Totally Twinning!

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When it comes to stylish pet cats, what can we say? It’s a total match!

We read My Cat Looks Like My Dad by Thao Lam (Owlkids Books, 2019). Dad and the cat both have orange hair and like milk, but the similarities don’t stop there! From afternoon naps to outdoor fun, Dad and the cat are remarkably (and adorably) alike. This is a fun, funny book with a super cute twist at the end, we highly recommend it!

You’ll need:

  • 1 small oatmeal container
  • An assortment of construction paper
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

This project is basically an oatmeal container cat you can entirely decorate with construction paper. We added a self-adhesive foam nose, twisteez wire whiskers, and wiggle eyes for some texture. But do the cats below look familiar?

Maybe this photo will help…

Cat twins, activate! Yes, the point of the project was to match the cat to YOU! We encouraged the story time kids to take stock of their hair, outfits, and color preferences and design a twin cat. The results were adorable.

We brought out the Bling Bin for some extra crafting materials, and also supplied ribbons, foam beads, and bells in case kids wanted to make matching neck gear!

The Ballad of Broadsides and Punched Cards

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Pop Goes the Page was on break this August when Katie published a fantastic post on Princeton University’s Special Collections blog…so we’re giving her a shout out today! What started as a random bit of office up-cycling turned into quite the scavenger hunt. Curious? Read on!

Feeling Blue?

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Summer officially departed yesterday, but we still have time for one last burst of sun-ripened deliciousness! Today I’m testing a recipe from a charming cookbook celebrating a children’s classic.

The Blueberries for Sal Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, 2023), contains thirty recipes, ranging from drinks to desserts. Expect your classic muffins of course, but also try your hand at blueberry and chamomile tapioca pudding! The recipes are liberally sprinkled with Robert McClosky’s Caldecott-winning illustrations, with additional works by Piers Sanford.

As some of you may recall, my test kitchen is limited in that my son has allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs. But luckily, there was an entry for blueberry-apple crisp that was perfectly safe, so to the kitchen we go!

The recipe was very simple and easy to follow. I created the filling (blueberries, apples, sugar, salt, lemon, and cornstarch) with no problem. The crumble topping was equally easy. The dessert smelled amazing and was a gorgeous rich purple color. The hardest part, honestly, was repeatedly telling my cat she couldn’t have any.

My kids were ready when this came out of the oven, and I served it hot with vanilla ice cream. The unanimous consensus was: YUM. Just one thing…the recipe recommends you bake the dessert until the topping is golden brown. I think my creation would have benefited from a few more minutes in the oven, just to give it that extra crunch.

The simplicity of the recipes and lovely illustrations would make this cookbook a lovely gift for a young baker. Or your favorite librarian!

Want More Blueberries for Sal? We’re making jam over here!