Summer Themed Bento Blog Hop

Bento Bloggers & Friends are celebrating the first day of Summer with another themed blog hop. I am excited to see the variety of lunches these talented bento makers are  creating about Summer. Be sure to click below the summer photo at the end of this post to see the bento Sarah has created at Bentoriffic. You can then follow the summer photo through twenty Bento Bloggers & Friends Summer Bento Blog Hop posts. I am putting my post up a little bit early. All of the Summer Bento Blog Hop posts should be live by 10 a.m. on June 20th.

I always use our bedtime stories as inspiration for Boogs' lunches. 

Stella Star Of The Sea by Marie-Louise Gay
This book is about Stella and her little brother, Sam. Stella has been to the sea and knows all about it. Sam has never been to the sea and is very nervous about getting into the water. Sam asks many, many questions and Stella comes up with answers to all of them. Our favorite question was, "Where do starfish come from?" Stella answered, "Starfish are shooting stars that fell in love with the sea." Sam eventually overcomes his fear and plunges into the water. The illustrations in this book are detailed and playful. Boogs enjoyed searching through the pictures and pointing out silly things like a crab chasing a dog, two ducks who look like they might try on a pair of swimming fins, and the dog wearing a swim ring. This book makes me want to take a trip to the beach, hunt for shells, dig in the sand, and swim in the sea. Boogs has never seen an ocean. Hopefully, that will change this summer.

In the ELB lunchbox today: blueberry ocean, spinach seaweed, fruit leather starfish, cucumber dolphins, Goldfish crackers, dried papaya seahorse, ham shells, half Babybel cheese Stella with carrot hair, and half Babybel cheese Sam with apple hair.

I am re-posting our Sam and the Firefly lunch here because fireflies always remind me of long ago summer nights with my siblings. 

Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman 
I loved reading this book when I was Boogs' age. He liked it, too.  Boogs asked me to include Firefly Gus and the scene in the book where Gus causes a bunch of cars to crash into each other. Then Boogs ran around yelling, "I am a firefly! Look at all of the words I am writing with my light. G-o go f-a-s-t fast!" In the lunchbox: Pb&j Gus the Firefly with a dried apricot light, Babybel full moon, Sam owl pick in a blueberry night sky, banged-up car boiled egg, green beans and carrots.

Click here to go to Bentoriffic's summer bento, the next stop on the hop!

Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post. To see the previous Bento Bloggers & Friends hops click on the "hop" label.

May the 4th Be With You! Star Wars Bento

Bento Bloggers & Friends are celebrating May 4th by having a May the 4th Be With You Star Wars themed blog hop. I can't wait to see all of the cool lunches these ladies have come up with today! I remember when I saw Star Wars the first time at the movie theater way back in 1977. Yes, I know I am old. One of my favorite scenes was the escape from the trash compactor. My sister, brother, and I used to act that scene out with an old cardboard box and a broomstick. Part of today's lunch is based on that scene. I think it is pretty neat that my son told me that was one of his favorite parts of the movie, too. Boogs and I read two Star Wars books this week - Star Wars Clone Troopers in Action by Clare Hibbert and Star Wars Heroes published by Scholastic.

In the lunchbox: marshmallow stormtrooper, carrot stick light sabers, nori Darth Vader, Yoda spinach tortilla quesadilla, leftover rice/beans/cheese/sour cream "garbage" with Luke, Leia, & Han cheese heads, chocolate Teddy Graham Chewbacca, pretzel rod to brace the walls of the compactor. The M&M filled light saber was for a treat after school and did not go to school in Boogs lunchbox. Boogs also had a few apple slices not included in the pictures.

Be sure to click the May the 4th Be With You button to see the cute Star Wars bento at Zoe's Lunchbox.

