickers... er... cheese!

All you need sometimes is a friend that makes you feel strong and brave. Ella has a surprise for Penguin: glow-in-the-dark stickers. But to see the stickers glow, the friends must go where it is dark. And dark can be... really dark. They try everything to see the stickers glow in the light, but nothing works. Will they find a way to stick together and face the dark to see something beautiful?

Find out in Ella and Penguin: Stick Together written by Megan Maynor and illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet. A charming and sweet book about friendship, with gorgeous illustrations!

Nina from Mamabelly.com made this lunch using:

• an Ella sandwich with chocolate and jelly decorations,
• a penguin sandwich with chocolate and jelly decorations and a yellow pepper beak,
• and the most important: cheese glow-in-the-dark stickers.

Literary Lunch

Have you ever dreamed of moving into a haunted house? This is what just what happens to eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow. Not only is she moving thousands of miles away from the life she knows, she's moving to the infamous Begonia House, with a mysterious past. 

The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow by Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson will keep you guessing until the very end. Strange music coming from behind a padlocked door, a secret room, an ancient mirror, a brass key, and a strange picture of a red-haired lady are the first in a series of clues that take Fairday and DMS (Detective Mystery Squad) on a mysterious adventure.



Nina from Mamabelly made an unexpected lunch every Mystery Lover will adore:

• ancient mirror pretzels
• brass key mini peppers
• and a strange picture of a red-haired lady sandwich

Literary Lunch - Special Holiday Edition!

This Literary Lunch was whipped up by Nina from Mambelly's Lunches with Love. Inspired by Linda Ashman's new picture book, Over the River and Through the Wood, Nina included:

• an apple and peanut butter "Apple Pie" sandwich
• a "pumpkin" tangerine
• a bounty of veggies: celery, carrot, a mini pepper and roasted almonds in raspberries


A Note from Nina. . .

When I think of Thanksgiving, the first thing that pops in my head is Grandma's Apple Pie. The smell of apples and pie crust in the house and the talk of freshly whipped cream and vanilla ice cream make me happy every year!

Happy Thanksgiving!