Happy Bookiversary!

On By jesteramIn books, food, Holidays, How to Feed Your ParentsLeave a comment

How to Feed Your Parents Birthday

It’s bananas, right?

HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS debuted one year ago, today!

In lieu of a more traditional cake, my children baked several loaves of banana bread in honor of the event. Actually, I’ll be honest here: We had a bunch of bananas that were past brown and on their way to mush, so the kids dug out a cookbook, doubled the recipe, and tripled the chocolate chips. It had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with not wasting food.

And serving as an excuse to eat more chocolate chips than strictly necessary.

That said, when it dawned on everyone that today was my first bookiversary—and that I was looking for a photo to take to include with a blog post to mark the occasion—my firstborn arranged this tableau. My wife held up a quilt in the background so you can’t see the messy kitchen. Family!

What’s that you say? What does one get someone on the occasion of their first-ever bookiversary? Well, since you asked: Just about every author I know is a sucker for

• leaving an honest review on Amazon

• leaving an honest review on Goodreads

• generally spreading the word about the book

• pie

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to grab a copy of your own, now is a great time. It also makes an ideal first-day-of-school gift, which is totally a thing. And if your local library could use a copy, maybe suggest the title? If your branch already has it on the shelf, give it the ol’ check-out treatment.

To everyone who has supported me, and Hatem Aly, and our book over this past year, thank you, thank you, thank you. My lifelong dream has long (since I was 4) been to be a published author. Over the past 12 months, I’ve been humbled by how Matilda Macaroni’s story has been received—and how it has inspired so may children (and families) to try new foods.

Here’s to another year of quality family time, reading, growing, and quiche.

Eat with adventure!

 

A Year Between Thoughts

On By jesteramIn books, food, How to Feed Your ParentsLeave a comment
Macaroni
A commission by Jake Morrison.

We’re rapidly approaching the one-year anniversary of the publication of my first book, HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS. In related news, today marks the one-year anniversary of the last time I posted here at Standing in the Shallows. Wow!

Join me, won’t you, in a week of looking back, pushing forward, and trying to figure what to do now. To kick things off, please enjoy this artwork I commissioned from the fantastic Jake Morrison, imagining what my main character, Matilda Macaroni, would look like as a fantastical … chef … explorer? With her giant cat? It’s like she wandered into a Miyazaki movie by way of the Land of Ooo.

If you like Jake’s art, check out his Kickstarter for DANI AND RAMEN: A NOMAD’S TALE VOL. 1, about a red panda and a frog on the trail of the trees that used to surround their home. Perhaps, in their quest to discover the root of such wanton environmental destruction, they will also end up saving the world? Maaaaaybe?

There are no amphibians or Ailuridae in my book, but—like DANI AND RAMEN—it does feature a character who is passionate about food.

HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS is still available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon and a bunch of brick-and-mortar places. You know, in case you’re wondering.

Three Late-Summer Reading Recommendations

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When Sterling Kids released its fall catalog, I was happy to discover that not only was HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS in there, and not only was it one of the publisher’s lead titles, it was the first book featured, right there on page 2!

Even more exciting (OK, as exciting) are the other titles coming from fellow Sterling authors throughout the season. I feel like I’m part of some cool club now, or the Sterling Publishing Class of 2018. We should get nicknames and sign each other’s books with “KIT! 2 COOL 2 BE 4 GOTTEN!”

With my own book coming out Aug. 7, I’ll be sharing the (technically autumn, for some reason?) book spotlight with some really fun titles, including:

Mission Defrostable.jpg

MISSION DEFROSTABLE: by the hilarious-with-words Josh Funk and illustrated by the hilarious-with-pictures Brendan Kearney. The breakfast-centric Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast books are silly and clever and have a rhythm and meter that makes every line feel deliciously natural. (I love finding rhyming books like these where no words feel forced for the sake of an ending sound.) This third in the series promises to bring more of that sweet, sweet humor to the breakfast table in early September, when a deep freeze threatens our heroes’ refrigerator home!

 

Going to a March.jpg

IF YOU’RE GOING TO A MARCH: by Martha Freeman and illustrated by Violet Kim. As a self-proclaimed “child of the ’60s,” Martha has championed peace (yes!) and freedom of the press (double yes!), as well as protested apartheid. She eventually became a journalist (like me!) and has upped the number of marches she’s participated in since 2016. I’d love to meet her, but in the meantime, I’ll have to settle for reading her book about what children can expect from constitutionally protected public assemblies—and sharing it with my own little rights-championing sign-makers. Oh, and MARTHA AND I WILL BOTH CELEBRATE AUG. 7 AS OUR BOOK BIRTHDAY!

