Honorary Silly Chick - Terry Golson!

Wow! We are so thrilled that Terry Golson is coming to the coop. AND, she's even got her own chickens!!!! Plus, since two of her hens are still laying, she's bringing deviled eggs. YUM!!!!

Terry says that asking her for a favorite kid's book is like asking which of her chickens she loves the most - not fair! (We hadn't thought of that!) But, since no one has mentioned David McPhail recently, she'll choose anything by him. Smart thinking!

Welcome, Terry and chickens and thanks for your generosity!

Honorary Silly Chick - Brenda Ferber!

We are most honored to welcome children's author, Brenda Ferber to the coop! Brenda is a wonderfully silly chick. And a stylin' one, too. Not many can pull of the full Carmen Miranda head gear!

Brenda doesn't have just one favorite funny children's book, but she will say that The Dumb Bunnies gave her kids and her belly laughs for many years.

Brenda's mad skill for the coop is that she loves to hear people's dreams, and is very good at interpreting them. She's like a combination of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Joseph.
As for snacks, Brenday says that you can never go wrong with chocolate chip cookies! We couldn't agree more! Thanks, Brenda!

Honorary Silly Chick - Kenn Nesbitt!

Hey Kenn Nesbitt! Watch out! There's a shark on your head! Oh wait! It's a good shark. The kind that says, "Thanks for your generosity and becoming an Honorary Silly Chick!"

Kenn is a poet with several collections of funny children's poetry and more on the way. His favorite funny kids' book is currently M.T. Anderson's Whales on Stilts. Kenn possesses many mad skillz include using Jedi mind tricks on computers to bend them to his will. He also makes pizza so good it has caused marriage proposals. Yikes! That's some serious pizza!

For coop snacks, Kenn is bringing a 30 oz. tin of Cougar Gold; Mmmmmm... it's yummylicious. Thanks, Kenn!

Honoray Silly Chick - Lisa Yee

Welcome Lisa Yee! Of course, we've known Lisa a long time. We often read her blog to learn about the sexy Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. We even interviewed her in the Coop, once!

But we didn't know that her favorite funny kids' book is RAMONA THE PEST. We are equally impressed by her mad skill. Evidentally, Lisa once willed a Dairy Queen to appear. Having often willed Haagen Daaz into our freezers, we know how handy a mad skill like that can be.

Lisa is bringing some Jalapeno chips and Diet Pepsi to share. Yum!
Thanks, Lisa for your generosity!

Honorary Silly Chick - Julie Bowe

Welcome children's author, Julie Bowe, Honorary Silly Chick Deluxe! We say, deluxe, because Julie brought her own heifer! How cool is that?

We share Julie's love of funny kids' book TRACTION MAN IS HERE! by Mini Grey. Oh that Mini Grey!

Julie's mad skill is foosball, but we suspect that she also has mad baking skills because she's bringing Andes Mints Cookies to share! AND she brought the recipe!

Thanks for your generosity, Julie! (And the cookies!)

Andes Mints Cookies
¾ C butter
1 ½ C brown sugar
2 Tbls water
2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 ½ C flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 boxes Andes Mints

Melt first 3 ingredients over low heat. Remove from heat and mix in chocolate chips. Put the mixture in a bowl and cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs and beat at high speed. Add flour, soda and salt. Chill for 1 hour. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven. Do not over bake. Cookies will appear soft. Remove from oven and place one mint on top of each cookie while still hot. When mint melts, spread like frosting. Remove cookies from pan.

Hint: Have mints unwrapped ahead of time (a good job for the kids!) Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime

Written and illustrated by Bob Shea
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN 978 1 4231 1335 5

We love a good dinosaur book. We love a good bedtime story. We love it especially when the two are combined, as in this book. And if the word "ROAR!" is used repeatedly, well, we're in Triassic Heaven.
Bob Shea has created a feisty little character here, filled with bravado and verve. Nothing stops this guy! Not talking grown-ups. Not a bowl of spaghetti. Not even bathtime and toothbrushing! But what will happen when our fearless fellow faces his biggest challenge--bedtime? Will he win, or will bedtime prevail?

Shea uses just a few squiggly lines and a bold dash of color to make his dinosaur come alive. Fans of Mo Willems will love Bob Shea's work, too. We think this book would go nicely with Franny Billingsley's Big Bad Bunny and a big bowl of spaghetti. Buon Appetito!

