Money as a Musical? Who Knew? 0

by Elaine Scott

I grew up in a family of bankers. Father, brother, aunt—seemed like everyone in my family worked in a bank. Debt, credit, accounts, collections—these topics were fodder for dinner table conversations. And like most adolescents who grew up in an era when the adults dominated the table talk, I was bored out of my mind. I also assumed everyone knew what I knew. I thought checks, balances, and overdrafts were part of everyone’s everyday conversation, right up there with politics, the neighbors, and what was going to happen over the weekend. It took me quite a while to figure out that wasn’t the case. I just didn’t think about it until I became a parent myself.

I remember my first astonished reaction when my then ten-year-old daughter asked me for some amount of money and I declined saying I didn’t have it. She countered with the suggestion I “write a check.” (This was back when we had the quaint custom of paying for groceries with a check and not a credit card.) I had to explain that checks were not the same thing as money itself—that there had to be enough money in the bank to cover a check. I assumed she knew that, but when I thought about it, how would she? We never talked about banking at our dinner table. Instead, conversation focused on her father’s swashbuckling adventures around the world in search of oil—or how her softball team was doing in the playoffs. She had no concept of how a checking account worked.

When this same child went off to college, I remember buying her a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “What do you mean I’m overdrawn? I still have checks!” across the front. She was not as amused as I. However, in one of those ironies that often happens, she actually became an accountant who supervises banking practices for the FDIC.

 I think it was that early exchange with her that inspired the idea for Dollars & Sense. I knew that she couldn’t be the only pre-teen—or for that matter, adult—who didn’t understand how money, and therefore the economy, works. But how to make a potentially dull subject entertaining was the challenge.

As I began the text for Dollars & Sense, I chose to write informally and was delighted to see that the tone was matched with the droll illustrations done by David Clark. I particularly loved writing about one of our more colorful founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. However, as I wrote and researched in Texas, I had no idea Hamilton and the fiscal policies he began in the late eighteenth century, would dominate the cultural scene in the early twenty-first century—this time in a musical that bore his name! Money as a musical? Debt and dance steps? Rap and regulations? Who knew? Certainly not I.

The musical Hamilton covers many of the topics I write about in Dollars & Sense, but it’s not the first time money has been celebrated in song. In the book’s Introduction, I mention a line from a duet sung by Liza Minelli and Joel Grey in the 1972 classic film, Cabaret; “Money makes the world go around.” As I wrote, I had no idea that the musical Hamilton would become the most coveted ticket on Broadway. Apparently it isn’t that far-fetched to sing about money!

 Of course I want kids to read about money, too. And I want teachers to use my book in their classrooms as they teach about our country’s economic and cultural development. I can also imagine how much fun it might be to use some ideas from my text and combine the information with snippets from the hip-hop score of Hamilton to drive a lesson home. In Hamilton, the song “Cabinet Battle #1” pits Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson against each other as they rap about the establishment of a national bank—a topic I cover in the book. How much fun would it be to have kids create a rap “duel” among themselves arguing the pros and cons of fiscal policy? If it can delight sophisticated Broadway audiences, it could delight energetic middle-schoolers, too.

I write about the early days of America when each colony issued its own currency. How about creating a rap arguing, “Our Money’s Better than Yours!”, or use the chapter that discusses the Great Depression and create a piece called “I’m Depressed!” I write about debt in the book, so perhaps students could rap about “There’s Good Debt and There’s Bad.” You get the idea…the possibilities are endless.

Hamilton has raised awareness of a crucial period in our history. It illuminates the humanity and the passion those first fiscal policy discussions raised among our founding fathers. It was that same kind of passion that animated my own father’s dinner table talk. It is the passion that led me to write Dollars & Sense, just as passion drove Lin-Manuel Miranda to bring Hamilton’s story to Broadway.

So money and music go together. I hope you’ll read (and maybe even rap) Dollars & Sense with your young audience. And please, let me know how it goes!

Elaine Scott is the author of several books, including Buried Alive!: How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Under the Chilean Desert and When is a Planet Not a Planet? The Story of Pluto (Clarion). Her latest book is Dollars & Sense: A Kid’s Guide to Using—Not Losing—Money, illustrated by David Clark. Elaine lives in Houston, Texas.

