A CAT IN THE DARK...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We've always been pretty old-fashioned about Halloween.   As a child, my dad was the pumpkin carver, working with us out in the backyard on our old picnic table.  We children were the designers.  As a mom, the fun continued, as I'd glimpse those faraway looks in my own children's eyes, and catch snippets of their conversations with each other about what they wanted to dress up as, and what kind of creations they were going to challenge their dad with carving for them.  It was all about fun and imagination, with a lot of anticipation and excitement thrown in.

Something about going out in the dark of night and seeing all the illuminated neighborhood windows and Jack O'lanterns was - though cozy on the one hand - a bit mischievous and unfamiliar, so we didn't encourage goblin, witch, or gruesome costumes -- just walking around our dark neighborhoods was spooky enough!

Which brings to mind a mesmerizing book by a very talented lady:  THE CAT AT NIGHT, by Dahlov Ipcar.  In this story, we get to spend an evening watching a cat stroll around after dark.  Cats can see in the dark and that's when they like to go exploring!  The pages alternate between almost total darkness, with only silhouettes of the things the cat is passing by, followed by the same scenes in full color that show what is visible to the cat.  He meets other cats before the dawn finally comes, when he must finally leave them and go back to the farmhouse.  He's greeted by the farmer's wife and given milk.  Then he curls up to go to sleep...

And the farmer says, "What a lazy cat.  

He sleeps all night and he sleeps all day, too!"  

But the cat doesn't hear him.  He is dreaming 

about all his adventures in the long, wonderful, dark night.

Another beautiful book by Ipcar (also with an autumn theme) is HARDSCRABBLE HARVEST, in which there is a running battle between a farmer and his wife and the mischievous animals who plunder their fields.  The story is told in rollicking verse, with the distinctive illustrations of Dahlov Ipcar bringing the verse to life.

To read more about Dahlov Ipcar and see her other books and artwork, click here .

PAULINE BAYNES, THE ARTIST WHO BROUGHT ASLAN TO LIFE...

From THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE:  Aslan with Susan and Lucy

Readers will be forever indebted to illustrators such as E.H. Shepard (Winnie the Pooh) and Pauline Baynes (The Chronicles of Narnia), who not only contribute to the success of a book, but somehow make real the magical worlds that would only live in our imaginations, were it not for their visual creations which become almost inseparable from the beautifully crafted text of the authors...


Illustrator Pauline Baynes was recommended to C.S. Lewis through her friend, J.R.R. Tolkien.  Tolkien loved her stunning medieval illustrations, which were a perfect fit for several of his books (Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil).   She also did a magnificent job creating the detailed map of Middle Earth and some of the cover artwork for Tolkien's first-edition paperback Lord of the Rings. 

In a true collaboration of writer and illustrator, Baynes' stunning artwork helped bring to life C.S. Lewis' land of Narnia (which have sold over 100 million copies) and will forever be linked with those seven stories...but she also illustrated over 100 other books, many of which - in her later career - were of a religious theme.


THE LAND OF NARNIA: Brian Sibley Explores the World of C.S. Lewis

A TALE OF TROY

ARABIAN NIGHTS

I BELIEVE:  THE NICENE CREED
 
THE COAT OF MANY COLORS

THE MOSES BASKET

STORY OF DANIEL

NOAH AND THE ARK (This book is out of print - beautiful illustrations!)
GOOD KING WENCESLAS



Pauline Baynes died at the age of 85, in August of 2008.  You can read Brian Sibley's beautiful tribute to her HERE.  Examples of her gorgeous fine art prints (these are not her book illustrations) can be seen and purchased here at Bridgeman ART ON DEMAND.

APPLE PIE

Home from our visit to Indiana!  We saw lots of fall color, bought apple butter, and tasted scrumptious apples that my niece and nephews picked at a local orchard...so, as a follow up to my "Happy Fall! It's Apple Picking Time!" post, today's entry involves a story that's a geography and cooking lesson in one!  Thanks to my friend Yumi, and her daughter Sophie (true picture book enthusiasts), for this great book recommendation.

HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD by Marjorie Priceman. The world becomes a young girl's grocery store, as she goes on a global journey to find ingredients for an apple pie.  (And yes, there's a recipe at the back of the book!)  Ages 4-8.

(Priceman has also written a fun Fourth of July book, HOW TO MAKE A CHERRY PIE AND SEE THE U.S.A.  Ages 4-8.)

Fall is definitely the time for trying out apple recipes from all the different varieties (there are 2,500 in the U.S. alone!)  Click HERE for some YUMMY APPLE RECIPES!    


Look here for fun apple facts and trivia...do you know how much a "peck" of apples weighs? (it's different from a "bushel").  

Cavs upset Celtics in Curtain-Raiser without LeBron

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – The Cleveland Cavaliers began the post-LeBron James era with a stunning 95-87 victory over the heavily favored Boston Celtics Wednesday.

Making the victory all the sweeter for jilted Cavaliers fans was the fact that their season-opening win came over the Celtics, something James and his new team the Miami Heat were unable to do in the NBA curtain-raiser Tuesday.

When James announced in July that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" to form a super team in Miami with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, it left Cavaliers fans crushed fearing a return to the bottom of the standings without the twice league MVP.