Honorary Silly Chick - Peggy Reiff Miller

Hurray for our new Honorary Silly Chick, Peggy Reiff Miller. Peggy has an especially interesting connection to Heifer International. She has researched the start of the Heifer Project, written a book and produced a DVD about the Seagoing Cowboys who were the men who helped deliver animals to Europe after World War II, including some chicks!(Part of the profits from the DVD go to Heifer International!)

Peggy likes Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner and is bringing some home-dried fruit (as sweet as candy) to share in the coop!

As for mad skills? Peggy has mad researching/documenting skills when it comes to the Seagoing Cowboys!


We want to thank Peggy for also bringing two new children's books to our attention. Both are about Heifer International and how this great organization can make a difference! Thanks Peggy for becoming an Honorary Silly Chick and bringing these great stories to our attention!

Beatrice's Goat by Page McBrier about a girl in Africa who receives a goat from Heifer and how it changes her world.








Give a Goat by Heifer founder Dan West's daughter Jan West Schrock about a fifth grade class that raises money for a goat and makes a difference.

Honorary Silly Chick - Kelly Milner Halls!

Welcome Kelly Milner Halls, a children's author and all around Silly Chick! Kelly writes fun nonfiction books about topics that she describes as a little weird and a lot of fun on topics from Dinosaur Mummies to Albino Animals to Tales of the Cryptids.

Kelly's favorite silly book (by another author) is IS YOUR MAMA A LLAMA? by Deborah Guarino, illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

Thanks, Kelly!! Welcome to the Coop!

Honorary Silly Chicks - The Greider Gang!

Larry and Susan Greider from Davenport, Iowa, have purchased two flocks of chicks in honor of their very silly grandkids (L to R: Hillary, Chad, Natalie, Ryan, Kyle). They are bringing Granny's world-famous orange salad to snack on. :-)

Honorary Silly Chick - Jo Kittinger!

Welcome Jo Kittinger, our newest Honorary Silly Chick! Jo is a children’s book writer and is also the Co-Regional Advisor for the Southern Breeze SCBWI. Hurray for SCBWI!

To go along with this promotion she’d have to say one of her favorite fun books is I BOUGHT A BABY CHICKEN, by Kelly Milner Halls, illustrated by Karen Stormer Brooks. This fun picture book has every member of a family buying up baby chickens, until the house is running over with chicks. Kids will love this rollicking counting book in rhyme and darling illustrations.
Jo possesses the mad skill of seeing both sides to any situation. While that helps her be a peace maker, it can also frustrate the stew out of her husband!

We are very pleased that Jo is bringing scrumptious gingersnaps to the Coop and here's the recipe. Thanks, Jo!

Jo’s Gingersnaps
Nothing smells quite as wonderful as Gingersnaps hot from the oven!

¾ Cup shortening
1 Cup Brown Sugar
¼ Cup molasses
1 egg

2 ¼ Cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger,
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves.

Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and eggy in mixer until fluffy.
Stir together other ingredients, then mix everything together.
Roll dough into one inch balls and roll the balls in granulated sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees approx 8-10 minutes or until the tops begin to crack.

Honorary Silly Chick - Corey Schwartz!

Hurray for Corey Schwartz! She's an Honorary Silly Chick! Thank you, Corey, for helping others through your gift to Heifer International.

Corey is a children's book author and blogger at Thing1 and Thing2. Corey’s mad skill is not breathing very much which is very handy when scuba diving. Corey can dive for over an hour and still come up with over 2000 lbs of air in her tank which is a lot. Her favorite kids' book is Knuffle Bunny. (What's not to love about Mo Willems?) While Corey's favorite food is Thai chicken pizza she is very thoughtfully leaving it at home and bringing some watermelon for us to share at the Coop. She's lovely, generous, talented AND has watermelon! What a Silly Chick!

Honorary Silly Chick - Toni Buzzeo!

Look who just joined the Coop! It's our friend, Toni Buzzeo, author of many wonderful picture books. Many know Toni from her wonderful kids' books and her tireless work on behalf of educators everywhere. Toni is the authority on school visits.



Thanks Toni! And what a swell chapeau you are sporting!

Honorary Silly Chick - Hester Bass!

Hello Hester Bass! And thank you for donating to Heifer International and becoming an Honorary Silly Chick!

Hester is a children's author who finds it difficult to choose just one favorite funny book, but for sheer silliness, she'd pick one that she and her kids howled over when they were little, and still do years later: "Earth Tigerlets, as Explained by Professor Xargle" by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross.

