We might be edging out of blueberry season, but how about one last sweet hurrah of summer?
Robert McCloskey’s award-winning classic Blueberries for Sal is a tale of two mothers and two cubs who have a mix up in the blueberry hills of Maine. It’s also the favorite children’s book of Metadata Librarian Sal Hamerman! Sal and I had the joy of working with library intern Melanie Zhang this summer, and Melanie decided to explore both Sal’s love of the story and her own obsession with blueberry jam in today’s post. Take it away Melanie!
Picture this: you are Melanie, a very confused summer intern. It is 9AM and you have just arrived at the library to meet Sal, your new supervisor. You know nothing about Sal, except that they seem very cool. You are slightly terrified at the thought of meeting them. But then—you see it. The coolest tote bag ever known to man, emblazoned with the text “Blueberries for Sal,” and suddenly all is well.
You ask Sal about this incredible, wonderful tote bag. Do they just like blueberries a lot? Did they make this bag? Was it created specifically for them? Was it simply a miraculous coincidence? And thus, Melanie encountered for the first time the iconic picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey, Blueberries for Sal.
Tragically, I never got to experience the joys of blueberry-themed picture books as a child. But fortunately, Sal did, and was kind enough to answer a few questions for me!
When did you first read Blueberries for Sal?
I first read Blueberries for Sal with my parents and grandparents on family vacations to Maine in the summer. We went every year to Mount Desert Island/Acadia National Park and picking blueberries to make muffins and pies was an essential family activity!
What is the book about?
The book is about an adventurous young child named Sal who goes blueberry picking with their mom in Maine on the side of a mountain. On the other side of the mountain, a bear cub named Little Bear is also picking blueberries with its mom. Will the two young blueberry pickers get into trouble?
What is it like to be named Sal, like blueberries, and read a book called Blueberries for Sal?
The book is really special to me because I relate so much to the main character, as a blueberry lover named Sal! I also have a similar hairstyle to Sal from the book. It brings back really special memories of vacations with my grandparents and the beautiful landscape of Maine. I look forward to reading it to my niece and nephews the next time I see them.
Big thanks to Normal Sal for the book background! And for making me hungry for blueberry foods. Now to some jam-making, because while I have not gotten the chance to pick fresh blueberries in Maine, and do not need to store up blueberry jam for the winter as Little Sal’s mother does in the book, I still want jam.
Ingredients you will need:
- One pint of blueberries (you can use fresh picked, grocery store, or frozen)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
This recipe’s a simple one! Pop everything into a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it comes to a boil, cook until your berries have all burst and your jam has thickened. Keep stirring so nothing burns!
One of my favorite parts of making jam is watching the fruit change. It goes from a bunch of blueberries and sugar sitting in a pot, to a bunch of blueberry bits swimming in sweet syrup, and then to a beautiful, thick jam. And it makes the kitchen smell amazing too!
One good way to test your jam thickness is to put a small (non-glass) dish into the freezer when you start cooking, then spoon a few drops of your hot jam onto the cold dish. That’ll give you an idea of how thick your jam will be when it has cooled down!
If you were Little Sal and her mom, you’d want to seal your jam in jars and then boil it in a water bath to kill the germs so it’ll stay good to eat all winter. As for me, I’m going to use my jam right away, so I won’t be worrying about that. Here she is!
Depending on what you are using your jam for, you can cook it to different thicknesses. For example, jam to spoon over ice cream or swirl into a cheesecake batter can be a little thinner. However, for my purposes—making a batch of blueberry thumbprint cookies—I went with a thicker consistency, which took around 20 minutes.
Here are the cookies! And one more question for Normal Sal, who taste tested them!
How were the cookies?
The blueberry thumbprint cookies were FANTASTIC! The jam was incredibly tasty and fresh and I’d love to eat them again any time!
Thanks so much, Normal Sal! Guess I’d better get back to baking…
Book cover image courtesy of Penguin Random House. Blog images courtesy of Melanie Zhang.
In additional to using the flowers on the template, you can also use tissue paper to make lovely flowers, and use drinking straws and sparkle stems to add some texture!
I have to say, the air puffs freaked a few kids out. But we also had a basket of red pom pom apples nearby to feed Ferdinand, and that was a massively popular activity. He ate apples for a solid 15 minutes!
Alex Zane and his 5 year-old daughter Matilda have quite a following on 
Do you have a background in art and film?
Generally speaking, how long does it take to create a shot?
We also have to pick the scene we are going to do and make sure it’s nothing to complex that a brand new photographer and toddler can handle – finally we figure out if we can “kidify” the scene – the Reservoir Dogs with Mr. Potato or the Barbie doll leg in The Graduate were major eureka moments. We spend probably way too much time on this trying to match everything up – my forearm is still burning from holding the stuffed fox up trying to line him up just right with Keanu. I remember thinking, “It’s amazing this is my life.”
How have your skills changed over the course of your work?
I’ll wager that many of these films haven’t been viewed by your daughter quite yet! Do you explain the scenes to her? Just show her a screen shot? Simply ask her to pose? 
Since you started this venture, what are the TOP THREE weirdest props you’ve purchased?
Do you ever show up in a photo as well? To cut to the chase…is that YOU in the inflatable T-Rex costume in the Jurassic Park parody? Please say yes. 
Do you have a favorite photo, and why?
What movie is still proving to be elusive to your creative vision?
Does the stuffed fox co-starring in many of the images have a name and a story of his/her own?