But for one night at least, the Cavaliers looked every bit a championship contender and the sellout crowd agreed erupting in wild celebration as the final buzzer sounded and confetti rained down from the rafters.

"I'm very proud of my guys tonight, there were times in this game when we got down double-digits and they could have just mailed it in but they didn't," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told reporters.

"This is how we've got to play basketball. We played really hard all night long.

"We're going to enjoy this victory because it was big time for us, for us to win this game at home, to start the season off this way."

The Cavaliers had trailed by as much as 11 points but showed their mettle in the final minutes, taking an 86-84 lead on a J.J. Hickson layup.

Hickson led the Cavaliers with a game high 21 points while Daniel Gibson provided 16 points and eight assists coming off the bench.

Ramon Sessions chipped in with 14 points while Jamario Moon, who took over James locker and his starting place in the lineup added 10.

The Celtics, arriving in Cleveland off an emotional win 24 hours earlier, appeared to run out of steam down the stretch.

"I think their true strength is playing together," said Celtics Kevin Garnett. "They don't have the one go to guy but they do play well together.

"They play hard and when you don't match that you find yourself in trouble."

Rajon Rondo had 18 points and nine assists to pace the Celtics while Paul Pierce added 13 and Garnett contributed nine points and 15 rebounds.

Heat's Atrocious Debut

Playing under Boston's 17 championship banners, the Miami Heat team set together to win its own NBA title couldn't win its first game, as the new Big Three lost to the old Big Three of the Celtics, 88-80 on Tuesday night.

James scored 31 points, but the other members of the trio struggled. Dwyane Wade was limited to 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting and Chris Bosh added eight points and eight rebounds. They combined for 15 of the Heat's 17 turnovers — eight by James, six by Wade and one by Bosh.

Ray Allen led Boston with 20 points, Pierce scored 19 and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Those three joined together in 2007 and led the Celtics to the NBA title that season.

Boston led 45-30 at halftime, but Miami cut that to 63-57 after the third quarter behind James' 15 points in that period. A layup by James made it 83-80 with 1:10 left in the game. But Boston, which once led by 19, got the last five points on a 3-pointer by Allen and two free throws by Pierce.

Boston led 16-9 after one quarter, the first time since March 15, 2009, at the Philadelphia 76ers that the Heat scored nine points or fewer in a period. The last time James' Cavaliers scored nine or fewer points in a quarter was February 2, 2007, when they managed nine in the second against the Chicago Bulls.

Things got so bad for the Heat in the first half that Shaquille O'Neal, a notoriously poor free throw shooter, made the first two he tried as a Celtic. That boosted the lead to 41-22 with 2:13 left in the second quarter.

Miami then got a brief burst, scoring six straight points to make it 41-28. The last basket in that surge was a dunk by James on a backward pass from Eddie House, whose steal started their 2-on-none break.

That drew cheers from two Heat fans — one wearing a T-shirt with James' name on the back and the other with a jersey bearing Wade's name — but a fan wearing a green Celtics T-shirt, yelled, "He's supposed to do that. That is not impressive."

It was pretty impressive, considering how poorly the Heat shot in the first half against a quick, aggressive Celtics defense.

Miami missed 30 of its 41 shots, a paltry 26.8 percent. Boston went 17 for 38 (44.7 percent).
The Celtics lost Pierce with 4:32 left in the third period when he hit the floor and hurt his back as he was charged with a blocking foul on James, who made two shots and cut the lead to 55-45. Pierce returned with 10:43 left in the game with Boston ahead 64-57.

James came back to the building where he lost the last game of his Cleveland career in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He then became a free agent after seven seasons with the Cavaliers and signed with the Heat.

That also was O'Neal's last game there, also with Cleveland. He was back in a Celtics uniform Tuesday and had nine points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.

SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME!

Had a great time in Bloomington, Indiana, visiting my parents.  The cute "square" in the center of the downtown has two independently owned bookstores and lots of shops, all surrounding the county Courthouse.  Of course, I had to buy a picture book!  I chose THE LITTLE FUR FAMILY, by Margaret Wise Brown, with adorable illustrations by Garth Williams.  Who could resist a book that starts:

There was a little fur family

warm as toast

smaller than most

in little fur coats 

and they lived in a warm

wooden tree.

I'm so happy that this old childhood favorite has been reissued!  The little bear has a busy day out in the woods, visiting his Grandpa and catching fish.  At the end of the day, his parents tuck him into bed, hold his paw, and sing him a song.  Precious!  This will definitely be one I can't wait to read to my own grandchildren someday...perfect for ages toddler - preschool.

My parents also had fun carting us around to lots of local antique stores, where I bought...More Picture Books.  I found a beautiful 1946 Golden Book, BEDTIME STORIES, with illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren for $3.99  My dad glanced at it and said, "I remember reading to you kids from that book."  (I'm sure it had been his or my mom's childhood copy!)  I love book memories!

Next, we made sure to stop in at the Monroe County Library's Annual Book Sale, where I bought...you know.  All children's books were 25 cents each!  Among others, I was excited to find a used paperback copy of SLEEPING BEAUTY with unique silhouette illustrations by Arthur Rackham.  I also found a wonderful hardcover edition of NOAH'S ARK, illustrated by Pauline Baynes (I'll do separate posts about them in the near future!)

It's fun to visit new places and books are easy souvenirs to transport back home, thank goodness!