Hester possesses mad skill as a Finger Knitter, First Class. Ropes galore at her house! Perfect for the cat who has everything.

And best of all, she's bringing Congo Bars to share in the coop. We don't know what Congo Bars are, but we suspect they make you dance and we love that! Hester was kind enough to send us the recipe! Thanks, Hester!

CONGO BARS
Recipe from Hester Bass, Children’s Author
www.hesterbass.com

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square pan.

In a saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter (use the real stuff) over low heat.
Take pan off the stove and stir in 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar.
Set aside to cool.

Into the cooled butter-brown sugar mixture, stir in one large (unbeaten) egg.
Then add:
¾ cup flour (whole grain works just as well as refined white)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Blend well.

Then add to this mixture:
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chips are awesome!)
Mix well.

Spread mixture in baking pan and bake for 25 minutes, more or less – only until
a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Caution: Do not overbake or
they will become not Congo Bars but Congo Bricks.

Cool in the pan and cut in squares.

Honorary Silly Chick - Katie Llamapeep

It's Katie's Birthday and an anonymously silly person has given her a gift of chicks! Welcome to the Coop, Katie! You are now an Honorary Silly Chick!

We are very glad to hear this because Katie is bringing cupcakes to share in the Coop. Oh how we lurves the cupcakes! AND since Katie reads more than just about any Silly Chick anywhere, she'll probably bring along a whole trunk of her favorite books including The Warriors Series and, of course, Harry Potter. We can learn a lot from this Silly Chick because she possesses mad napping skills. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ . . .
Happy Birthday Silly Chick!

Honorary Silly Chicks - The Runnels Family of Auburn, Maine!

We must give one great big shout out to all the Silly Chicks of the Runnels family of Auburn, Maine who passed the hat at Thanksgiving Dinner and came up with $80.18 for Heifer International! That's 4 flocks of chicks and a couple of Tootsie Rolls to boot!

Thank you all!

Honorary Silly Chick - Angie Stevenson

Meet Angie Stevenson, our first Honorary Silly Chick!

Angie Stevenson has been given a flock in honor of her birthday (by an anonymous and truly silly donor!) We are so glad to welcome Angie to the coop. Especially since she'll bring us some delicious Miss J's crab dip, crackers, and a bottle of Russian Hill pinot noir. Angie's favorite funny book is The Gas We Pass. (We wonder if Angie also shares our love of bean dip. Hmmmmm.)

Angie also possesses a great mad skill. She has the ability to make the piles of "stuff" around her house actually multiply whenever she attempts to reduce them.

Welcome, Angie!

Be an Honorary Chick and Help the World!

Chicks Around the World!

Are you a silly chick at heart? Is your inner chicken yearning to let loose and join the coop? Well, here's your chance!

Starting now and continuing through Christmas, we are offering the title of Honorary Silly Chick to anyone who joins us on our quest. (And yes, we mean ladies AND gentlemen!)


But what, you ask, is our quest? To use chicken power to make the world a better place!

For only $20, the charity Heifer International will give a family somewhere on this globe a flock of chicks. Each starter flock has from 10 to 50 chicks. One flock gives a family in a developing country a much needed source of food and income.

Did you know that chickens:

• lay up to 200 eggs in a year.


• require little space.


• thrive on readily available food scraps.


• control insects & fertilize gardens.
  
• Can make an enormous difference in a family's life?

And you thought chicks were just cute and silly!

Please join us in helping families from Cameroon to the Caribbean. Donate now and send a notification card to Three_Silly_Chicks@yahoo.com. Or send us a copy of your receipt to Three_Silly_Chicks@yahoo.com as proof and we will name you an Honorary Silly Chick and give you a post on our website! (Note: The receipt does not contain any financial information!)


And if you're extra brave, send us a picture of yourself and we'll transform you into one very silly chick indeed! Also, tell us a little bit about yourself including these important items:

• Your favorite Kids' book
• A mad skill you possess
• What snacks you'd like to bring to the coop! (Recipes welcome!)

Thank you for helping us spread Chicks Around the World!

Doing the Braggy Pants Dance

Get out your Braggy Pants! It's time to dance!

We're giving a great big shout out to Carolyn's Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies! It's the 2008 winner of the Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award AND the Texas Armadillo Children's Choice Award!!!!

