Our Annual Writing Contest is ON!

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350 for 50 typewriter pop

It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! It’s 350 for 50, our annual competition for young writers!

We challenge you to write a short, 350-word tale that includes the sentence, “Each box had a story.” (just 345 words left to go!) Winning stories will be illustrated and published on Pop Goes the Page. Additionally, winning authors will enjoy an online $50 literary shopping spree!

Open to ages 9-16.

Contest submissions are due by 3:00 pm ET on Friday, May 6, 2022.

350 for 50 Contest Submission Requirements

  • Stories must be no longer than 350 words, and MUST include the sentence, “Each box had a story.”
  • The sentence MUST stand alone in the story (not be a part of another sentence).
  • Submissions are accepted in e-mail text fields ONLY. No attachments or file shares, please.
  • One submission per author, please. E-mail to: cotsenevents@princeton.edu
  • One winner will be selected from each of our four age categories (ages 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16).
  • The following MUST be included with your submission: Your name, age (as of May 6, 2022), and mailing address.
  • Your name, information, and story title are not included in the 350 word count.
  • No submissions in verse or in comic book format, please.
  • Literary shopping spree is limited to books and writing materials.
  • Winners will be notified via e-mail on May 13, 2022 and posted on this page.
  • Questions? Email: danas@princeton.edu

A Library for the Birds

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A heads up for our readers…in addition to eggs and nests, this post contains multiple images of bird taxidermy, which some may find unsettling. If you do, no problem! Skip this particular post, and we’ll see you on the blog next Tuesday!

Deep within Princeton University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, there is a plain door with a fairly innocuous sign mounted nearby:

Behind that plain door, however, is an amazing treasure trove of natural history. It’s the Princeton Bird Collection, which contains a taxidermy catalog of over 6,000 bird specimens, some of which are over 150 years old! Many were collected by William Earl Dodge Scott, who was appointed Curator of the Department of Ornithology in 1879.

Princeton’s bird room contains a multitude of hulking gray metal cabinets. While I’m used to our library’s special collections cataloged and ordered on regular bookshelves, the bird room’s cabinets open to reveal horizontal wooden drawers containing various specimens. These collections are available for teaching and research, including the Stoddard Lab’s research on avian coloration and morphology.

The drawers also contain nests and eggs, which are similarly laid out for researchers:

There are larger nests as well, including this amazing one that I’m pretty much ready to curl up and take a nap inside:

Beyond the drawers are a fantastic assortment of standing taxidermy, both large and small. Below are just a few the staff unwrapped for me to photograph…from top left to bottom…an emu, ground hornbill, kiwi, barn owl, macaw, snowy owl, and golden eagle.

And check out this! It’s a quetzal, which hails from Central America. It was was considered sacred by the Ancient Mayas and Aztecs. The photo really doesn’t do it justice. The coloring on the bird is simply exquisite.

The bird collection also contains the documents and journals of Charles Roger, a professor of ornithology at Princeton from 1920-1977. The journals, which he began as an eager boy of eleven and continued until he was eighty-four are a fascinating and informative body of work. You can read more about the digitization of his works, and find some awesome coloring pages from our special collections here (as well as a couple fun bird projects!).

A very special thank you to Cassie Stoddard, Assistant Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, for arranging for me to photograph the bird room, and answering my questions about ducks!

Good Day, Sunshine Bread

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Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? And thanks to a truly adorable book and recipe, you can also get a little sunshine front and center! Let’s head to Katie’s test kitchen for a look!

It was a snowy day, when the New Jersey skies were dark and gray, that I rediscovered the book Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven (Dutton Children’s Books, 2001 – read here by Camp WildWoodz). In the story, the animals of the town have experienced a long hard winter. They are all ready for the seasons to change and for the sun to return. The local baker decides to mix together her own sunshine from the cozy comfort of her bakery. The end result is delicious hot sun bread, which she shares to the delight of the town and their joy awakens the sun from its winter sleep.

I was surprised that my copy of Sun Bread did not have the recipe, which apparently was not included in later printings of the book. After a quick online search, I was able to find the recipe, along with a few personal minor adaptations and suggestions, in a blog post written by Lisa at Story of a Kitchen.

Bread is relatively easy to make. It just takes time, strong hands and a little patience to allow the yeast to work its magic. I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, so I got to work. I followed the instructions exactly as written by mixing everything together and kneading the dough, adding additional flour along the way.

After letting the dough rest and rise for an hour, I deflated and kneaded the larger ball of dough for a second time. I cut the dough ball in half and started creating my sun face. I decided to make the corona of my sun into simple little swirls.

I left the doughy sun to rise for another hour and then slid it into the oven to bake. I checked the bread after 10 minutes and I’m glad I did because it was already a nice golden brown and perfectly cooked through.

It didn’t take long for my teenager to descend upon the kitchen and ask to try a slice of sun bread. It was absolutely delicious! We tried it plain, with butter, and with a variety of different jams. It didn’t matter what we used as a spread, it was wholesomely good. I wish I could tell you how sun bread tastes the next day, but it didn’t last that long. My family snacked on it throughout the day, and we finished the small amount that was left that evening as garlic bread with our spaghetti dinner.

The sun bread recipe is ideal for parents to make with their children. It’s a super simple recipe to follow, you can be creative designing the sun face and corona, and the end result is scrumptious. And let’s be honest… any day is a good day to brighten your spirits with fresh sun bread!