Posted on November 14th, 2013 by pajamapress
“It’s lovely for young readers to catch a glimpse of village life in Kenya. The sentences are short and tell their story with a lively pace. The textural cut paper and collage illustrations add a lovely touch, and will invite close attention to the happenings in the village as the communal soup is prepared. Bright backgrounds match the brilliance of the children’s attire and the soup recipe shared at the back had my mouth watering…it is that time of year for the comfort it brings…”
Click here to read the full review.
Posted in Comunity Soup | Tagged africa, alma-fullerton, animals, Canada, children, childrens-book, community-garden, community-soup, food, garden, goats, kenya, picture-book, recipe, Review, sals-fiction-addiction
Posted on November 5th, 2013 by pajamapress
“This is a book about school age children in Kenya who have a garden outside their school and work together to harvest the vegetables to make a communal soup for all to share. Unfortunately one child, unable to tie up her goats brings them to school where the children have a lot of laughs trying to stop them from eating their vegetables. At one point someone has the idea to milk the goats and add the milk to the communal soup which makes it more delicious.
This is a fun read that helps children understand the way of life of Kenyan school children and how different their life is from our own. It also describes the various vegetables and what goes into making soup and in the end even gives a recipe for making a pumpkin vegetable soup to make at home with an adult.
Curricular applications include learning about Kenya: discovering a world outside their own, how children work alongside parents and teachers and that children have chores to do before attending school, how community gardens work and how everyone gets to share in the work and in the cultivation, and how to make a communal soup and what goes in.
Thematic links: Children Working Together; Community Gardening and Cooking; Goats.”
Carmen Poulin
Learn more about Resource Links.
Posted in Comunity Soup | Tagged alma-fullerton, animals, books, children, community-garden, community-soup, food, garden, goats, kenya, picture-book, recipe, resource-links, Review, soup
Posted on August 1st, 2013 by pajamapress
“PreS-Gr 2–With echoes of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” this amusing tale set in a Kenyan school garden tells the story of students and their teachers making soup. A girl’s recalcitrant goats, however, do little to help with the process: “Kioni has a herd of goats,/with hair of calico./And everywhere Kioni goes,/those goats are sure to…Oh, no!” Finally, one clever student realizes that the animals have just the right ingredient to add to the meal: their milk. This title will be a fun read-aloud, with lots of opportunities for listeners to predict the upcoming action. The full-color, mixed-media collages steal the show. The illustrations add texture and vibrancy to the tale and advance the plot on several wordless pages. The book ends with a recipe for pumpkin vegetable soup. A great choice for group sharing or for units on communities.”
—Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, George F. Johnson Memorial Library, Endicott, NY
Click here to learn more about School Library Journal.
Posted in Comunity Soup | Tagged book, community, community-soup, cooking, food, picture-book, read-aloud, reading, Review, sara-jo-lupo-sites, school-library-journal, slj
Posted on July 30th, 2013 by pajamapress
“Book Reviews: Savoring the Bounty of Gardens and Good Food”
—The International Reading Association reviews books about gardening and food, including Community Soup by Alma Fullerton
“’It’s soup day!’ The first line of this story draws readers into a day-in-the-life of Kenyan school community, which Fullerton depicts with mixed-media collage and paper-sculptures that lend a diorama-like depth to each scene….A satisfying and worthy purchase…”
Click here to read the full review.
Posted in Comunity Soup | Tagged alma-fullerton, books, community, community-soup, food, garden, international-reading-association, ira, kenya, kids, picture-book, recipe, soup
Posted on September 7th, 2012 by pajamapress
What would a party be without snacks? We’ve already shared our recipe for Muddy Puddle Slushies; now it’s time to make something fun and healthy that kids can really chew on.

Materials:

One carrot per three giraffe snacks

One plum tomato per Giraffe Snack

Two dried rosemary leaves per Giraffe Snack

Five toothpicks per Giraffe Snack
Directions:

1. Peel your carrot and slice it in two-inch segments

2. Press toothpicks into segment for legs

3. Gently press another toothpick into the top of the body and the bottom of the head

4. Press two rosemary leaves very carefully into the top of the head for horns

5. Play with your food!
Posted in Don't Laugh at Giraffe | Tagged carrots, do-it-yourself, dont-laugh-at-giraffe, food, giraffe, instructions, rebecca-bender, snack, tomatoes, tutorial
Posted on August 13th, 2012 by pajamapress
This summer we’re having a virtual party with our favourite funny friends from Don’t Laugh at Giraffe! We’ve already given you some game ideas and a finger paint loot bag activity; today we’re sharing a cool drink inspired by poor Giraffe’s attempts to slurp up a mud puddle.
Pour all the ingredients into a blender and frappe!
That’s it! Stay tuned for more fun ideas in weeks to come!
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Posted in Don't Laugh at Giraffe | Tagged diy, dont-laugh-at-giraffe, food, mud-puddle, Rebecca Bender, snack, snacks, tutorial