Editor's Note: Dave T. is a literature loving eleven twelve year old (happy birthday Dave!) who also enjoys writing reviews (under the nameReviewer Inc.). Since he does his ratings in dragons we are calling his section Dragon Picks. At the bottom of each review you can see how many dragons Dave gave the book out of a possible five.

 This book is about Jack, the baker’s son and he is always scheming. Sometimes his “capers” are bad, although his intentions are good, most of the time. His mom is poor, so he plans to get money from the giants (not the transaction way) and meets a hermit who gives him 5 beans. He plants one that grows and gives him a ride to where he needs to get the money from. A giant catches him as he’s trying to steal the favorite golden egg laying goose of the he head giant, Blunderboar. The giant pursues him down the beanstalk but Jack chops it down, killing the giant.  

Blunderboar is having his morning tea when he sees the giant, accompanied by a falling beanstalk, slam into the ground and die. Blunderboar wants to kill Jack so Jack runs out west and meets Rapunzel. When they’re on the “iron horse” (train) heading home to Skyport, they are attacked by the Ant people but Rapunzel’s trusty braids save them. 

Editor's Note: Dave T. is a literature loving eleven year old who also enjoys writing reviews (under the name Reviewer Inc.). Since he does his ratings in dragons (instead of stars) we are calling his section Dragon Picks. At the bottom of each review you can see how many dragons Dave gave the book out of a possible five.

Editor's Note: David T. is a literature loving eleven year old who also enjoys writing reviews (under the name Reviewer Inc.). Since David does his ratings in dragons (instead of stars) we are calling his section Dragon Picks. At the bottom of each review you can see how many dragons David gave the book out of a possible five.

Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf

Barnaby Grimes is a London tick-tock lad in the 1800’s. A tick-tock lad delivers messages at anytime of day to anyplace. While he is jumping from roof to roof, he is attacked by a “hellish creature.” Then people he’s been delivering messages to start disappearing. Barnaby sets out to solve this mystery with the help of his friend, Pinkerton Barnes, who is an absent minded research scientist.

I liked this book a lot. It had good action, good characters, and a good mystery and suspense. Be warned: if you don’t like creatures of the night, you probably won’t enjoy this book.

Nota bene: David Fickling Books, Random House, marketed this as 8 – 12 years old, but I say ages 11 and up.    

David Says: 4/5 Dragons

This is a video of Rebecca S., just about the biggest Moo-Cow Fan Club fan there has ever been, on her way to her first face to face meeting with Ryan and Becky at a book signing for Sword of the Ramurai. We want to thank her and her family for going to the signing and for being such great supporters of te Moo-Cow Fan Club world. Also, a special thank you to her mom for taking this video and sending it to us!

Editor's Note: I would like to introduce you to David T., a literature loving eleven year old, who also enjoys writing reviews of the many books he reads. David has kindly agreed to let us post his reviews here on Moo-Cow's Bookshelf. David does his ratings in dragons (instead of stars), so look at the bottom of the review to see how many dragons David gave it out of a possible five. 

Murder At Midnight  by Avi

Review by David T. (Reviewer Inc.)

Fabrizio is a 10 year old boy whose parents have died. Once homeless, he now is a servant for a magician who does not really like him. The magician’s wife, the mistress of the house, does like him. The mistress leaves to tend to a sick cousin, leaving Fabrizio alone with the magician, Mangus, and Mangus’ other 2 servants.

All of a sudden, papers announcing treason against the king pop up all over the

city of Pergamontio, Italy. These papers are exactly alike but there are no photocopying machines back in 1490. Mangus is accused of making them by magic. Fabrizio, in a promise made to his mistress to protect Mangus, sets out to prove his master’s innocence.

I enjoyed this book because of its mystery and suspense. I enjoyed the Italian setting with the street vendors on the sides of the roads and the magic performances by Mangus. I liked that Fabrizio can make friends very easily. I would have given this book 5 dragons but for the complex pronunciations and titles of the Italian names. Good reading.

David Says: 4/5 Dragons

Becky and I were recently at big home school fair in Florida showing off our issues of Moo-Cow Fan Club magazine and our latest book Sword of the Ramurai. On the first day of the fair, a girl named Grace bought some issues of the magazine because she liked the way it looked. Just knowing we've reached one more person with Moo-Cow Fan Club always makes us happy, but this was just the beginning of our meetings with Grace that weekend. 