This lunch is linked to Lunchbox Dad: Throwback Thursday

A Sandwich For The Bloggess

Boogs did not get to have a learning playdate today. Instead, I went to a book signing event for Jenny Lawson, a.k.a. The Bloggess, for her book Let's Pretend This Never Happened. Boogs got to stay home and have some extra Daddy-time. I have been following The Bloggess for quite a while now and I think she is hilarious. Her blog is not for everyone, at times some of her language and stories are a bit too much for me. That is most likely because I grew up in a Southern Baptist home where "gosh" was considered cursing. Reading her story about Beyonce, the giant metal chicken, kept me laughing for days. I love that Jenny Lawson has such a strong voice for what she believes in and is not afraid to say anything.

I decided to make a sandwich to match the cover of Jenny's book and take it to the book signing. So, I made a likeness of the taxidermied mouse, Hamlet Von Schnitzel. I put a note on the container that said, "Hamlet Von Schnitzel's likeness is made out of white-wheat bread stuffed with almond butter & jelly, a marshmallow neck ruffle, peppercorn eyes, candy star skull, and a fruit leather cape. Each day, I make my son's lunch based on the bedtime stories that we read. Hamlet Von Schnitzel is the first non-children's book sandwich that I have made. I hope you enjoy it. P.S. I have OCD about handwashing so this sandwich was made with clean hands." Then I told her she really should not eat food from strangers. She laughed and told me the sandwich was awesome. Her "people" took a couple of pictures of it.

This is NOT a children's book.

After these pictures, the handler/wrangler (I don't know what to call the store employee who keeps the line moving) started to put the cover back on the container. Jenny asked her to leave it off so that everyone who came up to the table could see it. What fun!

UPDATE: The Bloggess tweeted about my Hamlet Von Schnitzel sandwich!!! She also wrote about it on her website and said, "It tasted adorable. And suspicious."



To see other book inspired lunches I have made, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post.

Lunches April 10th - 13th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Earthquakes! They Make the Ground Shake
by the Editors of Time For Kids with Barbara Collier
Boogs asked for a "fact lunch" after reading this book last night. This is a very informative short book with more than forty facts about earthquakes.  In the lunchbox: salami & cheese building before and after an earthquake, 7 tectonic plate crackers, marshmallow model of earth's inner core/outer core/mantle/crust, the pretzel center is like the focus of an earthquake with the rest of the pretzel showing where the energy waves spread outward, blueberry tsunami wave, and salad landslide.

Mary Had A Little Jam And Other Silly Rhymes created by Bruce Lansky
Silly is right! Boogs laughed out loud while we read this book. It is a collection of Mother Goose poems/rhymes changed up a bit to make them ridiculously silly. One of Boogs' favorites was "Three kind mice, see how they run! They all ran after the farmer's wife, they took out some cheese and they cut her a slice. Did you ever see such a sight in your life as three kind mice?" We had to stop after almost every rhyme to say the real Mother Goose version. I liked "Hickory, dickory, dock, a mouse jumped in my sock. He wiggled his nose and tickled my toes, which gave me quite a shock!" In the lunchbox: three kind mice pb&j sandwich balls, mango, Babybel slice of cheese for the farmer's wife, broccoli, carrots, and yogurt.

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood
We own quite a few Audrey Wood books and frequently check out her books from the library. Boogs read this story to me. He enjoyed reading it so much that he started over and read it again. I love watching him become a better reader. Audrey Wood's website has a really neat "secrets" section. Boogs was fascinated by seeing how members of the Wood family posed as models for the illustrations in some of Audrey Wood's books. In the lunchbox: "busy as a bee" ham & cheese bee, "small as an ant" raisins, "quiet as a clam" pistachios, "tame as a poodle" broccoli dog, extra broccoli, and a container of pears.

