Special Invitation to Middle Grade Teachers

SPECIAL INVITATION TO MIDDLE GRADE TEACHERS:

While planning for the spring semester, consider giving your students the opportunity to discuss a captivating novel with the authors who wrote it.

ACCLAIMED NOVEL FOR MIDDLE GRADE READERS:

Maggie Quick, a novel set not too many years ago in a Midwestern American town, has received this shining review and plot summary from KidLitReviews, Sue Morrison’s premier website for trustworthy information about high-quality literature for children of all ages:

http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2014/06/03/572-maggie-quick-by-robert-t-rhode-eleanor-y-stewart/

EXCERPT FROM KIDLITREVIEWS:

“Maggie Quick surprised me. First, I am not a big fan of paranormal stories, but this one I love. Also, the overall quality of the actual book, and then the quality of the story—both excellent. Normally, I refuse to review anything older than one year, as I try to keep the reviews current, yet once in a while a story grabs me and I cannot wait to let everyone know about a secret gem. Secret in that the story is not on a best-seller list—though it should be—nor heavily marketed by traditional economics.”

The acclaimed novel is available in a splendid hardcover edition here:

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT107430/it.A/id.5140/.f

… and as an eBook here:

http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Quick-Robert-Rhode-ebook/dp/B00AVQ6XNG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391773835&sr=8-3&keywords=Maggie+Quick

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY:      

When you assemble a group of middle grade students to read and discuss the novel, Eleanor Y. Stewart and I will make ourselves available to help plan activities appropriate for the group; for example, as the book explores many fascinating facts about Irish culture in the United States, we can guide students toward research projects involving Irish-American folklore. This provides a wonderful introduction to cultural studies!

MOST IMPORTANTLY, Eleanor and I will gladly join in conversations (by email or, depending on your location, in person) with your students when you contact me here:

http://roberttrhode.org/contact_robert_t_rhode.html

Be sure to visit my website for additional information about Maggie Quick and about other award-winning books that I have written or co-authored.

BEST WISHES FOR A GREAT SPRING SEMESTER!

Recipe for Yeast Rolls

When I was growing up, Christmas meant gathering in a warm kitchen redolent with the aroma of yeast rolls. As the holidays are well underway, I will share my mother’s recipe for rolls so delicious that they are sure to become favorites in your family.

First, I hope you will indulge me in relating an anecdote. Once, eight of us friends and family were gathered around the dinner table. My mother, Ida, had served everyone and was the last to take her chair. The plate of rolls was at the far end of the table. My mother turned to her friend and said, “Mary, toss me one of those rolls.”

Mary said, “Catch, Ida!” Mary then hurled a roll at my mother, who fumbled it but deflected it toward the mashed potatoes. The group burst into laughter! As the roll had not fallen to the floor, it was rescued. Such exuberance has a way of wrapping the years, tying joyful memories into a bow.

My Brother and I Carving Pumpkins at the Table Where  Many Yeast Rolls Were Prepared and Enjoyed Not Only at Christmas But Also Throughout the Year

When you form the dough, you want it fairly wet and sticky, so that the rolls will melt in your mouth. Avoid the temptation to double the recipe. I have tried to do so several times, and the rolls are too dry and tend to turn too brown on the bottom. My mother always formed her rolls in her hands, with each dough ball about the size of a golf ball, but, if you prefer smaller rolls, you can make the dough the size of a Ping-Pong ball. My mother also used compressed yeast in cubes, which must be dissolved in cold water, as listed in the ingredients. Today, packets of dry yeast are much more common and can be used in this recipe. Websites advise placing such yeast in warm water. When working with yeast packets, I have continued to use cold water from a tap and have achieved excellent results. I probably am succeeding because the water is not as cold as water from a bottle in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

¼ cup butter

¼ cup shortening

¼ cup sugar

¾ tsp salt

½ cup boiling water

1 egg beaten

1 packet yeast

½ cup cold water

3½ cups flour not sifted

Directions

Place butter, shortening, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl and pour over them the boiling water. Stir until well mixed and let stand until cool. Add yeast to the cold water and let stand until dissolved. Add egg and yeast to shortening mixture and blend well. Add flour and beat until well mixed. Turn mixture into a large buttered bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator overnight or longer.

When ready to form into rolls, the dough should be extremely soft. It can be shaped into any desired roll shape or even a ring. Have hands lightly floured to prevent sticking.

Let rise in warmest part of your kitchen until dough doubles in bulk. Place in 400° oven until golden, about 10 or 15 minutes for rolls, longer for coffee cakes.      

My Friend Kiko (Last Installment in This Series)

Kiko chose my house. He had visited my neighbor’s home and had considered living there, but, ultimately, he preferred my place. On a spectacular spring morning, I held open the kitchen door while the orange and white cat padded confidently inside.

Kiko, Who Remained a Kitten Throughout a Long Life

Kiko was grown but still kittenish. He had a positive outlook toward everything, except moving, as I later discovered. He felt reassured that he had made the right decision in selecting me as his “owner.” He played and purred, purred and played, all day long, and, in the evenings, he snuggled in my lap for a snooze while I watched the news.

Whenever he stood by the kitchen door, I let him out. Whenever he wanted back in, he waited patiently on the small porch beyond the doorway until I chanced to see him there.