The next day of the fair, Grace and her mom returned to our booth so Grace could tell us how much she enjoyed reading Moo-Cow Fan Club the night before. We were extremely happy to hear that, and then she said she wanted to show us some drawings she did after reading the issues. I was really excited to take a look at what I expected to be a couple of drawings (fan art is my favorite thing!) and then Grace handed me a notebook that was half full of MCFC drawings! I couldn't believe how many she had done and how good they were! In fact most of the characters even looked way cuter then I draw them. This actually happens a lot with the fan art, and I have a suspicion that all MCFC fans happen to also be great artists.

 Grace let me take pictures of her drawings so I could share them with you. Here are most of them (sorry that I didn't use them all Grace but some of my pics came out too blurry). Let us know which ones are your favorites because we'll be picking a few to frame and put up in Willy T.' s Gallery.

Thank you so much Grace! We love all the drawings and we love having you as a new Moo-Cow Fan Club Fan! 

Summer Reading Suggestions From Fan Club Member Kkitty1997

Deep and Dark and Dangerous

by Mary Downing Hahn 

It's the most amazing book I have ever read. With all the suspense you will want to read. My 6th grade class loved it. I bought my own copy, read it, then passed it on to my friend. But when my teacher got a copy there was a big fight about who was going to get it. I think it would be more a girl book than a guy book, but you never know. Since school got out in June I think it would be a go summer read. I hope you read it and love it as much as I do.

The White Giraffe

by Lauren St. John

The White Giraffe is an amazing book even if you don't love giraffes. Trust me, I didn't but I like them now because of this book. Now I have to get the second one called Dolphin Song!

...

Here is a list of Moo-Cow Fan Club events we've got planned so far for Summer 2009. If you are near any of these locations you should come out and see us because we have a lot of fun at our book events! Plus, if you come and participate you can get an original illustration like this.

May 16th - Main Street Book Ends in Warner NH @ 2pm

This is during the "Spring Into Warner" festival, so lots of fun stuff will be happening all day long.

May 21st - 23rd - FPEA (Florida Parents & Educators Association) Homeschool Convention @ The Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando Florida

We'll have a table here for all three days and will have lots of special deals and items no longer for sale on the site.

May 29th - 31st - Book Expo America @ the Javits Center in New York City

We will not have a booth at this, but we will be there all three days. If you are going and would like to meet up with us just contact me!

June 6th - Broke: The Affordable Arts Fair in Peterborough, NH @ the Union Congretational Church from 10am - 4pm

This is a great arts fair where all kinds of cool artwork is on sale cheap! We'll have a table full of great stuff. Including Moo-Cow books, magazines, original artwork and our own handmade teas!

June 27th - Just Books in Old Greenwich, CT @ 10am

We'll be at Just Books at 10am to meet and hang out with all you early birds, but at 11am the real fun begins when we start our interactive reading of Sword of the Ramurai and play our chopstick game that can win you an original MCFC illustration!

July 16th - Book Revue in Huntington, NY (Long Island) @ 7pm

This is Ryan's return home to the town he grew up in! Lots of friends, family and fans should make this a very exciting MCFC event. Interactive reading, chopstick game, and some special secret fun!

Oh, and did you know that if you come get your copy of Sword of the Ramurai signed at an event you get this cool "chop" as well as our signatures?

 

If you need directions or more information about any of these events please contact us!

If you can't make it to any of these events you can let us know where you live and where you would like us to have an event and we'll see what we can do. 

And if you just want to get a copy of Sword of the Ramurai without having to actually see us, please order it here.

• A Foam Tray
• Paper for drawing on
• Paper for printing on (can be the same)
• Pencil
• Ball Point Pen
• Permanent Marker
• Acrylic Paint or Block Print Ink
• Paint Brush
• Cup of Water
• Tape
• Square of Cardboard or Poster Board

1.First make sure you have a nice clean tray that doesn't have any gouges or scratches on the flat surface. We strongly recommend using trays from vegetables so that you don't have to worry about contamination from meats. Be careful when cleaning the tray they are easy to scratch.

2.Cut off the edges of the tray, leaving just a flat piece of foam.

3..Now trace the outline of the foam on to thin drawing paper (like newsprint or copy paper) and draw the image you want to print within that border. Use a pencil so you can make changes. I asked Ryan to draw me and some of my crafting tools! Don't draw small details they will get lost in printing.

