#35 - How to Make Slime - Lori Shores

Title:  How to Make Slime

Author:  Lori Shores

Photos by:  Capstone Studio/Karon Dubke, all

Genre:  Non-Fiction Kid Pic Book   620.1123

Publisher/Date:  Capstone Press/2011

ISBN:  978-1-4296-4492-1 (library binding)

Dates read:  6/29/17

Well, of course, this is a second book by this author that granddaughter and I have read.  This experiment worked well and was fun to do.  Ingredients include cornstarch, water, spoon, dish and food coloring.  Blue was the color of the day and granddaughter’s hands turned blue in the process.  Slime feels like a solid and a liquid at the same time.  As explained, cornstarch and water do not mix well.  “The slime is mostly tightly packed bits of cornstarch.  The water flows around those bits.”  Yet you can slap it, and try to make a slime ball.  After a while it sets up and feels solid and will not run out of the dish.  It is all very interesting and occupies about thirty minutes to do the whole process, including a few minutes of play time.  It’s a delightful indoor any-time-of-year activity. 

#34 - Zone One - Colson Whitehead

Title:  Zone One

Author:  Colson Whitehead

Genre:  Apocalyptic

Read by:  Beresford Bennett

Publisher/Date:  Books on Tape/2011

Dates listened to:  6/15/17 – 6/27/17

CDs/Hours:  8/10

ISBN: 978-0-307-94094-0

As the back cover tells us, “In this singular take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, a pandemic has devastated the planet. “  While we don’t learn what other cities are experiencing, we follow Mark Spitz in lower Manhattan and his mission to remove stragglers and resettle the island.  It’s brutal to say the least and not for the faint of heart.  The description of the flesh eaters gobbling up other humans is not a pretty sight.  And this seems to be the theme of the book – to see how awful the author can make us not want to finish listening or reading the story.

I chose this book because the author is a Seattle Arts Lecture/Seattle Public Library writer is an upcoming speaker at SAL one of these days.  This category is on the Summer Book Bingo contest I’m participating in and gives me a BINGO for completing it today!  Another take-away for me is that Whitehead won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year for The Underground Railroad.  I always read Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction and look forward to this book becoming available at my local library.

#33 - Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses - Kimberly and James Dean

Title:  Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses

Story by:  Kimberly & James Dean

Illustrations by:  James Dean

Genre:  Kid Pic Book

Publisher/Date: Harper Collins/2013

ISBN:  978-0-06-227556-1

Dates read:  6/26/17

Husband and wife team Kimberly and James Dean started out in 2008 and began the character of Pete the Cat.  In this book, one day Pete did not feel happy.  It was raining and he had the blue cat blues.  But he got on his yellow skateboard and ran into Grumpy Toad who was wearing a pair of blue sunglasses.  Toad offered his blue sunglasses to Pete, telling him that “These COOL, BLUE, MAGIC sunglasses make the blues go away.”  Pete put on the sunglasses and looked around.  “RIGHT ON!”

From then on Pete runs into all sorts of friends in the neighborhood offering the sunglasses to all in need of cheering up.  Well, of course, there’s a moral to the story and it’s from wise Old Owl.  You’ll just have to guess what advice the old guy has to offer Pete unless of course you read the book.