My Granny Went To Market by Stella Blackstone & Christopher Corr
A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme
I love that there is world map with dots and arrows showing the reader the route Granny took on her round-the-world shopping tour. She began her tour in Istanbul to buy a flying carpet. Then she rode the flying carpet to each of her shopping destinations before visiting her granddaughter in Peru. That lucky granddaughter was given ten black llamas and the magic carpet. The book ends with the girl starting her own adventure. Boogs really liked this book. He now wants a magic carpet. He told me, "I would go to the North Pole to see Santa Claus and my elf Cutesy and then come back to Texas. I would also go to see the Leaning Eiffel Tower of Pisa in Italy." Close... we discussed a few world landmarks to sort out the Leaning Tower and the Eiffel Tower. In the lunchbox: 1flying carpet pb&j sandwich roll, 2 Babybel cats from Thailand (I cut one Babybel in half to make the two cats), 4 kiwi Chinese lanterns, 8 sesame stick boomerangs from Australia, 9 Goldfish kites from Tokyo, and a salad.

Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post. Be sure to leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Lunches April 2nd - 6th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside down house filled with secret cupboards of pirate's gold. The parents of the town trust Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle to give them advice and potions to cure their children's disagreeable habits. Boogs and I have been reading this book a chapter at a time, off and on over the past couple of weeks. We finished the last chapter last night. He immediately got the other Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books out of the boxed set and wanted to know when we were going to begin the next one.  As a parent, I love how this books made my son cheer for the "cures" of bad habits. This book is full of rich vocabulary which Boogs and I frequently stopped to discuss. I took the opportunity to focus on using context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words :-) Ex: convulsions of mirth, bilious green, jostled, spectacles, flounced, lighthearted, paroxysm of laughter, criticism, inherited, and so many others. In the lunchbox: Babybel Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, upside down house, cheddar cheese pirates gold, sesame stick & mini-rice cake "pills", broccoli trees concealing a treehouse, and fruit.

Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
We have read this book many, many times. Boogs brought it home from his school library.  I think our copy must have gotten lost in the move because I cannot find it. In the story, Kansas is tired and bored of being stuck in the middle of the country. He and a few of his neighbors organize a party for all of the states, "one of those get-to-know-you deals." When the states get together, they decide to swap places. Eventually, the states return to their normal positions. When Boogs was two, we started reading this book, putting together this Melissa & Doug US puzzle, and singing the Fifty Nifty song. We sang the song last night (after not singing it for probably a year) and I was surprised that Boogs remembered most of it. In the lunchbox: Texas and Wyoming pb&j sandwiches, Minnesota peas, California fruit salad, New York Babybel cheesecake, Iowa (pop)corn, and a US flag marshmallow.

Easter Ribbit by Bernice Chardiet
I posted this lunch earlier this week for a Bunny Blog Hop. 

Curious George and the Birthday Surprise based on the stories of H.A. Rey and Margret Weston
Boogs was born on 04/05/06. Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. Today (Thursday) is his 6th birthday. We have a large collection of Curious George books and this one seemed perfect for a birthday boy bedtime read. In the lunchbox: birthday cake pb&j sandwich decorated with fruit leather "6" and icing, six cheese balloons, marshmallow with a Happy Birthday message, salad with six carrot candles, and a container of pineapple tidbits decorated with a Stampin' Up present (retired stamp). Boogs said he loved this lunch.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
I read Beatrix Potter's books as a child and enjoy sharing them with Boogs.  In the lunchbox: berries picked by Flopsy, Mopsy, & Cottontail, peas like the one carried by a little mouse, garden vegetables, boiled egg Peter Rabbit, and Johnnycake jacket, pant, and shoes lost by Peter while trying to escape.

Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post.

Lunches March 26th - 30th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Ducky by Eve Bunting
This book is based on a true event. In 1992, a crate carrying 29,000 plastic tub toys  was washed overboard at sea.  Hundreds of toys have been found along the eastern coast of Alaska and one little duck was found on the coast of Washington State. Ducky is the story of that lone duck. Boogs was very interested in the real event that sparked this story. He wanted to go throw some floating toys into the ocean with special trackers on them to see where they would go. In the lunchbox: almond butter & jelly duck, Babybel duck, DUCKY spelled in fruit leather, goldfish, blueberries for the ocean, salad, and a cereal bar. 

Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada
Each two page spread in this book, alternates between a rhyming verse of clues about what is inside each egg and then the reveal of the creature with information about how the babies grow. Boogs had a good time guessing what each baby would be. There is a lot of information packed into such a fun, short picture book. In the lunchbox: homemade bread egg surrounded by cheese turtle, alligator ham, cheese bird, & ham duck, boiled chicken egg, salad nest with three tomato eggs, and a pear nest.

Puzzle Buzz by Highlights
Boogs has been a fan of mazes since he was 2-years-old and saw a Curious George episode about a corn maze.  He is funny because he does not like to write in his puzzle or maze books. He usually traces or circles things with his finger so he can do them over and over again. He is having a good time with Puzzle Buzz. I had fun making this lunch with the Lunch Punch Match & Munch cutters. In the lunchbox: puzzle pieces of homemade bread, cheese, & salami, cantaloupe puzzle pieces with blueberries, yogurt, and a broccoli maze in ranch dressing.

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm by Joy Cowley
I have enjoyed Joy Cowley books since became I familiar with them while doing my student teaching. Her early reader books have engaging stories which encourage early readers' skills. Mrs. Wishy-Washy was one of my students' favorites. In this book, the animals get tired of being scrubbed clean and head off for an adventure in the big city. In the lunchbox: mini cow, pig, and duck sandwiches made with different combinations of almond butter, peanut butter, jelly, & Nutella surrounded by nibbles of tomato, blueberry, hummus, carrots, & Puffin cereal, and cantaloupe.

Brother Wolf by Harriet Peck Taylor
This book is based on a Seneca Indian Tale.  It explains how wolf gave birds their painted feathers.  Boogs enjoys these kinds of tales. He has even made up some of his own. Boogs' tale of how the sting ray became flat and electric still makes me smile. Today's lunch is an example of a lunchbox fail. The other side of Boogs' sandwich has a very badly drawn wolf on it. I decided to turn it face down and cut it in half. I spent so much time on it that I did not get a chance to make any birds. Boogs came in and looked at his lunch and said, "Oh no! Are you just making me a regular lunch today?" So we compromised on a mostly regular lunch with a wolf marshmallow. In the lunchbox: wolf marshmallow, raisins, dried apricot, carrots, pirates booty, grilled ham & cheese english muffin.

Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post.

Lunches March 19th - 23rd

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

It's Probably Penny by Loreen Leedy
The books in the Penny series are fantastic!  This story is all about probability and making predictions. The students' homework in "It's Probably Penny" is to predict and record several things throughout their weekend. Boogs and I read this last Friday. The following are Boogs dictated answers to the homework assignment in the story.

1) Predict three events for this weekend one that will happen, one that might happen, and one that can't happen. Boogs: Saturday will be green day (St. Patrick's Day). We might go to McDonalds. We can't go to school on Saturday or Sunday.

2) Think of two events, one with a tiny chance of happening and one that is impossible. Boogs: McDonalds could happen if Daddy doesn't say no. School can't happen because Saturday and Sunday are just days the school is closed.

3) Write an event with 3 equal possible outcomes. Boogs: If we go out to eat this weekend, we have an equal chance of going to Chuy's, Chipotle, or McDonalds.

 4) Tell about an event with several possible unequal outcomes, order them from most to least likely to happen. Boogs: I will wear green. I might forget to wear green. It is least that I will see grandmaman tomorrow.

We enjoyed working on this together. We have continued to make predictions and discuss probability. Boogs also enjoyed answering some probability questions on a PBS' Prankster Planet game.  In the lunchbox: 5 jelly beans with an equal chance of picking green, pb&j Penny sandwich with fruit leather glasses & tongue, oatmeal raisin muffin for the probability of which flavor pancake Penny's owner would have, blueberries for the blueberries in the story's pancakes, orange for the balloon Penny popped, and veggies like the ones from the farmer's market in the story.

Moosetache by margie Palatini
Boogs thought this book was hilarious! Moose has a  horrible mustache that constantly gets in his way. He tries all sorts of ways to tame his hairy problem. In the lunchbox: Moose almond butter and jelly sandwich, shredded cheese stick mustache, carrots with hummus, mango, and yogurt.