4.It's okay if your pencil sketch is messy because next you go over your pencil lines with the permanent marker. You should be using a paper that the marker will bleed through so put a piece of thick paper underneath so you don't accidentially draw on your table! When you are done you should see the image in reverse on the back of your paper.

5.Tape the foam tray onto the image. Make sure the smooth side is facing the image and it is lined up perfectly. When it is secure flip the paper over and you should be looking at the reverse image with the foam tray underneath.

6.With the ballpoint pen trace all the the outlines of your drawing. Press hard enough to make an impression in the tray (which isn't very hard). Do this very carefully because any slip of the pen could show up on your final print. Just do the outlines.

7.Lift half the paper from the tray and look to make sure you made impressions of your outlines in tray. If you did, remove the paper. If you didn't, carefully lay the paper back down and try it again a little harder.

NOTE: It is backwards on purpose. You want it that way because when you print an image it reverses and will look normal. 

8.Now make sure you have a good idea in your mind of exactly how you want your final print because everything you do now will show up. Take your ballpoint pen and color in (pressing down the foam) everywhere you want your final image to be BLANK. So, basically you are doing the opposite. You are drawing where you don't want ink on the final print. Be sure to press the foam down really well as you fill in the areas. Basically, when you're done, everything you want to show up on the final print should be raised and everything you dont want to show up should be pressed down. If you are having trouble getting it all with the pen you can use any not sharp tool to press the foam down (even the back of the pen).

9.You are ready to start printing! Just tape your foam print block down to a piece of cardboard or thick paper so it stays still and also doesn't make a mess of your table. Then put some of your paint or printing ink on a palette. I just use old CD cases for palettes (more recycling of materials!) they are a perfect size.

10.Use your brush to spread a thin layer of ink everywhere there is a raised surface. Be careful not to get it in the large non-raised areas because it could get on your final print.

11.Before the ink dries carefully lay a sheet of paper down on it and lightly smooth it with your hand. The first prints you make will be test prints, so don't use nice paper. 

13.Now it's time to carefully lift one side of your print to see if it's working. If it is looking okay lift the paper completely off. If the ink hasn't transferred in spots, gently lay it back down and rub those areas some more. When you take your first print off it is the best feeling, you'll love seeing it!

Now congratulate yourself, you've made a print! 

More Tips and Tricks!

Your first couple prints will show you where you need to fix your block. If ink is showing where it's not supposed to, press the foam in that area down more. If you are losing some detail, make that detail bigger. If you are not getting a full image in an area, make sure you add more ink there and rub it with your baren more.

Printing on dry paper is fine, but sometimes you can get a more solid image when you print on wet paper.  If you want to try a wet paper print use a heavy paper so it doesn't tear. Brush water on your paper with a clean brush and let it dry until is is just damp. Then follow all the normal printing steps. When you are rubbing it against the print block you will see the ink through the paper more which is nice for seeing what is happening. Wet prints will be crinkly, so you can press them under books when they are dry. 

If you don't feel like doing all these steps, try just drawing directly on the foam tray and make a print from that. You'll cut out a bunch of steps and you might get something unique out of it!

One last tip. When printmakers have multiple colors, each one is its own block! That's pretty hard, so when I want color I just use watercolors (see the image at the top). You can use whatever you like to color your print. Also you can try all kinds of different paints and inks to make the prints. Play with it and have fun! As usual, I would really like to see any prints you make!

Recently Keby was making her own tea, from herbs she grew in her garden, and she asked me what she should use for the tags on the tea bag strings. I thought since she was making her own special tea, she should have her own special tags!

Lately I've really wanted to start making more stamps and prints. So I decided that's how I would do it! With a stamp you can make lots of copies of something easily but they look a lot nicer and more handmade than printing something from a computer. I thought about making a clay stamp like when I made a chinese chop, and I thought that maybe I'd try a foam tray print because it's easier, but then I saw one of Ryan's white rubber erasers he uses while drawing and I knew it would be perfect! 

For this craft you'll need a white plastic eraser (they're called plastic but they feel like rubber), a pencil or permanent marker, a carving tool or craft knife, a stamp pad, and some paper.

I started by cutting the eraser in half lengthwise. This will give you more eraser to make stamps with. Or to actually erase with!