How Do Babies Learn Best? Focus on FUN! 0

by Ruth Spiro

As author of the Baby Loves Science books, my goal is to help make complex science concepts accessible to everyone, and also share ideas about how parents and caregivers can turn everyday experiences into learning opportunities for their little ones.

Among the many hot topics in education today, “STEM” seems to be leading the pack. Incorporating more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) into school curriculums has been recognized as a priority, and that’s great. But many professionals believe that in order to prevent achievement gaps down the line, STEM education should begin earlier—with infants as young as six months old.

But aren’t babies and toddlers too young to understand science? Surprisingly, no. In a recent study at Johns Hopkins, researchers showed eleven-month-old babies “tricks” in which a toy seemed to defy gravity. The babies showed a keen interest—their surprise and extended attention was an indication they already have an understanding of basic physics. In other studies, research has shown that early introduction to STEM activities helps develop motor skills, reasoning ability, and even problem solving.

From Baby Loves Quarks! Text copyright (c) 2016 by Ruth Spiro.
Illustration copyright (c) 2016 by Irene Chan.

But there’s no need for flash cards or formal instruction—especially not for babies! Instead, focus on having fun while adding some beneficial activities to playtime:

• Talk: Name objects, gesture, and describe what you’re doing to grow vocabulary.
• Sing and clap: A sense of rhythm helps with language acquisition.
• Count, match, and sort: These activities lay the foundation for early math.

The simplest way to find resources for all these activities is within the pages of picture books. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents read with their child every day, and it’s never too early to start. Even the youngest infant will benefit from hearing the sound of your voice and the rhythm of the language. As you read the Baby Loves Science board books, name the colors, shapes, animals, and other familiar things you see.

Reading together also helps develop STEM-related skills. Hearing the parts of a story—beginning, middle, and end—lays the foundation for understanding sequencing, important in math and science. Making predictions about what will happen next in a story is also excellent practice for later success in science, technology, and engineering. Asking fun questions such as “What do you think will happen when Bird flaps her wings?” is a great place to start.

From Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! Text copyright (c) 2016 by Ruth Spiro.
Illustration copyright (c) 2016 by Irene Chan.

As your baby grows, model a love of learning by sharing observations and asking questions about things you see every day—in your home, on a walk, or even in a book. Explore the world along with your child, and have fun making discoveries together!

Ruth Spiro’s debut picture book, Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist, was a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year. The first two books in the Baby Loves Science series are Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! and Baby Loves Quarks! She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Hail Caesar! The Other One . . . 0

by Rob Chirico

Like so many changes in life, when I set out to write Not My Mother’s Kitchen: Rediscovering Italian-American Cooking through Stories and Recipes, my working title was “Escape from an Italian-American Kitchen.” My premise was a simple one: How I learned to cook after growing up in an Italian-American household where my mother brought love to everything—except cooking. The dear woman, now 96-years old, was a disaster at the stove—or, as I waggishly call her in my book, an “assassin in the kitchen.” Left to her own devices she laid waste to spaghetti, hamburgers, and even salad. “Fresh” was not a word she used, unless it was leveled at me—and deservedly so. Although I often joked that I began to cook as a defense against my mother’s cooking, my venture eventually served as a springboard for a cookbook featuring the recipes and techniques I have cultivated over the years. Naturally, there is my humorous take on growing up with my mom’s suspect food, but I also share traditional recipes, my recipes, as well as fun, historical info about food and recipes. Take the Caesar Salad.

Everyone knows the basics of a Caesar Salad, yes—or no? To give a little background first, according to Caesar Cardini’s daughter, Rosa, the restaurateur whipped up the dish on the Fourth of July of that year when a rush on the restaurant depleted the kitchen’s supplies. As the story goes, Cardini made do with what he had, all the while entertaining his clientele by tossing the salad personally for his guests. At the time of its creation, Cardini was living in San Diego but working in Tijuana. If this seems like a curious arrangement, it was because the year was 1924, and the United States was in the throes of one of its greatest follies, the Great Experiment: Prohibition. You don’t have to believe me, but at that time booze was a bigger business than salads. That it was created in Mexico, however, may have made all the difference as to one of the seemingly essential initial ingredients: lemons.