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
David Shannon's illustrations in this book are amazing. The little boy in the story tells a tale of life at sea with pirates and treasure. Boogs enjoyed repeating the pirate phrases in this story. In the lunchbox: chicken gold pieces, cantaloupe jewels, rotten and slightly green pirate teeth tortellini, fruit leather Jolly Roger, and a treasure map disguised at as a yogurt tube. Boogs insisted that I leave out veggies in this lunch because the pirates in the story never, ever ate vegetables.

Pete's A Pizza by William Steig
We spend Wednesday afternoons at a friend's house, usually have pizza for dinner, and then come home late. I have been taking Boogs' pajamas and story books with us so that when we get home I can transfer him from the car to bed. Boogs and his friend "B", pretended to be the boy in this story who was made into a pizza. We acted out the story. They were kneaded, sprinkled, topped, and put into the oven. They had a great time. This is a fun book to read. In the lunchbox: pizza, black olives, cantaloupe, grapes, and salad.

Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae
The page Boogs liked best in this book was the snake page. "The boa constrictor's a slippery snake who squashes then swallows his prey. He knows that it's not very friendly or kind, but they do taste much nicer that way." In the lunchbox: a boa constrictor squeezing a ham & cheese squirrel sandwich, a nest of baby snakes made out of pasta salad, snake orange pieces, and yogurt tube snake.

Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post.

Lunches March 5th - 9th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. 

Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott
Boogs asked me to read this book to him again, right after we read it for the first time.  Bean Thirteen is about two bugs who are gathering beans. One bug picks the 13th bean, which is unlucky. The two bugs then try to figure out how to equally share the beans so everyone will get the same amount. I gave Boogs 13 Lego pieces to work with while we read the story. It is a cute math story. In the lunchbox: two pb&j bug sandwiches, 13 pistachio "beans", cheesestick, Clif bar, trail mix, blueberries, and salad.

Counting out different groups
of Legos for each person added
to the dinner party.

Boogs asked me to make my
hand into a bowl for the final
pages of the story.

The Cut-ups by James Marshall
This story is about two little boys who are always up to mischief.  They even tied a boy onto their kite and flew him up into the sky. The new girl they meet is even trickier than these cut-ups. Boogs had me read this to him several times this week. In the lunchbox: Babybel Cut-ups, almond butter & jelly kite, blueberries, strawberries, salad, and yogurt.

Walden Then & Now, An Alphabetical Tour of Henry Thoreau's Pond by Michael McCurdy
This is such a beautiful book! Each letter has a wood engraving illustration, a simple sentence, and a short paragraph explaining how Walden Pond and its surrounding areas have changed since Thoreau's time. Boogs favorite letter was X, "X is for the unknown word we'd need for a good rhyme". There are source notes at the end of the book that show some of the paragraphs in "Walden" where Thoreau mentioned the items in this book in his writing. In the lunchbox: eagle and hare sandwiches, sesame stick "kindling", trail mix for "seeds", dried papaya, spinach, and strawberries.

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Tacky is not like any of the other penguins. Luckily, his differences save all of the penguins.  In the lunchbox: pb&j penguin, fish from the sea, chicken, broccoli, Babybel cheese, and dried apricot.

Scooby Doo Sight Words Parade Mystery
Boogs loves Scooby Doo! My previous attempt at a Scooby Doo sandwich had better results than this one.  Boogs  did tell me that he liked this Scooby, too. In the lunchbox: Scooby Doo pg&j sandwich holding a fruit leather paintbrush, tomato balloons, Babybel with paint can cutout, blueberries, and couscous.

(Originally posted January 6th)
Scooby-Doo! Snow Monster Mystery

We got a set of these Scooby-Doo Sight Word mysteries from Boogs' kindergarten Scholastic book order. In the lunchbox - Scooby-Doo ham&cheese sandwich, extra ham, raisins, pretzels, Babybel cheese that had "Scooby Snack" written on it (I think the words are on the opposite side of the cheese), kiwi, and broccoli. Boogs thought the Scooby sandwich was "awesome". 