And that ain't all! That crazy bunny is nominated for all of these state awards, too:

Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award

California Young Reader Award

Colorado Children's Book Award

Illinois Monarch K-3 Children's Choice Award

Kansas Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Awrd

Maryland Black-eyed Susan (Picture) Book

Missouri Show Me Readers (1-3) Award

North Dakota Flicker Tale Picture Book Award

New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book

Nevada Young Readers' Award

Tennessee Volunteer State Award Nominee

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book

That is one busy rabbit!

Big shouts out to Julia for Cha-Cha Chimps, nominated for the following state lists:

Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award

Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award

Georgia Children's Picture Book Award

And congrats to Andrea for some super news about her two titles:

Cicada Summer

2008 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Medal winner!

Anderson's Bookshop Mock Newbery title

Kansas City Star Noteworthy Books of 2008

Doctor Ted is also a 2008 National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Medal winner!

The Three Horrid Little Pigs and the Big Friendly Wolf

The Three Horrid Little Pigs and the Big Friendly Wolf

by Liz Pichon

Little Tiger Press

978-1589250772
http://www.lizpichon.co.uk

Something happens to us chicks when the weather turns crispy and cool and the leaves start to change. While we fluff ourselves up to stay warm, our thoughts turn to cozy blankies, hot soup and apple crisps. (Not bean dip, you ask? Silly Reader, we answer, our thoughts never stray from bean dip.) In short,though, we want comfort. And that includes comfort in our books. So, we are always excited to find a new twist on a comfortable old tale. Enter the Three Horrid Pigs and the Big Friendly Wolf.

These are pretty horrid pigs, it's true. They are so rude and mean that their own mother kicks them out into the world to build their own homes. Of course, they are too lazy to give it much of an effort. Enter the friendly, neighborhood carpenter Wolf. One by one, he helps the horrid pigs build homes from the usual materials (straw, sticks...) But are they grateful? Oh no! Not these horrid pigs. When he asks if he can come in, they threaten the Big Friendly Wolf with no end of huffing and puffing.

This take on the old classic includes all the essential Three Little Pigs elements (straw, bricks, and big cooking pots) but ample role reversals and enough twists surprises to keep your guessing what will happen next. Comforting and funny. Add a little apple crisp (and bean dip), and we're happy!

Illinois School Library Media Association

Howdy!!!!

We want to give a great big shout out to all the friends we made yesterday at the Illinois School Library Media Association Conference in Arlington Heights, Illinois!

We had a blast presenting a collection of our newest favorite funny books to a standing-room only audience!

Of course there were whoopie cushions, gummy chickens, and quite a few laughs, but we hope everyone left with some great information, too!

We had a lot of people ask us for the list of books we presented so we're including the titles here.

Special thanks to Christine who made our session run so smoothly and to Chris Graves and all the wonderful folks at ISLMA for inviting us!


Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

by Lenore Look

Illustrated by Leuyen Pham

Schwartz & Wade

ISBN-13: 978-0375839146

Lazy Little Loafers

by Susan Orlean

illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Abrams Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 978-0810970274

I Love My New Toy!

by Mo Willems

Hyperion Books

ISBN-13: 978-1423109617



Chester’s Back

by Melanie Watt

Kids Can Press

ISBN-13: 9781554532872

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Note

by Peggy Gifford

Schwartz & Wade

ISBN-13: 978-0375842702

Natalie & Naughtily

by Vincent X. Kirsch

Bloomsbury USA

ISBN-13: 978-1599902692

Wild Boars Cook

by Meg Rosoff

illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Henry Holt & Co.

ISBN-13: 978-0805075236

Twelve Terrible Things

by Marty Kelley

Tricycle Press

ISBN-13: 978-1582462295

Katie Loves the Kittens

by John Himmelman

Henry Holt & Co.

ISBN-13: 978-0805086829

Millie In the Snow

by Alexander Steffensmeier Walker Boo ks for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 978-0802798008

Monkey with a Tool Belt

by Chris Monroe

Carolrhoda Books

ISBN-13: 978-0822576310

Ducks Don’t Wear Socks

by John Nedwidek

Viking ISBN-13: 978-0670061365

A Visitor for Bear
by Bonny Becker

illustrated by Katy MacDonald Denton

Candlewick ISBN-13: 978-0763628079

Adventures of Cow
by Lori Korchek
photographs by Marshall Taylor
Tricycle Press
ISBN-13: 978-1582461892

Doggone Dogs!

by Karen Beaumont
illustrated by David Catrow
ISBN-13: 978-0803731578