 

Book Dragon.jpg

THE BOOK DRAGON: by Kell Andrews and illustrated by Éva Chatelain. My favorite animal is the dragon (which, when I tell kids, tends to prompt follow-up conditions of “no, real animal,” to which I answer “megalodon,” which brings the inevitable “no, living animal,” to which I say “sharks”). It’s probably very obvious that I also love books, so there’s no way I can adequately convey here how very excited I am for both dragons and books to appear in this title. Considering that the hero here is also a strong and smart girl, I can’t see how this story could possibly be any better. I’ll have to wait till early October to discover exactly how the plucky Rosehilda fares after she challenges the scaly beast of the title, which has been stealing all printed-and-bound reading material in the town for its own hoard. (I certainly sympathize.) (With the dragon.)

I’ll be sharing more Sterling Publishing Class of 2018 titles in the coming days, probably after the busy-ness of my own book launch week dies down! In the meantime, enjoy these precious last long and lazy days for reading before school starts …

 

 

 

This Children’s Encyclopedia Has Ways of Making You Talk

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Graphical depiction of one of the five main senses? Or graphic depiction of torture?

hand

I came across this illustration in a children’s encyclopedia at my kids’ school library and winced. I mean, I get what they’re going for here, but … nah.

It looks like something you’ve have to endure to prove your humanity to the Bene Dessert in Dune. I’d get the Gom Jabbar for sure. (Bonus points if you get the reference.)

Needles and Ink (and Something to Drink)

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You don’t have plans for Friday, July 13, right? Tune in at 6 p.m. (Pacific) to watch me sip something fancy and plan a cross-stitch pattern with the amazing Mike Reynolds of Everyday Girl Dad and Masculinity Makeover.

Mike started his live Cocktails and Cross-Stitch series a while back, after he decided to finally take a stab at a new hobby and wanted to invite guests from various backgrounds to chat with him as he further developed his talents and repertoire. Is that a cross-stitch term? I’m saying it is.

Recent guests have discussed women in the film industry, childhood and grief, and feminism. (Just about every episode has a healthy dose of feminism, actually.)

For our segment, we’ll be talking about comics that kids and adults should be reading, and I’ll probably steer the conversation a bit into kid lit, because how can I not? There are so, so many awesome things to be reading and discussing these days.

Think comics sound a bit fluffy compared to other subjects that have been covered on the show? Tune in and find out how wrong you are …

Cross Stitch

Cracking a Smile

On By jesteramIn food2 Comments

eggs

I have plenty of reasons to smile these days—and I’ll be sharing a few of them soon—but something that never fails to make me happy is gathering eggs from my chickens. The range in hues on the shells is amazing, and the flavor and color of the yolks inside puts store-bought eggs to shame. It’s like seeing the sun on a clear day vs. through layers of clouds.

Despite writing a book about a kid who cooks, I’ve never thought of myself as much of a wizard in the kitchen. I’ve aspired to be someone who follows—and even improves on—recipes to create memorable meals, but my actual culinary skills are … not so much lacking as underdeveloped. But one day I decided to learn to scramble eggs really, really well, and then I moved on to frying. Maybe poaching is next, since it’s something my oldest daughter has already pretty much mastered. Hopefully she can teach me.

My kids would probably tell you that my signature dish is hamburgers. While I do have a go-to house recipe for those, I’ve always found that the most fun is in topping them, and my favorite thing to stack on a patty is, yes, a fried egg. It’s all the more delicious knowing that the key ingredient came from just a few steps away.

construction.JPGDespite having a fancy place to lay (that photo above is me building our coop with help from my parents), my hens have started hiding their eggs around the yard. I suppose it’s my fault for giving them free reign of the yard during the day. They most often now lay them under a jasmine bush, and if I don’t get to them fast enough or I miss a few, there’s a creature in my yard (I’m thinking possum) that snatches one or two away for a late-night snack. I guess I’m not the only one who likes fresh eggs!

finished coop.JPG

Whether you’re a human or a hen or an egg-thieving marsupial, I hope you take some time today to appreciate something that makes you smile. Or whatever the equivalent expression is for animals with beaks. And if you’re so inclined, let me know what it is!

hens in coop.JPG

Don’t Let Pi Day Pass You By!

On By jesteramIn food, Holidays2 Comments

Matilda and quiche.png

What makes a pie a pie?

Is it the crust? The circular shape? The way it’s cooked?