Kiko was a fierce hunter of snakes. Even though he was a small cat, he scaled my tall privacy fence each day and prowled the neighborhood searching for garter snakes. Whenever he caught one, he brought it back to my fenced yard. With the dead snake drooping from his mouth, he shinnied and clawed his way to the top of the boards. Then he always confronted a problem. As he squeezed through the gap between the arrow-shaped tops of two boards and sprang to the ground, the snake caught in the gap and slipped from his jaws. He looked up at his prize, pondered ways to retrieve it, stared to one side in puzzlement, and shook his head. Forgetting the loss of the snake, he skipped merrily onto the porch and tarried there. When I graciously opened the door and he strode into my house, I checked the fence, and—sure enough!—a deceased serpent festooned it! My duty was to dispose of the reptile before the neighbors saw it and wondered why I had draped it over the top of my fence.

Kiko was easy to care for and great fun! In return, he gave his fullest affection. How many times when I was sad did he spring to my lap and cheer me? How many days when I was busy did he startle me by skittering across the hardwood floor in a wild dash that made me laugh? He was my steadfast companion and friend.

My Oil Pastel Drawing of Kiko in a Wicker Chair

When I moved to a different house far away, Kiko reacted in a manner that I could never have predicted. When I set him on the floor of our new home, he trembled with fear. I turned to other tasks. I thought that he simply needed time to explore and to adjust on his own. After an hour or two, I could not find him.

I searched high and low, but there was no sign of Kiko. That night, I could hardly sleep. I racked my brain trying to think of a place where he could be hiding.

The next morning, I bent over the washing machine to check the connections and noticed a hole through the underside of the cabinets above the dryer. Aha! I opened the doors, and there was Kiko curled into a small ball inside the cabinet! When I removed him, he purred.

After spending his first night in a cabinet above the dryer, Kiko accepted his new home and never returned to the hiding place. He was his happy-go-lucky self again.

The only difference of opinion that he and I ever had was over whether he should be given a bath. I tried … once! My scratches healed after about a week.

Kiko lived a long life. Toward the end, his kidneys began to fail. I delayed euthanasia for as long as I felt I could in good conscience, but the end had to come. I cried a lot when I buried Kiko with his favorite toys. 

My Friend Ginger

“How much is that doggie in the window?” sang Patti Page in the U.S. and Lita Roza in the U.K. in popular recordings in 1953. For me, Ginger was that doggie in the window. She was in a litter of chocolate brown pups for sale in the pet store where a friend of mine had entered to buy a bag of cat food. I was waiting in the car when my friend came out and said I should go in to see the cute puppies. Rather reluctantly, I entered the store. I exited with Ginger.

She was THE cutest pup I had ever seen, and she grew up to be THE snazziest dog! With elegant strands fringing her ears and tail, with dainty feet and nose, with classy bearing, Ginger was chic and smart and uptown.

My Photograph of Ginger in Her Younger Years

In her childhood, Ginger went everywhere with me. She was so small that she fit in the pocket of my overcoat that first winter. In a year before airport security tightened, she waited with me in the lobby when my brother was flying in for a visit. Everyone wanted to know her breed. I had no answer, as Ginger was a stunning cross of several breeds.

Ginger enjoyed several snowy days in a holiday resort filled with Christmas shoppers in the narrow streets lined with cheerful shops. “What an adorable puppy!” strangers exclaimed. “What breed is she?” They gently patted her velvet ears, then back she would go in my coat pocket.

During her girlhood, I taught Ginger valuable lessons. She learned to play dead, roll over, walk on her hind legs, speak, jump through a hoop, chase her tail, and stay—all on my command. She willingly demonstrated her extensive knowledge of the subjects I have named. But there was one lesson she refused to learn. Ginger would not come. When I said, “Stay,” she sat in place and smiled slightly. When I said, “Come,” she closed her mouth and glanced regally to one side, as if to say, “If you think I would demean myself to obey you, you have another think coming!” After some seconds, she would stand and walk haughtily away.

Many a time, I wished that she would come on command, but she always disdainfully declined. Her scorn was queenly. She had made up her royal mind, and I learned to respect her wishes. A dog of Ginger’s regal demeanor could not be forced to acquiesce. Hadn’t she already done more than enough to be on such friendly terms with a commoner like me?

In her womanhood, Ginger was inclined to be flighty. A knock at the door would send her into a paroxysm of barking. Afterward, she needed many minutes to calm herself down. She also developed an operatic voice. At times of her choosing, she howled. I called these performances her “arias.” Naturally, she always selected her melodies from the French repertoire.

« Que c’est beau! Vous chantez comme un oiseau, mon cher ami! »

(“How beautiful! You sing like a bird, my dear friend!”) I often exclaimed, but Ginger regretted my pronunciation’s defects.

Whenever I handed her a treat to eat, Ginger would gracefully accept it with her doll-like teeth. She would not be as coarse as other dogs that snatched the food from my hand, sometimes nipping me. No, Ginger was ever elegant, deft, refined.

Ginger Melting Hearts

The delicate dog that she was, Ginger did not live as long as I would have liked. Toward the end, she knew she was dying. She turned her long-lashed eyes toward me, as it to say she would avoid death if she could, if only to keep me company. When I buried her beside the graves of my other pets, her body reclined upon the soft pillow she had loved.