A significant, but little known difference is that key limes were used in the original recipe, and not lemons. The change was not due to shifting taste, but to a problem in translation. When the salad was created in Mexico, the word for “lime” in Latin American Spanish was limón. I was personally confronted with this dilemma in Buenos Aires, where limes are a scarcity, despite their immense popularity just across the border in Brazil. When I asked a fruit vendor for limas, I was greeted with a curious look and asked what that was. “Limón verde?” I inquired. Aware that he had no idea of what I was talking about, I replied that it was something between a lemon and a gin and tonic.

Another change from Cardini’s original recipe was anchovies—there were none. Cardini was apparently opposed to using anchovies in his version. The faint taste of anchovies from the Worcestershire sauce was sufficient for him. While I do see Cardini’s point about the anchovies, I like their saltiness. My compromise is a dash of Thai fish sauce. I also prefer to shake the dressing in a jar to emulsify it slightly. I use raw organic free-range eggs, but if you are uncertain about your eggs, you can “coddle” them by very briefly immersing them in their shells in boiling water. So, without further ado, I give you my version.

Caesar Salad My Way

1/4 teaspoon each coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, or more to taste

2 tablespoons good quality white wine vinegar (preferably aged Italian)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 large crushed and minced garlic clove

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped widthwise into 1-inch ribbons, or leaves left whole

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano

1 cup croutons

1. Mix all of the ingredients up to the lettuce in a jar and set aside. You may refrigerate the dressing briefly.
2. Place the romaine lettuce on a large platter and toss with the Parmigiano. Top with the croutons. Shake the jar of dressing and toss it with the salad. Serve immediately, passing extra pepper and cheese if desired.

Rob Chirico is a freelance writer and artist whose work has appeared in the food journal Gastronomica. Previous works include Field Guide to Cocktails (Quirk Books) and Damn! A Cultural History of Swearing in Modern America (Pitchstone Press). Mo Rocca, host of My Grandmother's Ravioli called Rob's new book, Not My Mother's Kitchen, "a funny, loving, and oh-so-useful manual on food, family, and survival when your mom is a terrible cook." He lives in Western Massachusetts.

Happy 100th Birthday, National Park Service! 0

The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. In case you've ever wondered, "Why was a national park service important?", author Annette Bay Pimentel answers that very question in the back matter of her new picture book biography, Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service, illustrated by Rich Lo:

"In 1872 Yellowstone was declared the first national park. In 1911 President William Howard Taft recommended the formation of a national park service, but he failed to whip up enough enthusiasm among members of Congress. By 1915 there were eleven national parks--but no system of administering the parks.

In January 1915 Stephen Mather was appointed assistant secretary of the interior by President Woodrow Wilson. Mather was determined both to protect the national parks and to share them with all Americans. Appalled at the bureaucratic red tape in Washington, DC, he dreamed up a camping trip that would change hearts and minds."

From Mountain Chef. Text copyright (c) 2016 by Annette Bay Pimentel.
Illustration copyright (c) 2016 by Rich Lo.

According to the National Park's website, "The centennial will kick off a second century of stewardship of America's national parks and engaging communities through recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs."

From Mountain Chef. Text copyright (c) 2016 by Annette Bay Pimentel.
Illustration copyright (c) 2016 by Rich Lo.

In honor of this momentous occasion and also to celebrate the August publication of Mountain Chef, Charlesbridge is excited to offer a special promotion: Order Mountain Chef on our website and receive a 25% discount. Enter promo code NPS100. (Offer expires September 30, 2016.)

We'd also love to know your favorite national parks and which ones you are visiting this year in honor of the centennial--feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Cheers to 100 more years of our beautiful national parks!

 From Mountain Chef. Text copyright (c) 2016 by Annette Bay Pimentel.
Illustration copyright (c) 2016 by Rich Lo.

Resources:
Mountain Chef
National Park Service Centennial (#NPS100)
Find Your Park (#FindYourPark)

Other Charlesbridge books about our National Parks:
Family Pack
Out on the Prairie
Mule Train Mail
John Muir Wrestles a Waterfall