1. I drew out some ideas for tea label on a piece of paper. When I came up with one that I liked I drew it on to the surface of the eraser with permanent marker. You can use pencil if you want to be able to erase the eraser. Everywhere that is black will be carved out. Those big areas with lots of black lines will be carved out to leave room on the tags for Keby to write what kind of tea she made. REMEMBER: What you carve into the stamp will print backwards, so keep that in mind when you draw your design!

With this next step you have to have an adult's help.The eraser is very small and when carving is is VERY easy to slip and cut your fingers.

 

2. After your image is drawn on the eraser get an adult to carve out the black areas for you. If you have a carving tool this is a little easier, but it can also be done with a craft knife as long as your stamp is not too detailed. You don't have to carve very deep into the eraser to make your stamp work. The good thing about thes erases is they are very easy to cut.

4. For the tea tags you just cut them out and fold them in half. You can see how the final tea bags turned out over at Keby's Blog. 

Have fun making stamps of whatever you want! And as usual send me pictures when you do!

You know that I love drinking tea, but did you know I make my own "tea" from my own herbs? Throughout the summer, I dry lots of herbs and use them for cooking and tea making in the winter. What I make is not technically tea because there are no tea leaves in it, but we'll just call it herbal tea to make things easy.

 

I just made a batch of Keby’s Mint Special-Tea and wanted to show you how I do it and how easy it is for anyone to do. You don't even need to have your own dried herbs since you can buy them in most markets these days. I'll show you how to make mint tea because it's easy, and the only herb you'll need is mint!

 

I have a kitchen tool called a mortar and pestle. The mortal is like a thick bowl (made out of stone) and the pestle is a heavy crusher you use to mash things up in the mortar. This is a tool that has been used by healers, cooks, and everyday people for thousands of years! Think about it, people didn’t always have blenders, or food processors like we do now, so people used the mortar and pestle to break up nuts, grind spices, crush herbs and generally moosh up all sorts of things. Even though it is a very old tool, I still find it very useful when making tea. 

You could crush up dried leaves into tiny bits, but I don’t like doing that. I like to crush the leaves just a little so that some more of the minty flavor is released. I only crush up what I know I am going to use in a short amount of time because once the leaf is crushed it doesn’t keep its flavor as long.

I then take the mint from the mortar and put some into open tea bags. I have to buy these special. They are just like the bags that you get in a box of tea, but the top is open so you can put your own tea inside. Then, you iron them closed and you have a regular looking tea bag! 

If you would like a string in your tea bag remember to put the end of it into the bag before ironing. Also only use string that has been processed with non-toxic materials because it will be in your tea.

F.W. helps out by making fun tea bag tags. Check these out!

If you make tags for your tea just staple them to the end of the string on each tea bag. A tag can have you own design on it so people know they are drinking your special tea.

It’s always important to label your tea properly, so I write what herbs I used on one side of the label, and how it affects you on the other side. For instance, mint tea helps you with digestion, it can relax you at the end of a long day, and it can wake you up in the morning. Pretty amazing for a few leaves soaked in water!

NOTE: If you would like to try mint tea but don't have the special tea bags just put some dried mint in a cup of hot water and scoop out the leaves when it is strong enough for you. If you are interested in making other kinds of herbal tea get a herb book from your local library and look up other herbs you are interested in. Always do this before you use any herbs in tea, because even some common ones are not good for you to drink. But once you know some safe herbs you like, you can start making your own herbal tea recipes!

Bonus, web only, super special, top secret, official Sword of the Ramurai illustration ! 

So, you've gotten our book, Sword of the Ramurai (right?), and you've read it 3 or 4 times already (hey, don't laugh, this phenomena has been reported by multiple sane individuals), yet this illustration doesn't look familiar to you.

There is a reason for that. That reason being, I forgot to put this image in the book!

I do have a little excuse (not really). I'm claiming that it's been left out because I never quite finished it, I wasn't happy with his front leg which is a little wonky.  Sure, I could have fixed that up in under twenty minutes, but you know I didn't think of it once all the other pictures were laid out and everything fit together so nicely. Okay, maybe there is a spot in the book where I could have put this, and maybe I will in the next edition, but for now it will remain a "bonus, web only, super special, top secret, official Sword of the Ramurai illustration !" (I've got to make it sound like this was all planned).

Would like an original Moo-Cow Fan Club drawing by little old me? All you have to do is come to one of our signings and participate in the chopstick challenge! Each participant (12 and under) gets an original drawing of Kiweenie trying to catch his lunch with chopsticks.