Be sure to checkout the wonderful sites I link to on my side bar!

Lunches February 27th - March 1st

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. This week, I am participating in a Dr. Seuss Bento Lunch Blog Bop on Friday, March 2nd. Friday's lunch will be in that post. Hope you come back tomorrow to check it out. You can click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

When I Was Young In The Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
When I taught 3rd grade, I loved reading this book to my students as touchstone text for writing about a favorite place. It tells how special it was for this girl to grow up in the mountains and the precious memories she has of her young life with her grandparents. Boogs liked this book. About halfway through the story he told me, "This story must have happened in the old days." I asked him to explain what he meant and he said, "Well, they had candles instead of flashlights and didn't even have a bathtub with a faucet for the water to come out." He told me that his room is one of his favorite places. In the lunchbox: almond butter & jelly mountain sandwich, Babybel moon, fruit leather snake, broccoli trees, mango snakes, and yogurt.

Skippyjon Jones - Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner
Boogs LOVES Skippyjon Jones books. Every time he checks one out, we have to read it again and again. This book was no exception. Skippyjon Jones borrows his mother's bottles of red spices so he can pretend to take a trip to the red planet, Mars. Boogs laughed throughout the book. In the lunchbox: Skippyjon pb&j with cheese eyes and chocolate chip nose, Babybel Mars, Skippyjon yogurt with blueberry eyes, alien spinach, raisins, and pineapple.

There's A Frog In My Throat by Loreen Leedy
Boogs was very intrigued by this book. For the past several years, he has been interested in "sayings". We frequently discuss common idioms, metaphors, and similes. We only read about half of the book at bedtime. The next day, Boogs used a few of the sayings when we were chatting. He really liked his lunch, but did not eat the hornet. In the lunchbox: cereal bar worm for "opening a can of worms" and "the early bird catches the worm", salad for "rabbit food",  ham & cheese for "I've got butterflies in my stomach", tortilla hornet for "mad as a hornet", and strawberries for "red as a lobster".

If Rocks Could Sing, A Discovered Alphabet by Leslie McGuirk
I LOVE this book! The author collected rocks on the beach near her house for years to complete her alphabet rock collection. This book is a true alphabet book - A is for addition, B is for bird, etc.  But, the item that goes with each letter is also a shaped rock found on the beach. Boogs' favorite letter was the two-page spread of ghost rocks for the letter G. Last summer, Boogs and I started photographing "Letters in Nature". My intention was to put together a photo album of our discovered alphabet. This book has inspired me to have Boogs help find the last six letters that we need to complete our alphabet photographs. In the lunchbox: Couch potato pig in a blanket for the letter C ( I must have been half asleep when I made this because I put a letter P on top of it. Oops!), cheese ghost with salami g, spinach & carrots, a pickle that kind of looks like a rock, cereal bar dog for the letter D, and grapes.

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for the Dr. Seuss Bento Lunch Blog Hop!


Check out the wonderful sites I link to on my side bar.

Lunches February 20th - 24th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster, A Tale of Picky Eating by A.W. Flaherty
Boogs is facinated by tales of monsters and was excited to read about the Loch Ness Monster. This book tells the story of a little girl who hated eating oatmeal, the national breakfast food of Scotland. She threw her oatmeal out the ship's porthole and a small worm ate it. The worm followed the ship, continued to eat her discarded oatmeal, and grew to be the Loch Ness Monster. It was a cute story, but I was hoping it would not give Boogs any ideas about being a picky eater. In the lunchbox: almond butter & jelly ship, cheese waves, Pirate's Booty clouds, blueberry ocean, cucumber Nessie on a bed of spinach & carrots, applesauce "bowl of oatmeal", and yogurt.

The Magic Hat by Mem Fox
A magic hat blows into town and changes several adults into fun-loving animals. Boogs loved reading the repeated phrase "Oh, the magic hat, the magic hat. It moved like this. It moved like that." It was fun to guess what animal each person would change into after the hat landed on their head. In the lunchbox: ham magic hat, cheese H-A-T, cheese frog, cheese giraffe, cheese bear, asiago cheese bread slice, carrots, grapes, & dried apricots. 