Most of the definitions I’ve read recently seem to agree that a pie must be baked and that it has to have a fruit or meat-and-vegetable filling of some sort, but several dictionary and encyclopedia entries sort of waffled a bit on whether a layer of pastry on the bottom, top, or both is necessary. There’s a whole cookbook’s worth of wiggle room in the words “typically” and “generally” and “usually.”

My wife whipped up a crustless quiche this morning to celebrate Pi Day, which seemed to satisfy my kids’ desire for a food properly befitting this most mathematical of days.

breakfast quiche.jpg

Our dinner plans involve taking and baking a pizza from a nearby shop, because pizza is totally a pie, right? I’ve always thought it could sort of slide into that definition, but I just learned of an argument that pizza is actually an open-faced sandwich! I’ve only recently started wrapping my head around the idea that some people consider a hot dog to be a sandwich, because it’s meat between two halves of bread. But pizza? Someone’s oven didn’t fully preheat on that idea.

Pizza.jpg

If what you’re eating today is not obviously a pie, could you make an argument to justify it as one? Now that I think about it, there may be a case for French onion soup …

(Illustrations ®2018 Hatem Aly, from HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS)

New Look, New Focus … New Book!

On By jesteramIn Uncategorized8 Comments

HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS COVER

*clears throat*

Um, hi. Remember me? The guy who couldn’t draw hands?

Yeah, so … I’m back. With news!

I stopped blogging some time ago, but don’t be mad! It was for a good reason!

In the years since I last freshened this blog with a promise to post more, I got a new job, moved hundreds of miles, and wrote a book. A book that a publisher wanted to publish. A book that a publisher is going to publish. On Aug. 7, 2018. That’s this year!

It’s called HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS, and it’s got illustrations from an amazing artist named Hatem Aly, and a recipe in the back, and I can’t wait for you to read it—even if I am jealous that Hatem is perfectly capable (talented, even!) at drawing hands.

Anyway, expect to be hearing more from me now, because I have a lot to say. Not just about being a father and writer, but about the world of books and authors and all that great stuff.

Feel free to bail if that sounds boring or tag along for the ride if it sounds interesting. I hope you stick with me, because *SPOILER ALERT* it’s going to be fun.

And if, you know, you have any interest in pre-ordering HOW TO FEED YOUR PARENTS, you can do so at Barnes & Noble or Amazon. I won’t be making sales pitches often on the blog, but I will from time to time note when and where the book is available, for obvious reasons.

Thanks!

RYAN

 

What We Celebrate When We Celebrate Pi Day

On By jesteramIn Bonus Post2 Comments

pies

My wife commented to me yesterday that she thinks we celebrate well. Not necessarily in the grand Christmas-anniversaries-and-birthdays sense—or at least not strictly in that sense, because we are pretty good at that. She was talking about the ways we mark smaller occasions: the first day of summer, say, or May the Fourth, or even a Friday evening after a difficult week.

We’ve not historically done too much for Pi Day, which comes every year on March 14 (3.14, yeah?), but this year was a big one, in terms of Pi Days, given that the month, date, year, and exact time for one second could be listed out as 3/14/15 9:26:53. Twice.

I secretly ordered my wife a T-shirt featuring a drawing of a cherry pie with the symbol for pi cut into the crust, and I gave it to her that morning.

For dinner, she baked a shepherd’s pie, followed by chocolate pie for dessert. We grown-ups had Irish cream whipped cream to put on our slices, and I invented a cocktail out of apple pie moonshine, bourbon/rye (I made one of each), and Izze sparkling apple juice.

Pi cocktail

I also talked a bit about circles and circumferences with the girls, so we did more than just blindly celebrate a day without honoring its roots. I believe that we should keep the Pi in Pi Day. As tasty as pie is, math is the reason for the season.

License to Quill

On By jesteramIn Uncategorized9 Comments

quill

So … this happened. My wife and I decided to get tattoos for our ninth anniversary. Since we’re almost to our 10th, and since we recently discovered a local artist we like, we decided to make the appointment.

The image, in case you don’t recognize it, is a quill. It pairs nicely with my wife’s inkwell.

inkwell

My firstborn took the tattoos in stride. My secondborn, the 5-year-old, declared that she liked them, but not if they stay forever. “I just want you to be my regular dad,” she said, making me feel inexplicably guilty. “I want you to be like you were before.”

I told her that I love her even when she gets permanently taller, which didn’t seem to translate. After a night’s sleep, however, she seems to have come around, asking to see the ink and noting that she likes it.