You're next chance to attend one of our book signing events is May 16th at Main Street Books, 16 East Main Street
Warner, NH 03278
603-456-2700 

We are now booking signings and events for June and July so let us know if you are interested.

The Winter Yurt

Meat tray print with water colors on handmade paper.

Since Becky shared some images of the MCFC headquarters in winter, I figured I would take this opportunity to share a recent print I made.

This is how headquarters looks on a clear winter night and for years I was unable to capture it on film (although, as you can see by Becky's post we finally have). I started making what I like to call Meat Tray Prints, using the foam trays that vegetables and meat are packaged in to create an image and print it. Once I started to get the hang of it, I realized I could try to convey the feeling I get looking at the yurt on a winter night. This is just a random one out of the 25 prints I made of this image. The thing I love about making prints is that they each come out a little different and have their own character (especially because I hand colored them). But eventhough each is different, and each captures different aspects of the winter yurt better than others, I know looking at any of these prints in the summer will instantly bring me back to that place.

I'll put up some more meat tray prints soon, and maybe I can even get F.W. to do a Craft Corner about it so you can learn how to make your own.

Valentine's day is a time to show appreciation for those you love. I love all my friends, and of course I love gardening. I've decided that I'm going to combine my two loves and give away seeds this February 14th! Of course, I won't just hand people a pile of seeds. Instead, I'm going to make everyone a special card to put the seeds in. Because the only thing better than getting a packet of seeds, is getting a packet of seeds and a really nice handmade card!

This craft creates a really pretty card that looks like two flowers growing out of a flowerpot and it can be given with or without seeds inside.

1. Cut a piece of dark colored paper into rectangle that is as wide as you want your flowerpot, but twice as tall. I'm using handmade paper that is created from plants, but regular construction paper will work fine.

2. Fold the rectangle in half and draw a flowerpot shape on the front.

3. Cut out your flowerpot so when you unfold your paper you have two flowerpot shapes attached by their bottoms.

4. Now take other colors of paper and for each flower you want in your pot cut out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Put a bead of glue along the side edges of your top flowerpot half. Fold the bottom half up to meet it and seal them together. Do NOT glue the top of the flowerpot closed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Either put some seeds from a larger pack into a small baggie, or get a store bought packet of seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Write a message on the front of the flower pot and slip the seed pack inside. I also like to put a second message on the seed pack as well. Depending on how big you've made your flower pot you may have to fold the pack to fit it in.

 

You are now ready to spread seeds of love amongst your friends and family. Remember, Valentine's day is not the only time of year people like to get cards letting them know that someone out there loves them. You can make this any time of year, because people can always use a smile and some seeds to plant. Happy Valentine's day!

 

Love,

Keby

I don’t know about where you live, but here at MCFC headquarters we have been getting buried with snow, ice and freezing rain this winter. Normally, we keep pretty busy in winter with snowball fights, making snowmen, sledding and ending our day with a hot cup of cocoa. But the first major storm of this winter was a major ice storm which knocked out our power (and water) for 13 days! Then, we got buried by a number of giant storms that dumped a foot or more of snow, and added to all that we had a week of arctic weather with temperatures reaching -20 degrees!

So, this winter is getting a little too cold and snowy for most of us. Kiweenie doesn’t like going outside because he sinks so far into the snow that all we see is a beak sticking up for air. F.W. tries to run around but the snow it taller than him in most parts, and he doesn’t have a beak so we’re just afraid he’ll get lost! Keby is always bummed during winter because she can’t see her beloved plants. In fact, the only one who isn’t too upset by the snow is Willy T. because he is so tall, even the biggest snow drifts don’t bother him. Plus, his shaggy coat keeps him plenty warm in even the coldest weather.

This is the driveway to MCFC Headquarters. No wonder we didn’t have any power for two weeks!

No board meetings until the snow melts!

At least headquarters is staying nice and toasty warm!

This is Keby’s circular garden she created last summer. It’s under about 3 feet of snow!

Even without a garden though, Keby has to keep some plants around. This is her Christmas cactus which only blooms in the winter.

The Milford Toadstool Bookshop is located at Lorden Plaza
586 Nashua St., Milford, NH 03055
603-673-1734

A video featuring a porcupine who showed up to dine on the all you can eat clover buffet behind Moo-Cow Fan Club headquarters.