Animals That Live in the Tundra: Snowy Owls by Ramon Patrick
Boogs brought this book home from his school library and asked me to "make another fact lunch". In the lunchbox: pb&j female Snowy Owl (only the male owls have all white feathers) eating a small cheese animal for its lunch (owls eat lemmings, mice, rabbits, and other small animals), Babybel moon & orange sun (Snowy Owls hunt both night & day), kiwi "eggs" ( mother owls make nests on the ground and lay 3 to 11 eggs at a time), and a green salad for the times the Snowy Owl heads south to hunt.

Like Butter on Pancakes by Jonathan London
You can tell that Jonathan London is a poet. The words and phrases that he chooses provoke beautiful imagery. It is the story of a boy and how he spends his day. He wakes when "first light melts like butter on pancakes, spreads warm and yellow across your pillow." At night, the "spoons sleep nestled in the kitchen drawers." Boogs favorite phrase was "a cloud drifts by dragging a shadow." The boy in the story plays outside all day long and comes in when his Mama rings the dinner bell. This reminded me of growing up, I had to go home when the street lights came on.  In the lunchbox: Johnny cake (cornmeal pancake) with grape eyes & strawberry mouth, bacon, grapes, dried apricot, veggie pancake, and yogurt. We love veggie pancakes and have used this recipe for years.

Bella and Stella Come Home by Anika Denise
Bella and her lovey Stella have to say goodbye to her old house and move into a new house. Bella is upset by the strangeness of the new house. Her old house had 3 steps to the door and the new house has 10 steps. The new house does not feel like home. It is bare, the colors on the wall don't feel right, and it is kind of spooky. Bella eventually begins to feel comfortable in the new house and even makes a new friend in the neighborhood. We moved twice last year, from old house to apartment then apartment to new house, and it was tough for Boogs. We have been in our new house since July and Boogs is finally comfortable here. After reading this book, we discussed the old house, the move, the new house and his feelings about it. He told me that he no longer remembers living in the old house, but he does miss the pool at the apartment complex. In the lunchbox: almond butter & Nutella new house, Stella the elephant cheese, ten ham "steps", raisins, carrots with ranch dressing, and strawberry Greek yogurt.

You can see the places I link up on my sidebar.

Lunches February 13th - 17th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read two books to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.


I posted Boogs' lunches from Monday and Tuesday here because I wanted them posted for Valentine's Day.

Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
Boogs loved the colorful and fun illustrations of aliens dancing, sliding, hiding and being silly in all sorts of underpants. Boogs does not think aliens have been in his underwear drawer because he keeps it closed tight. In the lunchbox: almond butter & Nutella alien in fruit roll-up underwear, spinach & carrot alien salad with olive eyes, strawberries with kiwi underwear, Pirate's Booty, and yogurt. This lunch is linked to Eat's Amazing Dinosuars in Underpants linky.

Curious George At The Aquarium by R.P. Anderson, based on Margret & H.A. Rey's books
Curious George tries to be a good little monkey but somehow he always causes trouble. In this book, he accidently let the penguins escape from the penguin habitat. (We woke up 45 minutes late this morning so I had to throw this lunch together very quickly. I will have to make a better Curious George on another day.)  In the lunchbox: pb&j monkey sandwich, ham & cheese penguin, pita chips under the monkey, berries, carrots, and chocolate milk.

Swim! Swim! by James Proimos
Boogs picked this book out at his school library. Lerch, a lonely little fish, wants to find a friend. The cartoon-like drawings are adorable. Boogs read most of this book to me by himself. It is so exciting to watch him become a better and more independent reader. In the lunchbox: hummus & tomato basil tortilla Lerch with nori smile, cheese eyes, spinach letter to spell SWIM, blueberry bubbles, raisin pebbles, salad, and yogurt. 

Places I have linked up:
Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons